22-Year Old Need Advice (Tampa, Orlando: real estate, job market, transfer to)

[dpare14]

Hi there,

I'm a 22 year old finishing up my undergraduate degree in Accounting. I'm hoping to attain my CPA license and my masters degree asap. Here is where I need advice. I went to Sarasota this past week and fell in love with it. Everyone was extremely nice and polite, something that is tough to find in the Boston Area. I loved the vibe downtown and of course the beaches and the weather. I have much more family down there than I do up here.

The easy answer may be to move down to Sarasota, but how is the job situation down there? I know accounting is in High demand everywhere and I'm hoping this is the case for the sarasota area. I've been doing a solid amount of research in the forums but I would love an individualized reply. Here are my questions.

1. How is the young crowd down there?
2. Accounting job situation?
3. Good Baptist Churches?
4. Nightlife?
I think I know the answers to these questions from what I saw down there, but a reply from someone who actually lives there would be awesome.

Thanks a ton,
Dan

[Nancy in Nokomis]

1. I think the average age in Sarasota is 50 - not many young people but if you look hard enough you can find them.
2. Jobs are not very plentiful - I think the most accounting jobs might be in D.C, Houston, N.Y., Atlanta - not sure if Sarasota is a hotbed of financial jobs. Florida jobs are also low paying as compared to the rest of the country.
3. Plenty of nice Baptist churches
4. I am married with young kids so not sure of the night life - but I assume its an older crowd. Jimmy Buffet types.

But I agree - the beaches are breathtaking and the people are very friendly here.

[dpare14]

From what I've heard, the cost of living is much cheaper in FL so maybe a pay downgrade wouldn't be a detrimental? Especially with the quality of life down there.

I've come to the realization that you should enjoy where you live. Up here in Mass, it's very fast-paced and I feel that people work , work and work and rarely do things that they actually enjoy.

Thanks a lot for your reply it was very helpful

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Is your speciality tax or audit? Given the size of Sarasota, the lack of industry other than real estate and tourism, there is not likely to be much audit work. Companies that require audits are more likely to be in Tampa. However, Sarasota should have tons of work in the estate and gift tax area. A friend described Sarasota as "God's waiting room".

You might want to think about getting a year under your belt and then applying. Firms are usually reluctant to hire from out of town if the person has no work experience.

Have you looked on the websites of the big CPA firms to see if they are hiring? Study them all and get a feel for the personality of each firm. Then put on your best sweet likeable voice and call and ask for HR. Ask what their hiring patterns are. When they hire what kind of people do they hire. Lots of firms take all their new hires from one school. Maybe they have a marketing email--you know--tax news you can use. Ask to be put on their mailing list. Have a good list of questions before you call. Go to the bookstore and pore over one of those books about interviewing. They often have good questions. Run you list by your professors and get input.

It is never too early to start networking. If the firm sponsors participants in charitable events, you might want to try and make your next visit there to coincide with that event. If the firm sponsors a walking team for cancer or whatever, walk with them and talk with them and get to know them.

In most firms it is the accounting seniors who make the hiring decisions. While in general it is shocking in Sarasota to see people in their 50s and 60s in positions that would be held by people in their 20s and 30s in other places. I don't know if that is true in accounting in Sarasota. Accounting firms usually use young people for cannon fodder in the entry levels. They work em real hard. If that is true in Sarasota, you should not have much competition in Sarasota cause there are not many young people.

Are you a member of SAS? Is there a chapter at any of the local schools? For that matter, do any of the local schools have accounting programs? If they do, you should go to a meeting when you are in town and quiz the other students and the faculty sponsor. They will give you the scoop.

Best of luck to you.

[TamRE]

The job market still isn't that great down here. Here are some job search sites you can try just to give you an idea of what is out there.

www.employflorida.com, www.heraldtribune.com, www.jobfocus.com, www.indeed.com, www.craigslist.com

[sware2cod]

You should look at the Tampa/St Pete job market. Much bigger city where more good jobs are available. Sarasota is small townish when it comes to jobs. They are usually mom-and-pop companies or very small corporations, for the most part.

But Tampa/St Pete has some Fortune 500 companies and lots of other mid-sized companies. Also some parts of Tampa/St Pete have a younger crowd. This is because the younger folks live closer to their jobs.

[loves2read]

you might also consider trying for government job in the Tampa area
I know that the budget issue is getting waves but the government uses plenty of accountants-

it might be worth looking at the .gov site
the entry level jobs may not pay much but there are good benefits and once you are hired most promotions are open only to Federal employees...and you can try for transfer to locations like Hawaii, San Diego, or even locations out of the US

might find this article interesting
http://www.accountingweb.com/blogs/m...ral-government

these are the jobs under "accountant" that show up within 200 miles of Tampa
depending on what you search for you could get other leads
https://www.usajobs.gov/JobSearch/Se...arch=Search%21

[loves2read]

PS my understanding of the CPA process is that it requires any applicant to have work experience before taking the test...so you have to clear that hurdle before you can apply...

[SportsMarketer]

You may want to check out Orlando as well. Downtown Orlando is almost entirely comprised of young singles, plenty of baptist churches and both the east and west coast beaches are only an hours drive.

[dpare14]

Awesome guys, thank you for all of the advice. @cardiff. I'm open to either audit or tax but would prefer to go down the auditing route.

It seems that Sarasota would be a great place to retire, but as for the job market it seems to be lacking. I'll check out the Tampa Bay region.

Thanks again!