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So I am currently trying to get as much information as I can regarding accounting and an accounting career. I graduated with an BBA already and I am having trouble 1. finding a job 2. find a job that I enjoy. I got a job out of college as a claims adjuster for an insurance company and hated it, mostly due to the sheer volume of case load and having to constantly argue and be in conflicts with customers. Needless to say I recently quit my job and I am doing some soul searching. Terrified to put myself in the same situation and realizing that a general degree wont get you too far these days, I have been taking some time to consider my current position. I have been doing a lot of research on different career paths and have taken numerous personality tests. After doing this, the conclusion I am being drawn to is accounting. I have researched into the accounting field and I have developed a plan to start an accounting career. There is a MS accountancy program at my local university and the big 4, and other firms, heavily recruit from this program. This program also includes a 4 month paid internship, is only a year long, would obviously not require me to relocated, and is fairly cheap (compared to a lot of graduate programs).
So, I have a few questions for people who are in the accounting field or who have accounting knowledge. 1. Does this plan seem like a decent way to go? 2. Although I have taken a years worth of accounting in undergrad and several personality tests have strongly recommended accounting as a career, how do I know its right for me? I know that the most common response will likely be "only you will know" or something along those lines. However, if you HAD to make suggestions on how one would know if accounting is right for them, what would you say? I just want to make sure that I dont do all the prereqs, take the gmat, write a personal statement, pay 30+k and spend a year of my time going toward something only to find out a year into the actual work.."oh yea..this isnt for me"
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Unfortunately many places like ours require 5 years experience for the lowest level accounting positions. We do, however, sometimes hire graduate interns (paid) but they have to be enrolled in a
graduate school for the fall to qualify for that summer. Local branches of some of the big firms do hire right out of college but seem to prefer the highest GPA graduates from the local University of Washington.
Find a cheaper graduate school. You can get an MS in Accounting around here for 16,000 or so out the door.
The return on investment for that loan is poor, especially if you have other debts.
Really? I looked was only able to find a couple ms accounting degree programs where I live and they were typically about 40k, and they didn't include a paid internship so I thought 30k (technically 29 but that doesn't include books) was a relatively good find. Additionally, that is 30k total because I wouldn't have to relocate. So if I was somehow able to locate a 16k program the cost of having to relocate would bump the cost up I imagine. Just out of curiosity where are these programs?
So I am currently trying to get as much information as I can regarding accounting and an accounting career. I graduated with an BBA already and I am having trouble 1. finding a job 2. find a job that I enjoy. I got a job out of college as a claims adjuster for an insurance company and hated it, mostly due to the sheer volume of case load and having to constantly argue and be in conflicts with customers. Needless to say I recently quit my job and I am doing some soul searching. Terrified to put myself in the same situation and realizing that a general degree wont get you too far these days, I have been taking some time to consider my current position. I have been doing a lot of research on different career paths and have taken numerous personality tests. After doing this, the conclusion I am being drawn to is accounting. I have researched into the accounting field and I have developed a plan to start an accounting career. There is a MS accountancy program at my local university and the big 4, and other firms, heavily recruit from this program. This program also includes a 4 month paid internship, is only a year long, would obviously not require me to relocated, and is fairly cheap (compared to a lot of graduate programs).
So, I have a few questions for people who are in the accounting field or who have accounting knowledge. 1. Does this plan seem like a decent way to go? 2. Although I have taken a years worth of accounting in undergrad and several personality tests have strongly recommended accounting as a career, how do I know its right for me? I know that the most common response will likely be "only you will know" or something along those lines. However, if you HAD to make suggestions on how one would know if accounting is right for them, what would you say? I just want to make sure that I dont do all the prereqs, take the gmat, write a personal statement, pay 30+k and spend a year of my time going toward something only to find out a year into the actual work.."oh yea..this isnt for me"
I bolded a part of your post. Tread carefully, if you plan to do Accounting... consider:
Accounts Receivable: you can be in conflict with customers
Billing: you can be in conflict with customers
Payroll: you can be in conflict with fellow employees
Audit: you can be in conflict with clients
This can be in variable degrees of conflict, but you get the picture.
Also if going for Accounting, I would plan to go for the CPA to make it worthwhile.
Oh just thought about another part of your question on the conflict with customers. If you get into the behind the scenes of accounting, you don't have to worry about the conflicts.
I would not do payroll either...people get really bent out of shape because of their paychecks. You can start out in Accounts Payable as I'm doing now. Easier to deal with. As for Accounts Receivable, if you do this for a company collecting for other companies, it is much easier. People are more professional and highly unlikely to scream in your ear. Just a few thoughts from experience.
I bolded a part of your post. Tread carefully, if you plan to do Accounting... consider:
Accounts Receivable: you can be in conflict with customers
Billing: you can be in conflict with customers
Payroll: you can be in conflict with fellow employees
Audit: you can be in conflict with clients
This can be in variable degrees of conflict, but you get the picture.
Also if going for Accounting, I would plan to go for the CPA to make it worthwhile.
FYI, A/R, Billing (i.e. Accounts Payble), and Payroll are all para-professional jobs. As a professional staff accountant, you might look at those areas to check if they are properly recorded according to GAAP, but you don't actually deal with customers or employees.
As for audit, my interactions with clients have 99% been very professional. If they don't like a testing procedure or an interpretation, they resolve the issue in a professional manner. If they antagonize their auditor, it just creates more headaches and larger bills for them.
My problems have been with my bosses who want you to do an insane amount of things in an unreasonable budget, or when you have to try to cajole better work from people underneath you. It's never outright hostility, just a lot of passive aggressiveness.
I bolded a part of your post. Tread carefully, if you plan to do Accounting... consider:
Accounts Receivable: you can be in conflict with customers
Billing: you can be in conflict with customers
Payroll: you can be in conflict with fellow employees
Audit: you can be in conflict with clients
This can be in variable degrees of conflict, but you get the picture.
Also if going for Accounting, I would plan to go for the CPA to make it worthwhile.
All of the above you can also be in conflict with fellow employees. I have never witnessed more conflict coming from any department as accounting.
All of the above you can also be in conflict with fellow employees. I have never witnessed more conflict coming from any department as accounting.
agree!
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