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Old 01-23-2016, 10:47 PM
 
484 posts, read 558,609 times
Reputation: 903

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Get a copy of What Color is your Parachute and study the chapters on informational interviewing. Don't know where you live, or how big a community that is. Identify people you can see in the community who are doing what you want to be doing. Ask your friends and family who they know who knows the people who have the jobs you want. Ask them to reach out to the friends they have to ask if you can get 15 minutes of time of the people who are doing what you want. WCIYP will give you the details of this technique and how to make it pay off for you.

Everyone is only six phone calls away from any other person in the world. But you can't cold call the folks you want to talk to. You need to reach them from someone they know who also knows you or one of your friends. A golfing buddy calling to ask if he'd give 15 minutes of time will have his request honored. A complete stranger calling out of the blue will be ignored.

You're going to school now -- does the school where you are going have a vocational placement service? Do they have an alumni association? Tap into both, and work each for what they can help you with.

Research your current and past professors. They all have to write and publish papers and books to keep their jobs. Get some of their work, read it and go to office hours with questions based on what they have written. Tell them of your ambitions and ask them for advice on areas where they see room for growth and what skills you should cultivate to be ready for those opportunities.

If you have a religious belief, ask through prayer, every day, for guidance in this quest.

Do something every day, no matter how small, to move yourself closer to the goal.

Work on your public speaking skills -- join Toastmasters, which is a club for those who want to better their public speaking skills. Excellent source of networking leads as well.

Several times in your post you mentioned that you worry about various things. I've had to deal with serious anxiety problems at several times in my life. I got a copy of Dale Carnegie's book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. EXCELLENT book. It's full of tips and tricks that have worked for thousands of people. It's not just ideas that he thought would work -- he canvassed literally tens of thousands of people about how they handle anxiety, and wrote it all up in that book. I use one or more of these techniques every day.

Save and invest money every paycheck, even if it is only $20 a pay period. Invest in things that will bring you a return -- even extremely small dividend checks can help to build your future.

Look for something that you could do as a second job, even if it's only a few hours on a weekend or one evening a week. Look for an opportunity that other missed or passed up as too much work for too little return. Even a small side income can build over time.
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Old 01-24-2016, 06:49 AM
 
19,965 posts, read 30,115,563 times
Reputation: 40023
become an income tax accountant

you will be blitzed a few months of the year,,,but you can also make 80k year round..


also,,,become a commercial real estate appraiser,,
because you have an accounting background..


appraising a business...is big bucks..
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:03 AM
 
12,715 posts, read 8,933,704 times
Reputation: 34712
Assuming you like the work, but want to move up in your career, then you will have to look at moving to other locations and other companies. Pick a sector, whether banking, finance, or corporate accounting and move into that sector. Do good work, take on extra projects that others won't because they are above your job level. Perhaps change jobs to a competitor or another location after a few years.


The thing is you will have to move to other locations and work beyond the normal 40 hours a week. With a 10 year goal, you will probably have to change jobs every three years, moving up each time. So start looking for your next job as soon as you start your current one, always with an eye to toward higher position.
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:14 AM
 
Location: Live in NY, work in CT
11,266 posts, read 18,810,256 times
Reputation: 5096
First off, where do you live? There are far more $100K+ jobs in areas with a high cost of living like NYC or San Francisco area.

Second, it takes time. How soon depends on the career and it's demands. Engineering and many tech fields already start out with high entry level salaries and if you have a speciality that is very in demand but hard to staff it may only take a couple of years to get there.

Many Wall Street jobs have large annual bonuses that would easily put your pay over $100K

In the expensive areas even teaching public school (despite it's rep for low pay) if you can stay in one district enough years can get you over $100K, especially if you get a PhD and/or gain tenure.

Keep in mind that most $100K jobs will require a lot more (unpaid, since you'll be salaried) extra hours than jobs that pay below that. Good luck!
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:40 AM
 
Location: USA
6,230 posts, read 6,907,135 times
Reputation: 10779
Learn a skilled trade like underwater welding, you can easily make 100k+. Companies just don't hand out 100k a year to warm a cubicle seat anymore.
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:43 AM
 
2,951 posts, read 2,507,962 times
Reputation: 5292
You'll get there as an accountant. You don't need to change careers.
Consider moving. Vegas has a shortage of accountants.
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:49 AM
 
1,676 posts, read 1,529,304 times
Reputation: 2381
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_grimace View Post
This is a small business that is still fairly new, the owner ran the business with just an assistant for 5 years and just within the last two years bought an office building and has expanded the team to 8 full-time employees and some temps. I had interviewed for several jobs that offered 45-55k, but ultimately was rejected and kept hearing that they were hiring other candidates that had 3-5 years of experience compared to my 1 year.

My current career path with the company is to actually move into management within the year, especially as the company has plans to continue growing, but I worry that the pay will still remain subpar. I do enjoy my job quite a lot, but at the end of the day I have a family to support and bills to be paid so unfortunately money is important!
Maybe try checking out how the owner of your company runs it, and in a few years open your own firm. If you like working as much as you say you do you'll (hopefully) have success!
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Old 01-24-2016, 07:55 AM
 
2,665 posts, read 2,222,580 times
Reputation: 5008
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_grimace View Post
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!

You're an accountant. Start your own business.
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Old 01-24-2016, 10:03 AM
 
Location: NE Mississippi
25,439 posts, read 17,134,480 times
Reputation: 37134
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_grimace View Post
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!
Got an accounting degree?
You're set up to get a master's in Health Care Administration. You ought to see what those people make!
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Old 01-24-2016, 10:49 AM
 
1,256 posts, read 2,487,331 times
Reputation: 1906
Quote:
Originally Posted by Listener2307 View Post
Got an accounting degree?
You're set up to get a master's in Health Care Administration. You ought to see what those people make!
^ This. With this ACA, it is and will continue to be be one of the most sought-after fields.

Also: once you have a few years of experience under you belt, CHANGE EMPLOYERS!!! The whole "staying with the same employer and hoping they will give you a raise" model is DEAD!!!
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