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Accounting careers

demondeachem

demondeachem

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To make a long story short, I graduated from MSD with a BS in Chemistry, started Pharmacy school, and I am having serious second thoughts about my decision. I graduated with friends who are enjoying their careers in accounting, so naturally I am interested to learn more about the field than what most career websites can offer. I am in the very early stages of investigating an MS in Accountancy, but of course nothing is set in stone yet.

I hope that there are at least a few accountants out there who might be willing to shed some light on the pros and cons of their profession, what they feel is required to enjoy a successful career in accounting, and any other information they may have to offer. I would be very interested in learning more about the field, and would appreciate the advice of fellow Deacons.

Thanks in advance
 
demondeachem said:
To make a long story short, I graduated from MSD with a BS in Chemistry, started Pharmacy school, and I am having serious second thoughts about my decision. I graduated with friends who are enjoying their careers in accounting, so naturally I am interested to learn more about the field than what most career websites can offer. I am in the very early stages of investigating an MS in Accountancy, but of course nothing is set in stone yet.

I hope that there are at least a few accountants out there who might be willing to shed some light on the pros and cons of their profession, what they feel is required to enjoy a successful career in accounting, and any other information they may have to offer. I would be very interested in learning more about the field, and would appreciate the advice of fellow Deacons.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

This part is a joke, right?
 
It takes about 5-8 years in accounting to get where you want to go. The work is somewhat stressful so your enjoyment will rely more heavily on whether you enjoy your office culture/superiors. Then afterwards you can either make a good living staying in public accounting, or live a more enjoyable life in private.

If you're the type that repetitive things don't bother you you'll enjoy it more.
 
palmab03 said:
It takes about 5-8 years in accounting to get where you want to go. The work is somewhat stressful so your enjoyment will rely more heavily on whether you enjoy your office culture/superiors. Then afterwards you can either make a good living staying in public accounting, or live a more enjoyable life in private.

If you're the type that repetitive things don't bother you you'll enjoy it more.
Click to expand...

Alot of it can depend. In some offices, you can be put on one big job doing the same thing over and over, and in other offices, you can move around from job to job often. I was pretty lucky in my big 4 environment. I wasn't worked to death and I got to do alot of different stuff. I thought it was a great job for somebody with a short attention span, because I would be somewhere completely different two weeks later.

Moving out of Big 4 and going into business competing against the Big 4, especially switching from audit to corporate tax, was scary at first, but it was the best decision I ever made.

I like my accounting career. It isn't like I wake up every morning and go "YES, I GET TO GO TO WORK!!!", but who does?
 
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Thanks for the replies so far.

Would you say that it's fairly common in accounting to reach a point where you can afford to live comfortably (NOT extravagantly) with a family without having to put all of your time into the job? I would definitely prefer to have something that allows me to have a decent balance between home and work, and I absolutely want to be able to leave my job at the office, if that makes sense.

Also, would you say it's feasible to start a family during the early years of an accounting career? I'm already married and we'd like to start having kids before we're 30. At this point I'd be finishing an MS in accountancy around the age of 28 or 29. This is one of my major reasons for hesitating to leave pharmacy, because as long as I can find work, i can expect to make around $100k at 28 years old. I know speaking about salary numbers makes some people uncomfortable, so please don't address that if it's an issue for you. Unfortunately the money really is a considerable part of the decision for me.
 
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ChrisL68 said:
Alot of it can depend. In some offices, you can be put on one big job doing the same thing over and over, and in other offices, you can move around from job to job often. I was pretty lucky in my big 4 environment. I wasn't worked to death and I got to do alot of different stuff. I thought it was a great job for somebody with a short attention span, because I would be somewhere completely different two weeks later.

Moving out of Big 4 and going into business competing against the Big 4, especially switching from audit to corporate tax, was scary at first, but it was the best decision I ever made.

I like my accounting career. It isn't like I wake up every morning and go "YES, I GET TO GO TO WORK!!!", but who does?
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Me!!
 
demondeachem said:
To make a long story short, I graduated from MSD with a BS in Chemistry, started Pharmacy school, and I am having serious second thoughts about my decision. I graduated with friends who are enjoying their careers in accounting, so naturally I am interested to learn more about the field than what most career websites can offer. I am in the very early stages of investigating an MS in Accountancy, but of course nothing is set in stone yet.

