Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have actually already gone back to school and got another bachelors in accounting. This thread came about after having no luck getting hired since finishing school in july. It just seems that entry level jobs in accounting are not geared towards people in their 30s. I've had interivews that went incredibly well and i just assume they went with a fresh 22 yr old in the end. Accounting is not my passion so if it works out great if not ive got other things that i am truly interested in that may turn into a job/career. I think it would be much easier to career change later in life into a field like nursing or something medical related where there is a real demand for qualified applicants. Traditional corporate jobs like accounting have thousands of 22 yr old grads coming out every 6 months ready to fill the entry level slot
You're not alone in having difficulty getting a job in accounting. I know a person who has his master's in accounting, after over a year of searching he was hired for a 3 month job in a location 6 hours away.
Accounting is particularly bad as far as age bias. I did get hired as a thirtysomething but that was just before the recession hit when they still were hiring a lot of people. I think other fields might be a little more open to hiring non-traditional students. Accounting really depends on young people who are willing and able to work long hours. There are also a lot of negative assumptions about older people...that they don't know technology or that they will have trouble taking direction from senior staff who are in their mid-20s.
The trouble with trying to get AR/AP jobs as someone with a bachelor's is that they often assume you are overqualified and would rather hire someone with an associate's degree. Also I've seen a lot of cases where they want years of experience even for lower level accounting jobs.
The key is being to relocate, but that can be difficult for those of us in middle-age who have homes, spouses with jobs, elder care issues, etc. I know in my case I'm probably going to have to move if I want to try and find another job in this field, though.
As long as people don't confuse "career change" with "job hop", I'll be more comfortable with quitting the current job, going back to my old one and getting schooled once again.
To relocate u need a job first in the new area. One cant just show up in a new city without a job and no place to live. Basically, u can only pick up and move to a city where u know someone and may have a place to crash for a month or so, otherwise u cant move without already having a job. Very few if any entry level accounting jobs are looking to hire someone from out of state, maybe higher level type positions but not entry level. Most if not all entry level applicants are more than willing to relocate to some financial hot spot with more jobs but we cant just show up as a homeless person and look for jobs, we are almost trapped to find a job where we are at unless we have friends or family elsewhere we can live with.
To relocate u need a job first in the new area. One cant just show up in a new city without a job and no place to live. Basically, u can only pick up and move to a city where u know someone and may have a place to crash for a month or so, otherwise u cant move without already having a job. Very few if any entry level accounting jobs are looking to hire someone from out of state, maybe higher level type positions but not entry level. Most if not all entry level applicants are more than willing to relocate to some financial hot spot with more jobs but we cant just show up as a homeless person and look for jobs, we are almost trapped to find a job where we are at unless we have friends or family elsewhere we can live with.
That's not true. People relocate without jobs and connections all the time. That's what people do when necessary.
Don't look for work in the accounting hot spots. Just look for an area with a nice, low cost of living and a stable economy.
how do u recommend a person realistically moves to a new city with no job, no place to live and no local connections?
Because I did it myself. I didn't even have a car. I went to the city I wanted to live. I stayed in a hotel. I called temp agencies and started working immediately so I wouldn't be draining my savings. I hooked up with headhunters. I made connections and networked by talking to people--everyone I met. I landed a permanent job within a few weeks. After I landed a permanent job, I looked for a permanent place to rent. And this was during a very severe recession.
I also know many other people who have done it. I know people who have literally sold everything they own, packed everything into a car, and started driving. Some with a very measly amount of money. Some with children. Some single. Some couples.
Pittsburgh doesn't have the most sports bars (Steelers) throughout the world for no reason. Those bars exist because Pittsburghers up and moved when they didn't have two pennies to rub together after the crash of the steel industry. They didn't stay in Pittsburgh saying they couldn't go because they didn't know anyone, didn't have a job, didn't have somewhere to live. Now Pittsburgh has a good economy, and I'm meeting people who are arrivng here in a similar fashion.
If I were to do it today, I'd do something similar to before but slightly different because I'm a homeowner now. I'd go to the city and pound the pavement. When I landed the job, I'd rent my house, put it on the market, and rent an apartment in the new city until my house sold. If there wasn't savings for the trip, I'd put my house on the market and use the money from the sale to relocate. I'd put my stuff in storage or at a relative's house, and I'd go on an extended job hunting trip like I did before.
If I had to do it, if there was no work here for me, that's what I would do. Having a place to live is the smallest part of it because there is such a thing as motels and apartment rentals. Not knowing people can easily be solved by getting to know people once there.
If you're still employed, that's a different story. Then it's not necessary. I said people do it when necessary. When you need to do it, it can be done.
Because I did it myself. I didn't even have a car. I went to the city I wanted to live. I stayed in a hotel. I called temp agencies and started working immediately so I wouldn't be draining my savings. I hooked up with headhunters. I made connections and networked by talking to people--everyone I met. I landed a permanent job within a few weeks. After I landed a permanent job, I looked for a permanent place to rent. And this was during a very severe recession.
I did exactly the same thing back in 2008---1200 miles away from home. Don't limit yourself. I'm not going to lie to you and say that it's going to be all fun. But you can make it a challenge that you can figure out how to conquer. It's possible, you just need to have the will to get it done.
I used to do it all the time (up and move to a new city on a whim).You have to be willing to work a crap job at first untill you can get the job you want.But I've also been homeless so I'm a bit more experianced at living with nothing than most people.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
