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Yes, many. Project managers, process design, risk/compliance managers, IT developer, etc. I work with a ton of people who make 100k and only work 40 hrs/wk.
Work for a bank as a relationship manager. You can make it to 100k in 7 years.
Forest_Hills_Daddy has admitted that he and his wife work 70 hours per week, and have hired help raising their children. I'm sure they make more than $100k per year. But is that really the lifestyle that you want?
Forest_Hills_Daddy has admitted that he and his wife work 70 hours per week, and have hired help raising their children. I'm sure they make more than $100k per year. But is that really the lifestyle that you want?
Quote:
Originally Posted by charlygal
Yes, many. Project managers, process design, risk/compliance managers, IT developer, etc. I work with a ton of people who make 100k and only work 40 hrs/wk.
Loan processors make over 6 figures after a few years, easy money, long hours but doesn't require a 4 year degree. Just requires someone who is organized, hard working, and patient.
I am 28 and make a meager 35k a year as an entry level accountant. Life has been terribly ironic to me as I've always been a VERY career ambitious person but yet I've always struggled to find good paying work. I'm one of the few people that actually LIKES working and since childhood have dreamt of having a big career (top level employee such as executive, director, etc)
I recently switched careers to accounting after 5 years in sound design where my pay fluctuated from $5 an hour to $55 an hour and while I averaged about $35/hour for most of the contract work, the work was so unsteady with long breaks of unemployment that my pay ultimately averaged out to about the same 35k a year due to periods of unemployment that easily lasted 6 months or more. Making the switch into accounting and finance seemed like a smart step, but I'm still struggling immensely to get paid something I feel is respectable. My financial struggles have been very difficult, and have prevented me and my family from moving forward in life due to financial constraints. Even something like getting a second car so my wife could work in a better job (further away - couldn't take public transport anymore) were big hurdles. I am fortunate to have no debt other than about 25k in student loans, but day to day life feels like a struggle on my low income! (Wife currently doesn't work as she was laid off and also looking for a new job currently)
What steps should I take to get myself into a higher paying job, and achieve my dream of being a high level employee in a company such as an executive or director? I often feel that I may be doomed to forever work in low paying jobs with minimal 2% raises a year, but I want to believe that my time will eventually come and the struggle can end. I have a Bachelors degree in Accounting, just started my MBA, and plan to get a CPA license afterwards, but I want to make sure I'm making smart choices now so I can find a six figure a year job sooner rather than later.
Thank you in advance for any help!
i'm a CPA, 28 years old and make around 90k per year.
definitely get your CPA license. i would go into public accounting too at a medium/large firm. maybe find a firm who offers tuition reimbursement to cut some costs. in my opinion, accounting is a great field where you can work your way to the top, but you definitely have to take the right steps, be patient and work hard.
Thought I would pipe in since it's been about 6 months since posting this and I've been feeling upset the past few weeks again about my situation and the difficulty in moving forward. Sometimes it feels like you're doing all the right things yet you're stuck, you're stagnant, and you start questioning if everything you're doing is even working and if you made the right choices or what not...
Anyway, I'm still with my current job and while my workload has increased threefold and I've begun to take on some managerial responsibilities, my pay has only gone up to $37000. A meager $2000 raise for three times the work and a lot more responsibility... I had wanted to stay with my employer for at least 2 years but the job and company is quickly falling apart. (I want to go into much more detail, but let's just say the expectations that were discussed for this position are completely falling apart and the company is turning into a gigantic **** show) I've started to semi-actively look for new work, but nothing yet. I had one final on-site for a position paying 65k, but ultimately they wanted to go with someone that had many more years of experience. Most of the other positions I'm finding want a Master's degree or CPA/CMA cert. I am still working on my MBA, about 30% done now, but I probably won't finish until early 2017.
I've been rolling the idea around of starting my own business in my head, because this is my 6th year professionally working and I seem to get more and more bitter each year about the terrible employment practices in place at the majority of companies. Right now though, I just want to find a new position that can compensate better, treat employees more respectfully, and perhaps be a bit closer to home. I think that's what everyone wants, but sad to say I think my position is so poorly compensated right now I literally can only go up (for a comparable level position at least), it can only get better.
