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.
Hello, all. Well, I just turned 25 and have to decide where to go from here.
I got a B.S. in Accounting from SUNY Albany in December 2011 (3.75 GPA) but failed to obtain any accounting experience as an undergrad (I got a D- in Internship Finding). People tell me I have shoddy people skills and am too nervous/shy, which, combined with the bad economy, got me passed over. After graduating, I spent seven months trying to find an Accounting job (I should have tried for a job waiting tables, but considered it beneath me at the time - yes, I am an entitled little ****). Then, I enrolled in grad school, also in Accounting at SUNY Albany. The courses were hard, and I got mostly B's. After a semester, I took a job as a data analyst/computer programmer with New York State, despite having no background in computer programming. After five and a half months of bumbling with Oracle/SQL/Hyperion, I quit rather than wait to be fired. Then came some half-assed attempts to learn foreign languages (with an eye toward becoming a diplomat), a week or two of temp work, a few language classes at UAlbany which drained the rest of my college fund. I went back to UAlbany to finish my M.S. in Accounting in January 2014, but dropped out after about two weeks, around the time I finally admitted to myself that I was gay (though I have told no one else about this).
I am still living with my conservative mother in a hick town with a stoplight, a gas station and not much else. Several of our neighbors are crazy. I'm looking for Accounting work online, and am signed up to take the PCO exam this month, but am not expecting much. I went to a temp agency, Robert Half, last month and the man interviewing me basically said that I haven't got a prayer of finding accounting work here in the Capital Region (given that I am competing against the Class of 2012, the Class of 2013, and the Class of 2014, with me having no experience and no connections). My parents want me to study for the CPA Exam, which I doubt will help much. I have vague dreams of living in the NYC area and being a writer/playwright/designer, but that is pretty unrealistic.
So... given that I have nothing, and am desperate, I don't know what to do next. spend a year studying Spanish and try to find work as a tutor/translator? go to local CPA firms and beg for unpaid work? take a job at Wal-Mart? study for the CPA Exam? jump off a bridge?
(Okay, that last one was too dramatic. I'm not suicidal. But I am sick of grinding futility.)
Is this a joke? You dropped out of the masters program because you were gay? You had a hard time with an internship because you were shy? If you are actually serious about accounting go to any firm and tell them you have a 3.75 in accounting from an accredited university and they will give you a second shot, easy. That GPA if real, is top percentile for accounting grads. Tax is the route for you if you arent a people person, not audit. There is a LOT of interaction in audit. At least in tax you can let the rest of the team do the customer interaction, and you can be the dedicated details expert. They will ask about your internship and why you have a D in it, hope you have a good excuse. That being said This post seems.....iffy.
You will fit right into accounting being shy and people generally won't care if you are gay. Get off of MAMA's couch and her teet and go out there and get a job.
Is this a joke? You dropped out of the masters program because you were gay? You had a hard time with an internship because you were shy? If you are actually serious about accounting go to any firm and tell them you have a 3.75 in accounting from an accredited university and they will give you a second shot, easy. That GPA if real, is top percentile for accounting grads. Tax is the route for you if you arent a people person, not audit. There is a LOT of interaction in audit. At least in tax you can let the rest of the team do the customer interaction, and you can be the dedicated details expert. They will ask about your internship and why you have a D in it, hope you have a good excuse. That being said This post seems.....iffy.
I'm guessing that 3.75 gpa is mostly from non-major classes. I've seen a lot of people with not so stellar major gpa but much higher gpa due to bullsh*t classes like philosophy and child rearing.
OP, I'll tell you about myself. Hopefully, it will inspire you to do more.
I graduated with a physics degree with mid-3.xx gpa (don't exactly remember the exact number). Got accepted to fermi-lab as a research tech. I was going to use the experience and pay toward working for a masters in physics. Well, right after I graduated, the economy tanked and research money got pulled. Not only did they rescind their offer, but they also let go a whole bunch of physicists. Almost over night, my degree was pretty much unemployable.
At the time, I fell into pretty much the same depression that you are feeling now. Felt useless with no prospect of a future.
Went straight to Menards (hardware store) and got a job in receiving. While I was working there, I started exploring other possibilities and other routes. Basically, I still wanted to end up in a technical field. How to get there? Then I came up with a crazy plan that I stuck to (for the most part).
So, while I was working at menards, I started applying to police agencies. Half a year in, I got accepted with my state police department. Went to their academy and 6 months later I was a state trooper. The pay was enough for me to save up, get a new car, and a few years into it I started taking classes again to work on my masters. By this time, I pretty much knew what I wanted to do. Engineering! Of course, getting a masters in engineering required a bit more work than I had anticipated, so I waited till I had enough savings and quit my police job to go all in to getting my masters.
When I was about to finish with my masters, I started interviewing to get an engineering job. Even got a couple offers from reputable engineering firms. All seemed good. Just right before I graduated, another stumbling block came along. My state had a budget crisis and the governor signed an order cutting all construction projects by half. Almost over night, construction budget went from $3 billion to $1 billion. Grrrrrrr....
