Accountants: Do you like your job?

[Viktri]

Originally Posted by longskate88

No, I don't have any experience with them, that's what I'm curious about...is it really that bad?

Depends on "bad". Have you heard of the phrase 'tax season'? Everyone wants their taxes done ASAP so you put out tons of T1s and work lots of overtime. It isn't hard work (usually) but you spend significant time on it.

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by Viktri

Depends on "bad". Have you heard of the phrase 'tax season'? Everyone wants their taxes done ASAP so you put out tons of T1s and work lots of overtime. It isn't hard work (usually) but you spend significant time on it.


Oh ya, I know about tax season

. The thing I need to find out is if I like doing the work enough to be able to do it for the 12 hour days, that's the issue here, not whether or not the busy season exists.

 

[Viktri]

I don't go to work thinking "yeah, I'm gonna work on some T1's/T2's/audits" and worrying whether or not I'm going to get bored of it. I go to work knowing I'm going to be chatting with my coworkers and trying to get as much work done as possible in the time I spend there. You figure out whether or not you are good with people and can work in a close knit environment before you decide whether or not the work is too difficult for you. The work isn't incredibly difficult so it is more or less a non-factor imo. If your mindset is otherwise I'm not sure if you're the type of person who would thrive in an accounting office (I don't have enough experience to say). A senior manager told me when he started that he went back to public practice (was formerly CFO of 2 internationally traded companies, not F-500) because he missed the comradery not because of the money (which is **** compared to what he was making).

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by Viktri

I don't go to work thinking "yeah, I'm gonna work on some T1's/T2's/audits" and worrying whether or not I'm going to get bored of it.

I go to work knowing I'm going to be chatting with my coworkers and trying to get as much work done as possible in the time I spend there.

You figure out whether or not you are good with people and can work in a close knit environment before you decide whether or not the work is too difficult for you. The work isn't incredibly difficult so it is more or less a non-factor imo. If your mindset is otherwise I'm not sure if you're the type of person who would thrive in an accounting office (I don't have enough experience to say). A senior manager told me when he started that he went back to public practice (was formerly CFO of 2 internationally traded companies, not F-500) because he missed the comradery not because of the money (which is **** compared to what he was making).

So you're saying the friendly office environment is what makes the work bearable, the work itself is just what you do when you're not directly engaged in conversation? In other words, you could be doing ANY other kind of paperwork and still be satisfied if the people you worked with were enjoyable? And I always thought accountants were supposed to be the anti-social ones

Assuming you had no friends in the office and no one to talk to, then you wouldn't enjoy it? Do you talk about work, gossip, personal lives, >?

 

[Viktri]

Originally Posted by longskate88

So you're saying the friendly office environment is what makes the work bearable,
Yes

Originally Posted by longskate88

the work itself is just what you do when you're not directly engaged in conversation? In other words, you could be doing ANY other kind of paperwork and still be satisfied if the people you worked with were enjoyable?
yes That's why people always emphasize that grades aren't the end all. (even in this thread)

Originally Posted by longskate88

And I always thought accountants were supposed to be the anti-social ones

Do more research and form your own opinion. All the guys in accounting that I know are very sociable but that's not representative of any population besides the guys I know.

Originally Posted by longskate88

Assuming you had no friends in the office and no one to talk to, then you wouldn't enjoy it?
yes (same would be true in any job for myself)

Originally Posted by longskate88

Do you talk about work, gossip, personal lives, >?
Depends on who I'm talking with.

 

[Mr T]

There are other options that may offer some excitement. For instance: http://www.fbijobs.gov/111.asp

 

[joeygladstone]

I've taken 3 accounting classes in school. They are some of the most boring classes ever.

 

[Johnny_5]

You have contributed so much joey. Thanks.

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

You have contributed so much joey. Thanks.

I don't know, the accounting classes I took so far weren't so bad, but the meat of it starts next semester!

Thanks for info about the FBI, sounds interesting and well-paying, save for the relocation requirement whenever they feel like it

 

[Spatlese]

Originally Posted by joeygladstone

I've taken 3 accounting classes in school. They are some of the most boring classes ever.

 

[AlmostSmart]

I'm in the UK, just getting to the end of my ACCA studies. Not sure if the equivalent body is in the USA? (Association Chartered Certified Accountants)

Are there are members in SF who are at the strategy level in their studies?

 

[Tck13]

Originally Posted by longskate88

Yes, that's my opinion too. You're selling services and products, which I don't want to do. I just want to talk to people about their money, and how best to utilize it. Would that be some type of budget analyst?


Not sure if this has been answered but, there are fee only advisors. This type IMO is the most reputable. They're not salesmen as you just pay them to advise you. They don't sell products, just education.

 

[Clown Shoes]

Originally Posted by longskate88

So you're saying the friendly office environment is what makes the work bearable, the work itself is just what you do when you're not directly engaged in conversation? In other words, you could be doing ANY other kind of paperwork and still be satisfied if the people you worked with were enjoyable? And I always thought accountants were supposed to be the anti-social ones

Assuming you had no friends in the office and no one to talk to, then you wouldn't enjoy it? Do you talk about work, gossip, personal lives, >?
Dealing with the clients is the fun part of the job. Office environment? Not much of that aside from cleaning up the audit. Most of your work is done at the client and little is done at the firm office. You wont even have an assigned desk at your firm if you go big 4 in NYC. As for limited work in the summer? Not entirely true. A tad lighter on the load and shorter work weeks hour wise compared to busy season but I was still at clients for regular end of year audits, Qs, SOX, inventories, etc. Not all clients have year ends on dec 31.

Originally Posted by Mr T

There are other options that may offer some excitement. For instance: http://www.fbijobs.gov/111.asp
FBI isnt the only agency and realistically speaking is the most well know therefore it draws the most applicants. Look into the job series, 1811 criminal investigator, and youll find that there are dozens of agencies that have interesting areas of investigation, less applicants, and value the accounting background moreso than a non technical degree.

 

[JAY13]

Thanks for all the great real world info! I am working on my undergrad in Finance, but it seems like I would be much more marketable with an Accounting degree given the foreseeable trend towards greater transparency and regulation. Do you guys agree with this assessment or not? I am only a junior and have the ability to switch to Accounting if I so chose (I enjoy both, finance slightly more), so any advice would be greatly appreciative.

 

[gqreader239]

Im in my junior year at UT and am following a general finance degree track. Does anyone have experiences with the MPA/PPA (masters program for accounting) degree? Many accounting students I know are going through the program. My peers all say it is extremely hard and takes up an extra year. However, they all say that they are guaranteed a job when they graduate. Is that true? Is anyone ever guaranteed a job because of a certain degree they hold? Is the masters degree that desireable?