Anyway, wish I had something more happy to talk about, but it's just been a grind, and I'm working towards better things, but patience is the key I guess. I just am afraid I'm going to lose my mind actually getting there! Guess I'll check in here in another 6 months and we'll see what happens then.
I started my career working for a large national accounting firm and have lots of experience working in both public and private accounting jobs.
It sounds like you are on the right path and just need more experience and your CPA cert. My advice to you is get your CPA certificate and consider making a move into public accounting for at least a few years. Public accounting is not much fun and you will work a ton of hours but you will learn a lot and making the move into a mid level or manager job at a private company will be much easier with the public experience and CPA.
However, the reality is that you are too old to get an entry level job at one of the large, name brand firms. Which means that your path to upper level accounting jobs is going to be more difficult and take more time. If after only a couple of years, you are feeling restless and underpaid you will have to grow thicker skin and be much more patient if you ever hope to make it to 100k in accounting. From an employer's perspective, accountants with bachelor's degrees and a couple years of experience are a dime a dozen. Get into a nice sized regional firm in a large city, get your CPA and work your way up to at least senior level. That will allow you to get one of the 65k jobs that you have been looking at and with luck on your side in a few years you could be making the 100k you desire.
I started my career working for a large national accounting firm and have lots of experience working in both public and private accounting jobs.
It sounds like you are on the right path and just need more experience and your CPA cert. My advice to you is get your CPA certificate and consider making a move into public accounting for at least a few years. Public accounting is not much fun and you will work a ton of hours but you will learn a lot and making the move into a mid level or manager job at a private company will be much easier with the public experience and CPA.
However, the reality is that you are too old to get an entry level job at one of the large, name brand firms. Which means that your path to upper level accounting jobs is going to be more difficult and take more time. If after only a couple of years, you are feeling restless and underpaid you will have to grow thicker skin and be much more patient if you ever hope to make it to 100k in accounting. From an employer's perspective, accountants with bachelor's degrees and a couple years of experience are a dime a dozen. Get into a nice sized regional firm in a large city, get your CPA and work your way up to at least senior level. That will allow you to get one of the 65k jobs that you have been looking at and with luck on your side in a few years you could be making the 100k you desire.
I'm actually working at a public accounting firm now, but a very small one, just 12 employees. I manage about 35 small business clients simultaneously, but I don't know how that stacks up to the ratios at larger firms. I started my accounting work in corporate/private companies and ultimately want to get back there, but I took this job because I did want some public accounting experience, and like you said, I have been rapidly learning a lot and being exposed to many different industries and businesses. I also have some small managerial responsibilities in addition to my main responsibilities which I would put most similar to a staff accountant or accountant I role. I planned on being here 2-3 years while I earned my MBA and CPA, but the work environment has become very poor and my compensation shows no signs of going up despite my workload more than tripling. I'm also currently doing at least 3 times the work of our other accountants, but I'm compensated the same.
I am frustrated about the age thing... I had wished my last career in design and audio production worked out, but five years and it was amounting to nothing more than constant relocation, fighting tooth and nail for contract work, and being laid off countless times. I needed something more stable and more available. I don't know if Accounting/Finance was the right pick, but it was the easiest transition and makes the best use of my natural aptitudes (aside from my creativity and design skills which unfortunately were too difficult to secure full-time employment with) I would love to get into more of a Finance Analyst or Cost Accounting role as I actually really enjoy the interpretation and calculation side of Accounting/Finance, but Unfortunately these roles seem VERY difficult to break into with limited experience. Forensic Accounting is another field I would love to get into, but once again it seems very difficult to break into.
All and all, I'm just trying to grin and bear it until I can get a little more experience and some more credentials. I had thought my leadership roles (3 years of lead experience) from my past career would benefit me a little bit getting started, but no one seems to care. lol
OP, aren't you the person that decided to come in late and leave early whenever you wanted without management approval?
You're best bet is to keep your head down, get the experience and the MBA, and then move on.
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