sabaruch

I like how this popped up on the front page as today is my last day as an accountant. This afternoon (Friday) I will walk out of my sweat shop of a big 4 firm a happy man. I’ve been at work till at least 10 pm for the past 3 weeks and worked every Saturday since Jan. 1. No thanks…
I’ll tell anybody, Big 4 is a great place to begin a career, but that’s about it. Do 1-2 years, get your CPA, and get out. The hours you are required to put in are completely insane relative to the pay until you are at least a manager. Bonuses are virtually non existent. Unless you deep down enjoy the work, or have your heart set on being partner, there are very few reasons to stay at it for more then 5 years.
Pros of accounting: one of professions with the best job security. Very good pay relative to hours once you have 5-10 yrs of experience and work in industry.
Cons: to me, the work is really boring. For the most part, its going to be the same stuff every month, quarter, year, unless you happen to find a really dynamic company.
I’ve been at this for just over a year, passed all my CPA exams, passed CFA L2, and am on my out taking a 20+% pay bump. Some people like it, I don’t. I hate doing things for the sake of doing them, which is what public accounting really is.
Oh CFA or CPA? CPA is way easier. Not only is the material easier to begin with, its mostly just memorizing a ton of stuff, but its way more predictable than the CFA about what will be on it. Its also 4 bite sized pieces where as the CFA is like taking all 4 CPA exams in the same sitting.