I forgot to mention that while working on my masters I started learning how to write apps to earn some extra cash. So, by this time I knew how to program. Started an IT consulting business. Ok, hear me out. At the time, I figured that large companies had IT departments while small companies didn't. What about the ones in between? They're not big enough to have an IT department but they needed to run a server, backup, security, etc. So, I put everything I had and knew into this little niche to survive. It supported me for a while.
After a couple years of this, I started to let it go slowly and head back into engineering direction. I think this was why my business failed. But it didn't matter, because I got several job offers in engineering. I think my various backgrounds had something to do with it.
I chose the closest company to home and started working as an engineer. Been doing it ever since :-)
Here is a thread I started when my company gave me a car for both personal and professional use. My partner and I will be taking this car to Clearwater, Florida for our spring break. He's still in school.
And no, I ain't a gal. I don't have rosie hair either. Rose hair was the name of my pet spider when I was little. She died of old age a number of years ago.
Anyway, you get the idea. Life can some times take you through curves and different routes. When I was younger, never in a million years I thought I'd be a cop, IT consultant, and engineer. But I did it. After years of wandering from career to career, here I am working my dream job.
You can do it, too. It will take you a number of years. But don't give up! One day, you will look back and marvel at your accomplishments. You will be thankful that you never gave up and kept trying, even if it took you through several alternate routes.
Is this a joke? You dropped out of the masters program because you were gay? You had a hard time with an internship because you were shy? If you are actually serious about accounting go to any firm and tell them you have a 3.75 in accounting from an accredited university and they will give you a second shot, easy. That GPA if real, is top percentile for accounting grads. Tax is the route for you if you arent a people person, not audit. There is a LOT of interaction in audit. At least in tax you can let the rest of the team do the customer interaction, and you can be the dedicated details expert. They will ask about your internship and why you have a D in it, hope you have a good excuse. That being said This post seems.....iffy.
I did not drop out of the masters program because I was gay, I dropped out because I hated the work and was bumbling around, getting poor grades. I did not get a D in an internship, I never had an internship at all (if "Finding an Internship" was a class, I would have gotten a D- in it). I am working as a volunteer tax preparer (VITA) right now, 1-2 days a week. I don't like the work and am bad at it, although I do enjoy interacting with people (I hated tax when I took it as an undergrad too). I consider myself a people person, and am interested in people. I hope all that is clear.
I did not drop out of the masters program because I was gay, I dropped out because I hated the work and was bumbling around, getting poor grades. I did not get a D in an internship, I never had an internship at all (if "Finding an Internship" was a class, I would have gotten a D- in it). I am working as a volunteer tax preparer (VITA) right now, 1-2 days a week. I don't like the work and am bad at it, although I do enjoy interacting with people (I hated tax when I took it as an undergrad too). I consider myself a people person, and am interested in people. I hope all that is clear.
You're a people person with "shoddy" people skills?
I think you need to focus. Like a previous poster said, you should be able to find an accouting job somewhere in the country with your credentials. Get out of the one-horse town and take some initiative.
You "hate" tax, but probably have no experience working in it. Your experience will depend on more than whether you liked a course on something in school. It depends on he firm, the people and your own mental disposition.
Anyway, you get the idea. Life can some times take you through curves and different routes. When I was younger, never in a million years I thought I'd be a cop, IT consultant, and engineer. But I did it. After years of wandering from career to career, here I am working my dream job.
You can do it, too. It will take you a number of years. But don't give up! One day, you will look back and marvel at your accomplishments. You will be thankful that you never gave up and kept trying, even if it took you through several alternate routes.
^^THIS! Rosie hair, I relate to your story so much. Having gone from journalism right out of college in 2005 (with LOTS of experience and internships), then having the economy tank, to programming / QA on start up websites in silicon valley which I taught myself 100% out of necessity, and got laid off because the startups I was contracting for went under. THEN started taking more undergraduate classes in sciences (while living on someone's living room floor for $250/mo), got my EMT certificate and worked in the medical field for 5 years while trying to apply to a masters program.
Never got into the masters program, then got laid of from the medical job, and now I'm on unemployment yet again making yet another huge life decision!
Let me also note that I had an excellent GPA but nobody cares about GPA. I have also moved 3,000 miles from home to get most of this done. I only see my family once every two years. There are no jobs back home, and I don't have the money to visit them often. But, I am doing what I need to do to survive and make a happy and healthy life for yourself.
I hope me and Rosie hair's stories can resonate with you somehow. Right now, I'm applying for jobs as grocery store cashier and server... nothing is beneath me as I just need a moderate income while I take my next steps.
Just because one agency (Robert Half) gave you bad advice, doesn't mean you can't find a temp job. Contact all the temp/staffing agencies in your area that place accounting jobs.
Every organization needs an accountant. You may not get into a big 4 firm but try your hand at smaller organizations or at non-profits (where sound accounting is very important).
Get a job in accounting and once you do, start exploring other areas you are interested in such as writing and designing. After a few years of working, you will figure it out. It sounds like right now you are really confused about what you want to do.
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.
