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I definitely do not have a passion for accounting, but I am afraid of what I will end up as if I don't see this through. I would rather be unhappy with my job than making a low wage at jobs that are not going anywhere. The thought of more schooling and taking the cpa exam makes me cringe, but I have been out of school for a year and a half with no prospects elsewhere. I thought about health care, but I have a blood phobia, and getting an education in any other subject would be much longer than getting an MSA. I really am not sure what to do in this situation.
I don't think anybody is passionate about accounting. I think people go into it because it is a prestigious business degree, with the designation especially, and a stepping stone to better jobs in a big firm. Opportunity and security are the key words for the accounting profession.
I would give it a shot. Nobody says you have to do it forever. Later on, in the firm you can move on to other things, or strike out on your own (say after 10 years solid experience at different levels) as a consultant.
I don't think anybody is passionate about accounting. I think people go into it because it is a prestigious business degree, with the designation especially, and a stepping stone to better jobs in a big firm. Opportunity and security are the key words for the accounting profession.
I would give it a shot. Nobody says you have to do it forever. Later on, in the firm you can move on to other things, or strike out on your own (say after 10 years solid experience at different levels) as a consultant.
Very good post. I would definitely question anyone's sanity if they said they "loved" accounting. On the other hand it has been a great degree to have as far as job security and pay are concerned for me.
Remember, you don't have to love your job. You just have to not hate it.
I'm 26 yo with a Master's in accounting and want to kill myself right now. I started my career back in 2006 at Deloitte Tax. I had to leave there because I was sick and tired of working 60 hour weeks half of the year and not having a life.
You are lucky. Most people who go start in the big 4 public work way more than 60 hour weeks.
Very good post. I would definitely question anyone's sanity if they said they "loved" accounting. On the other hand it has been a great degree to have as far as job security and pay are concerned for me.
Remember, you don't have to love your job. You just have to not hate it.
Yes, that is true. I kind of feel like I owe it to myself to see this through.
...I thought about going to school for something in the medical field, but I have a terrible phobia of bloodborne diseases, so I don't think that would be possible for me....
I would bend the ears of every guidance counselor at your college/university for advice. They might have a skills/interest test that you could take to help steer you in the right direction as far as a career or Master's. Since you're living at home, could you try for an internship somewhere that interests you, then try to get hired on?
I would bend the ears of every guidance counselor at your college/university for advice. They might have a skills/interest test that you could take to help steer you in the right direction as far as a career or Master's.
The best advice in this entire thread is right here. I'd take it a step farther, though, and recommend that you pony up for a comprehensive battery of aptitude testing from a place that also provides specific career counseling about options that would play well to your strengths.
Case in point: my spouse spent his first decade of professional-level work in a field that he thought he'd really enjoy. There were aspects of it he did find somewhat rewarding, but by and large, it was sheer unadulterated drudgery at best and refined torture at its worst.
Nearing the end of his rope but uncertain where to turn next, he went to an aptitude-testing place called Johnson O'Connor. We lived in Texas at the time, so he went to the J O'C location in Houston, but they've got probably half a dozen locations or more across the country. The testing took two full days, and included tests for skills that he didn't even imagine assessing.
The most interesting part of the whole process was the meeting at the end with one of the counselors there. It was in that conversation that my spouse learned that the field where he had just spent a decade was quite possibly the worst one he could have chosen, given his basic abilities and aptitudes. No wonder he hated it!
He took the suggestions he got there, as well as a new understanding of what his skills really were, and completely changed the focus of his job hunt. He wound up pursuing a field he had never, ever imagined working in, and he has absolutely thrived on it, because it plays to his strengths instead of challenging his weaknesses.
The aptitude testing at Johnson O'Connor isn't cheap. Back in the early 90s when he went, it was about $400 for the two-day series, and when our kids went through the same process as high school seniors a decade and a half later, it was up over $600. But in all three examples, it was worth every penny. Johnson O'Connor has been doing aptitude testing since the 1920s, and they have literally hundreds of thousands of records of the aptitudes people have and the professions they find rewarding to call on in their assessments.
There are other aptitude testing places, of course, and your school's guidance center could very likely suggest several possibilities. But whichever one you choose, I cannot emphasize too strongly how important it is to invest in that kind of assessment before you throw more tuition money away. You may not spend every moment at work loving everything you do, but if you can feel rewarded, fulfilled and satisfied at the end of the day, that's far, far more than many folks ever achieve. And if you can identify your aptitudes and focus on careers that call for those traits, you are a whole lot likelier to wind up feeling satisfied with your life.
Oh, one final note. I am an accountant, a corporate controller, and a hiring manager. The last time I was hiring for an entry level AP clerk - not even a staff accountant, just an hourly AP clerk - one of the candidates had a bachelor's degree in accounting, just like you. Just like you, he had no experience in the field. And just like you, he didn't get offered the job. Moreover, if he had had a Master's degree, I wouldn't have even bothered interviewing him. If you haven't landed an accounting job of any kind yet and you're not sure you want to spend your career in accounting, don't keep throwing good tuition after bad - change course, identify what you love and follow your bliss.
bobert639, You should go to Robert Half/Accounttemps. You need an advocate, and they place new grads all the time. No doubt, temping first as they will want to get a view of you as an employee first.
Exactly correct. Take a job as a contractor to get some experience then get a temp to perm job.
You are at a crossroads here and it seems foolish to continue to pursue a career that you loathe. If you really think you should go back to school then it should be to prepare yourself for something you really want to do for the rest of your life. You have a lot of research to do so that you don't end up with a graduate degree in another discipline you hate.
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