Why is accounting known as the "boring" career? (employed, credit)
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.
Aren't a LOT of others out there as boring or even more boring? But why does accounting have this huge stigma?
Haha, I just had to chime in on this one after receiving both my undergrad and master's in accounting. Don't let people tell you accounting is boring. You have to decide what you find to be boring in life for yourself. You can mention almost any job and somebody will tell you it's boring. However, I think that accounting got this reputation because accountants are often portrayed as conservative, beancounters. Accounting is pretty much like any other office profession. You work with a computer and do paperwork. There are so many different areas of accounting to work in. Currently, I work for the IRS as an internal revenue agent. I realize they are not the most liked of people.
My husband is an accountant (controller) he is not boring! He was one of the wildest people I ever knew when we were younger. You know the type...work hard, play hard.
But...
I will say that almost everyone he has ever worked with in the accounting dept. was boring, dull, black and white kind of people. If the sterotype fits...
I don't know about accounting being boring/for boring people, but I know you have to be smart to understand it. I had to take an intro accounting course for my undergraduate minor in Business Administration. I had to take the class twice...summer school and accounting DON'T mix!
I took a lot of accounting in college even though I was a business management major just because I figured I'd need it. Hated the courses (intermediate accounting especially). As was stated earlier, if a stereotype fits, so be it. The majority of the accounting majors fit the stereotype and the CPA's I've known sense also do. Nice guys, but not exactly the most outgoing.
My accountant actually looks at accounting as a game. If something doesn't balance he actually looks at it as a fun challenge to find the problem. Don't let the IRS say he did something wrong on a tax return or once again it's game time. He'll battle them I believe just for fun or send in amended returns for subsequent years and get your money back. I'd be a nervous wreck playing his "game". He's good. Accountants are a different breed.
I think it can be boring or not depending on your approach and specialty. Step-daughter started accounting work this year and frequently travels to do audits, it's detail-oriented number crunching work but not necessarily boring. That said I don't see a lot of room for creativity in accounting, but I'm an engineer by trade and have a degree in physics, so don't know that much about accounting.
Numbers (and, by extension, number crunchers) don't get a lot of credit for being super interesting, creative, or thrilling, but a lot of that's just perception. There are those who definitely hold to the stereotype of being dry, anal, uncreative, uptight...I probably am guilty of assuming the stereotype fits...or at least, I was until I got into a long-term relationship with a jazz piano-playing English major who does creative writing...and is currently pursuing a master's in accounting. His current gig has him investigating financial fraud for an insurance company, and a ton of that is investigated through accounting. Being a "numbers guy" (or girl) doesn't necessarily preclude being literary, artsy, creative, or laid back. Some people are multifaceted and multitalented. I only wish I were as skilled with numbers as he is.
Personally, I've never been interested, or skilled, at even rudimentary accounting. Numbers have never held the appeal to me that words do (English teacher by training and always been employed in careers involving writing and/or educating about writing and reading), but I can see how for some, numbers hold that same sort of appeal. For my boyfriend, I know he approaches accounting like mastering a puzzle. I can get that.
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.