I hope that there are at least a few accountants out there who might be willing to shed some light on the pros and cons of their profession, what they feel is required to enjoy a successful career in accounting, and any other information they may have to offer. I would be very interested in learning more about the field, and would appreciate the advice of fellow Deacons.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Rent Breaking Bad before making your decision.
 
ChrisL68 said:
Alot of it can depend. In some offices, you can be put on one big job doing the same thing over and over, and in other offices, you can move around from job to job often. I was pretty lucky in my big 4 environment. I wasn't worked to death and I got to do alot of different stuff. I thought it was a great job for somebody with a short attention span, because I would be somewhere completely different two weeks later.

Moving out of Big 4 and going into business competing against the Big 4, especially switching from audit to corporate tax, was scary at first, but it was the best decision I ever made.

I like my accounting career. It isn't like I wake up every morning and go "YES, I GET TO GO TO WORK!!!", but who does?
Click to expand...

Married male pornstars?
 
demondeachem said:
Thanks for the replies so far.

Would you say that it's fairly common in accounting to reach a point where you can afford to live comfortably (NOT extravagantly) with a family without having to put all of your time into the job? I would definitely prefer to have something that allows me to have a decent balance between home and work, and I absolutely want to be able to leave my job at the office, if that makes sense.

Also, would you say it's feasible to start a family during the early years of an accounting career? I'm already married and we'd like to start having kids before we're 30. At this point I'd be finishing an MS in accountancy around the age of 28 or 29. This is one of my major reasons for hesitating to leave pharmacy, because as long as I can find work, i can expect to make around $100k at 28 years old. I know speaking about salary numbers makes some people uncomfortable, so please don't address that if it's an issue for you. Unfortunately the money really is a considerable part of the decision for me.
Click to expand...

No, you aren't going to start out in accounting making $100K per year. When I started in 1998, first year staff was making in the low $40s. Not sure what it is now but It hasn't jumped up that much.

I am 42, live very comfortably as the sole provider for my family of 4, and my work life balance is almost entirely driven by whether a client has a deadline. But in the summer, if I am in the office, I can go to work in shorts and tennis shoes.
 
(1) I'm not an accountant
(2) My father was an accountant, CPA and graduate of WFU and ran a major corporation for a number of years.

The one thing I learned? An accounting background often, not always, positions a highly motivated person toward senior corporate leadership because major corporations deal with counting beans on a daily basis.

Just my 2 cents.
 
demondeachem said:
Thanks for the replies so far.

Would you say that it's fairly common in accounting to reach a point where you can afford to live comfortably (NOT extravagantly) with a family without having to put all of your time into the job? I would definitely prefer to have something that allows me to have a decent balance between home and work, and I absolutely want to be able to leave my job at the office, if that makes sense.

Also, would you say it's feasible to start a family during the early years of an accounting career? I'm already married and we'd like to start having kids before we're 30. At this point I'd be finishing an MS in accountancy around the age of 28 or 29. This is one of my major reasons for hesitating to leave pharmacy, because as long as I can find work, i can expect to make around $100k at 28 years old. I know speaking about salary numbers makes some people uncomfortable, so please don't address that if it's an issue for you. Unfortunately the money really is a considerable part of the decision for me.
Click to expand...

Expect to start at $50k if you go big 4, less at smaller firms. 5-12% raises would be my guess (with a bigger boost during promotion years obviously), highly variable depending on economic climate. 5-12% bonuses too, performance based.
 
An MBA maybe a better route, especially if you want to use your chemistry degree. Going into investment research and/or analysis will be a lot more interesting than accounting.
 
TBR said:
Expect to start at $50k if you go big 4
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Srsly? Would have expected more. I started in the low 40s twelve years ago. Have since changed fields (sort of).
 
demondeachem said:
I would definitely prefer to have something that allows me to have a decent balance between home and work....
Click to expand...

No longer in accounting, but, based on my past experience, it allows decent balance, on average. I.e., some parts of the year, you are working 70-80 hours a week with little/no time for home/family; during other parts of the year, you are working 40-45 hours a week.
 
wakelaxer said:
An MBA maybe a better route, especially if you want to use your chemistry degree. Going into investment research and/or analysis will be a lot more interesting than accounting.
Click to expand...

Definitely have thought about this, because I'd hate to let a good degree go to waste. I was under the impression that MBAs are a dime a dozen these days and may not be as useful as a CPA. I'm certainly no expert though.
 
wakelaxer said:
An MBA maybe a better route, especially if you want to use your chemistry degree. Going into investment research and/or analysis will be a lot more interesting than accounting.
Click to expand...

good advice
 
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