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Hey everyone. I'm finishing up my junior year in accounting and I've become disheartened lately. The majority of seniors I know can't find employment in the area (Hartford, CT). I do have part time work doing some book keeping but can't find any internships despite my best efforts. I was wondering how everyone else has been doing in regards to finding entry level work in accounting? I hope it's just a temporary lag in the job market and nothing long term.
Basically you just have to shoot your resume out to anyone and everyone. If you just a junior, no need to panic. Seems like most accounting firms and businesses will pick you up as a senior when you are getting ready to graduate in may.
The accounting society is probably where 95% of all your connections are going to be made. The other 5% will probably be in the classroom. Make sure you network as thats the main way to get a job.
If you ask me, accounting is going to be on shaky grounds in the coming years especially with IFRS getting ready to go mainstream. Probably in the next 5 years or so everyone in the entire world will be reporting based on IFRS standards. That means your accounting grad in the USA, India and china will all be learning the exact same thing. Once that happens there is going to be massive downward pressure on US accounting wages so they'll begin to match salaries in China and India. Most of the major accounting firms already have offices in every single country so its very easy to shift the work load overseas. Your average Indian worker makes 1/5th of what an american makes. If you make 50k/usd as an accountant in the USA, your indian counterpart is making 10k/year doing the exact same thing. You probably won't see massive layoffs, it'll probably be something similar to the dot com crash.
Acctg, much like legal and tech support, etc, is continually being offshored as poss to India or rest of ThirdWorld...easy stuff in a virtualized, globalized era
Always remain a self-learning student dvpg higher-value skills that are less easy to commoditize via any tech
That said, would look into jobs/career opps in Greenwich hedge fund back-offices....or SiliconValley BigTech...but realize any back-office tasks like acctg, legal, IT support, etc are at continuing risk of automation, outsourcing, offshoring...what any competent shareholder expects of any well-run, maximally profitable company today that uses latest/greatest tech to maximize efficiency...stuff anyone conversant in basic finance or tech or common sense understands
BTW, BigTech in SV are far more advanced than Luddite HFs in CT/NYC in having already offshored much of back-office stuff...
Hey everyone. I'm finishing up my junior year in accounting and I've become disheartened lately. The majority of seniors I know can't find employment in the area (Hartford, CT). I do have part time work doing some book keeping but can't find any internships despite my best efforts. I was wondering how everyone else has been doing in regards to finding entry level work in accounting? I hope it's just a temporary lag in the job market and nothing long term.
Have you joined your local CPA association? If not, then I highly recommend you to do that. I joined the NJSCPA during my last year of school and that helped a lot. They host many events to help future accountants to find employment and to successfully pass the CPA exam.
I was offered a position as staff accountant at the company I did my internship. Then, I moved onto public accounting. Some of my former class mates ended up at big four firms after their internships at Siemens. Needless to say, we graduated from a for profit school that many people look down on. Here in Jersey the labor market for accountants seems to be good. Are you willing to relocate? Have you done enough network efforts? Have you joined Accounting charters or associations that may help in your search? Although the implementation of IFRS is imminent, it is not the end of the world.
Last edited by Ed Guitar; 05-14-2011 at 08:49 PM..
Are you trying to go public, government, or industry? I just got hired in the Healthcare field as a Staff Accountant. I just finished my Post-baccalaureate certificate in Accounting last Wednesday. I got hired pretty much through my school. The Business school sent all the Accounting majors an e-mail asking us to send our resume and cover letters if interested and they will forward to the hiring manager of the company. After two interviews I was hired. Eventually I want to go into public or government auditing, but this isn't a bad start...
While I don't have an internship lined up, I do have a good book keeping job that exposes me to a lot of accounting experience. It is through my fathers company, but its still solid experience.
I have joined my states CPA association and made a lot of networking connections. I have a solid GPA, 3.5, but the competition for every internship and every entry level accounting job seems so high around here. Since I'm a junior I'm not searching for work right now, but I know a lot of my classmates and friends that are and cant find anything.
At this point I'm wondering if it's just the area in general. While Hartford does have a strong economic presence, its by no means a huge city. I would definitely be willing to relocate if I have to and there are some great cities close by, NYC and Stamford.
I'm just curious how things are in the rest of the country.
Hey everyone. I'm finishing up my junior year in accounting and I've become disheartened lately. The majority of seniors I know can't find employment in the area (Hartford, CT). I do have part time work doing some book keeping but can't find any internships despite my best efforts. I was wondering how everyone else has been doing in regards to finding entry level work in accounting? I hope it's just a temporary lag in the job market and nothing long term.
Like any profession, accounting firms and industry reduced their hiring due to the recession. In a year or two, I believe that there will be greater demand for entry-level accountants.
As for off-shoring accounting jobs, it is a reality. However, most of teh jobs I have seen outsourced are very transactional positions that do not require a degree.
One piece of advice. I graduated as an undergraduate during a period of 14% unemployment in the region and from graduate school when unemployment was nearly as bad as today. You have to be flexible and consider a lot of opportunities which may not be your "ideal" job. Also, you have to be ready to move anywhere in the country. Two many recent graduates want to work where they live and not consider any other locales. For example, I have a relative who will not consider a job more than 35 miles away from her parents. (For the record, I moved from Ohio to Richmond, VA for my first position.)
One more thing. If you are looking for a job in the public accounting world, a lot of the recruiting for the large firms is done through the college professors in the major programs. It is critical that you make contacts with these professors and develop a relationship.
Hey everyone. I'm finishing up my junior year in accounting and I've become disheartened lately. The majority of seniors I know can't find employment in the area (Hartford, CT). I do have part time work doing some book keeping but can't find any internships despite my best efforts. I was wondering how everyone else has been doing in regards to finding entry level work in accounting? I hope it's just a temporary lag in the job market and nothing long term.
What school are you at? I know that at least one of the Big4 firms actively recruits from UConn.
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