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31yo Accountant without CPA here. Currently living in California and pay no rent.
Basically I'm trying to decide between two jobs. Need to decide very soon.
1st job: CPA firm, my title would be Senior Accountant, one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania. It's located in Pennsylvania and allows work from home. 55-hour weeks are expected during busy season (3 months of the year). Benefits are good. I would have to move to PA for this job and pay rent.
2nd job: not a CPA firm its a compliance company (family oriented type of company), my title would be Senior Accountant & Office Manager. I would be in charge of the whole accounting side of things. It's located in CA and I would save on rent by not having to move. I would have to commute every day (1 hour each way). No work from home. Pay is better at this job.
Keep in mind I am American born Pakistani Muslim and have a lot of family in CA.
It's a tough call and need to decide ASAP. Advise needed.
31yo Accountant without CPA here. Currently living in California and pay no rent.
Basically I'm trying to decide between two jobs. Need to decide very soon.
1st job: CPA firm, my title would be Senior Accountant, one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania. It's located in Pennsylvania and allows work from home. 55-hour weeks are expected during busy season (3 months of the year). Benefits are good. I would have to move to PA for this job and pay rent.
2nd job: not a CPA firm its a compliance company (family oriented type of company), my title would be Senior Accountant & Office Manager. I would be in charge of the whole accounting side of things. It's located in CA and I would save on rent by not having to move. I would have to commute every day (1 hour each way). No work from home. Pay is better at this job.
Keep in mind I am American born Pakistani Muslim and have a lot of family in CA.
It's a tough call and need to decide ASAP. Advise needed.
The question boils down to if you want to relocate to the east coast. Only you can answer that.
As for the rent free situation, at 31, I would be looking to move out on my own no matter where I lived. Take the CA job, get an apartment close to the office. As others have said, get your CPA.
Do they pay the same amount? Is the job in PA, paying your relocation costs? If your plan is to work for a CPA firm, as others stated you should get your CPA. I have some friends that were accountants and had more than 55 hours/week during the busy months. So be prepared that it could be more hours.
I had a similar predicament before where I was offered two jobs in the same week. One in the Atlanta area and another in Orange County. I lived in LA county at the time. Since I was single with no kids and the company paid relocation costs, I thought it would be a nice change to try something different so took the ATL job. I had a good time in ATL, but the job didn't last too long (about 4 years) before getting laid off. Thankfully I was able to find a job in SoCal that paid my moving expenses. My thought process from the start, was that even if I hated ATL I could always just move myself back to SoCal.
Do you like cold weather and snow? I knew a guy from CA who moved to Boston and lasted less than 1 year. We had multiple blizzards that winter and he had never been more miserable in his life. Plus he missed his family and friends.
I would pick the CA job, unless the PA job is a great opportunity. A senior accountant position in a CPA firm is not a great opportunity, literally every single cpa firm hires before tax season, they will take anyone with a pulse. If you don't take this job now, there will be hundreds of other cpa firm opportunities, they are always hiring. It is always more than 55 hours. They all say that number.
I would stay in California. Moving around to try new places is not what it is all cracked up to be. I would stay near family and stay near your roots. When all is said and done you will likely have stronger and richer relationships in your lifetime if you stick around where you were planted.
Also there is nothing in PA that you cannot find in CA unless your career was something very specific and if a new location was a necessity.
The "work at home" but you have to move to PA is ridiculous. If they are full time working from home (due to pandemic) then you should not have to move to PA.
Thanks for the responses. I forgot to mention I have 3 years of experience in public accounting and 3 years in private accounting. I’m definitely aiming for the CPA license.
The PA job requires more work hours and I agree with the other guy that it’s ridiculous to WFH but move to PA.
Meanwhile, the CA job requires the 1-hour commute each way.
I am trying to decide by tomorrow morning hopefully as time is running out.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by HoneyWest
Neither one at this time imo
I agree. This is not a good time to change jobs with a global pandemic, and changes in national leadership.
Unless you are unemployed or your current employer is already experiencing problems, I would hold off for at least a year.
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