Resigned from accounting job and looking for advice? (employee, 2013, apply)

[UMW_grad]

I am looking for advice on whether I should try to look for accountingpositions, or if I should give up accounting all together.

Here's my story:

I decided late during my undergraduate program that I wanted to be anaccountant. I graduated from this program in Spring 2011. Then Iwent on to obtain a Master's of Accounting degree from a reputable universityand graduated in Spring 2012. Because I was so late in deciding that Iwanted to be an accountant, I never had any internships in accounting. However, I did obtain all the coursework that I needed to be eligible to sitfor the CPA exam.

From summer 2012 to late spring 2013, I worked as an entry-level auditor at a federal government agency. I never took the CPA exam during my time at the agency because I couldn't get the agency to pay for the studymaterials for me (they lost my paperwork, and then they weren't funding additionaltraining due to sequestration).

The job didn't work out. I resigned before the end of my probationperiod because I knew that I was most likely going to be fired. I will not have a good reference from my supervisor for the job. I had a lot ofissues related to job performance at the job. I think if I had beenallowed to stay on at the agency then I would have been able to improve most issues related to my jobperformance. However, I had a lot of issues with not being able totolerate ambiguity, and I hated that the job required me to make a lot ofjudgment calls. This could be an indicator that I should not ever work asan auditor.

I don't know whether I should even try at all to look for accountingpositions. I had the following ideas about what I could try to do next:

a) Become an enrolled agent (EA) so that I am certified to do taxes. Then see if I could get a small tax firm would allow me to work for them forawhile to get accounting experience. Then I could sit the CPA exam while working atthe small firm. However, I am not sure that I wouldn't get fired from ajob where I had primarily to do taxes because I don't think I like taxesenough. Furthermore, I don't know if small firms would be likely to hiresomeone who is 25 years old and isn't right out of school?

b) I could try to apply for full-time auditing or tax positions in Fall 2013as part of fall recruiting at the university where I received my master'sdegree. There would be a lot of mid-size and small accounting firms whereI could network. However, I am not sure that these firms wouldwant an entry-level employee who is not currently a bachelor's ormaster's student? Also, as I stated earlier, practically getting fired for an auditingposition may be an indicator that auditing is not a good fit for me as a career.

c) I could apply for corporate accounting positions. The biggest issueI see here is that all the entry-level positions seem to want 1-2 years ofexperience and/or experience with certain software packages. Alternatively, there are accounting clerk positions that don't really requireexperience, but I worry that I would be considered way overqualified for suchpositions. I don't have any prior experience being a clerk or abookkeeper. I don't think I would mind working as a corporate accountant.

What are your thoughts about the above career paths? Do you have any other suggestions about what I could do? Should I just quit accounting altogether and get a career doing something else?

Also, should I even bother to start sitting the CPA exam while I am looking for a job? Passing the CPA exam would be a complete waste of my time if I will be doomed never to work in accounting again.

[dnvrsoul]

Well if I'm giving you some wrong advice, my apologies, my eyes went crossed eyed tying to read your post-

You have a bachelor and a Master's degree in accounting correct?

I would learn some accounting software first (QuickBooks), you can find places that will train you-

Then I would try and find an entry level accounting job-A/R clerk, A/P clerk-

Some states have requirements that you must work for a CPA (For example: In Florida you need 2 years of working under a CPA) before you can sit for the CPA exam.

What do you like to do? I personally wouldn't do taxes but my friend is an EA and she has her own business and LOVES taxes. My other half is a CPA-hates taxes.

Why would you quit something you just started? Look around...the economy isn't exactly booming so it may take awhile for you to get your foot in the door....but apply, apply, apply-even look into part time book keeper jobs

[UMW_grad]

Originally Posted by dnvrsoul

Well if I'm giving you some wrong advice, my apologies, my eyes went crossed eyed tying to read your post-

You have a bachelor and a Master's degree in accounting correct?

I would learn some accounting software first (QuickBooks), you can find places that will train you-

Then I would try and find an entry level accounting job-A/R clerk, A/P clerk-

Some states have requirements that you must work for a CPA (For example: In Florida you need 2 years of working under a CPA) before you can sit for the CPA exam.

What do you like to do? I personally wouldn't do taxes but my friend is an EA and she has her own business and LOVES taxes. My other half is a CPA-hates taxes.

Why would you quit something you just started? Look around...the economy isn't exactly booming so it may take awhile for you to get your foot in the door....but apply, apply, apply-even look into part time book keeper jobs

Thank you for your input.

Ideally, I would like to get a corporate accounting position.

However, I worry that I would be considered overqualified for a job such as a/r clerk, a/p clerk, or bookkeeper. In most of the job postings I have seen, these jobs only require a high-school degree or an associate's degree. Yet I have a master's degree. Thus, employers might think I am overqualified and would just be using such a job as a stepping stone to get a better one.

Also, I have seen that many of these postings for clerk and bookkeeping jobs require experience doing similar types of work. I do not have any such experience, and I assume most candidates would have more experience that I would. Thus, I would be considered under-qualified for these positions as well.

Then there are other corporate accounting positions (such as staff accountant) that require 1-2+ years of accounting experience, which I do not possess.

I also wonder if the job market for corporate accountants has changed over time. People have told me that they started their accounting careers by working for corporations (rather than in public accounting). However, these people started their careers a long time ago, before the 2008 recession. So these people may not have been required to have any accounting experience to get such positions. Now, 2 years of experience seems to be needed for the same types of positions.

Thus, my question is: Is obtaining any type of corporate accounting position (either as a clerk or bookkeeper or in a higher-level corporate position) with my experience and education in today's economy even possible?

I am sorry if my first post was somewhat confusing. I had some issues with the formatting because I tried to copy the post from a Microsoft Word document. Apparently there were a lot of spacing issues. Also, I guess I don't really know what I want in an accounting position, so the post rambled a bit.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by UMW_grad

Also, I guess I don't really know what I want in an accounting position, so the post rambled a bit.

I really want you to be successful. However, if you don't know what you want, it's hard for people to give you advice or for you to find a good job.