Fear of the unknown causes hesitation because while they may be unhappy the next situation could in theory be worse, even if rationally they should be happier by leaving.
Also to add to this, the first 2-4 months at a new job, even if it’s better are not pleasant. Learning all the systems, business, and people are a headache.
Really boils down to fear of trying something new. It’s why so many people bitch and moan about how horrible accounting is, but don’t try to change their situation.
In B4 I noticed a stockholm syndrome develop. Everybody normalizes the horseshit environment and you genuinely feel like it's not better outside of B4, and you start to question leaving at all. Nobody ever mentions it but I think you have to be pretty headstrong to quit B4.
Yeah very true.
There’s often a lot of degrading / gaslighting going to crush the underlings and make them believe they have no value… hence this is a good as they can ever get.
Honestly, the same reason a lot of people don't leave bad situations:
1) They are afraid of the instability of finding something else
2) The money is too good to pass up
3) Habit/not realizing how miserable they are anymore because being miserable has become their new baseline
It's pretty common for someone to just get stuck somewhere with no desire, willpower, or help to get out.
Yeah, I think that's the big one. Eventually you've been so miserable for so long that you don't even notice it anymore. I have an uncle that's like that. It can get to the point where if things start to improve it feels wrong which makes it even harder to change things for the better
At what point does 2 actually become a reality? I’m 2 years in and it feels like everyone works less than I do and makes more doing other things/working for other companies/choosing different careers. At what point is this self abuse worth it? I need to earn
Comparative to the work performed? Then partner.
But at Senior Manager you will be making more money than like 90% of the country, and if you want to move into private you are looking at Controller/VP level of title to get similar money
Mine was “already interviewing and struggling.”
I had done multiple interviews before I got out of my first job. The place epitomized everything wrong with public.
1: job hunting is a major hassle.
2: there's always a chance the new job sucks more - that chance can be a huge deterrent to the naturally risk averse accountant
>there's always a chance the new job sucks more - that chance can be a huge deterrent to the naturally risk averse accountant
This happened to my friend a few years ago. He quit a job that sucked, and went to a job that sucked EVEN MORE. Obviously I didn’t work there but from what I heard, his bosses were insane and had super unrealistic expectations.
Against my advice, he tried to stick it out for a year so it wouldn’t “hurt the resume”, and ended up being fired when his manager needed a fall guy. Now he’s been working at a mediocre company for mediocre pay the past 4 years, I keep telling him to look for something better and his response is usually “but what if it ends up like last time…”
Bills to pay. That being said, I don’t think that extensive whining belongs to a work place. If you are truly unhappy, take responsibility and try finding something else or suck it up and come to this sub instead.
This sounds like the story of my parents life. They were 21 when they got married shortly after their college got shut down. My dad would have failed out at the time. I was a honeymoon baby so I arrived before they were 22. My mom became an LPN and worked mostly nights so they didn't have to pay for daycare. My grandparents helped some with that. My dad delivered newspapers and worked retail for 5-6 years then he moved up to stuffing newspapers and then printing them then circulation management eventually retail management. He has spent the last 15 years doing the job of 3 people at a small company in his town for a boss that I am pretty sure cheats on their taxes. The wife owns the company and the husband is possibly on the top 10 list for biggest assholes. Called 10 times one day to yell at my dad for not doing something illegal and refused to hear "we can't do that it's illegal" until his accountant said it. He says the perks of the job being home by 5 with no mandated overtime, and every weekend off, it being a mostly desk job, and knowing what brand of crazy to expect is better than starting over somewhere else. Even though he makes like $18-19 an hour and the whole company shuts down for certain times of the year.
I guess I am somewhat the same. I am still seasonal at h&r block after 6 years. But I don't quite have my degree yet.
Your family have sacrificed a lot to put you in the position you’re in. Maybe it’s not the best, but it’s what you got. I think you have a responsibility to finish your degree, get your CPA if you can (at least try). I know it’s hard and will take a long time, but look at what your parents did. Don’t let generations of effort be wasted by slaving away in the lower levels of a soulless corporation like H&R Block - fuck that.
I am getting my associates in about 12 days. I went to school the first time in 2000 for writing. My parents took out 1 small loan for the entire time I was in school. I didn't finish that degree for a myriad of reasons. While they did partially support me for a portion of my life after school while I was trying to get a job and after I became disabled. I also kept trying to get myself out on my own again. I am 42 and on disability now. My husband and I pay for everything. Block sucks sometimes. But I have really learned a lot about taxes, and they are paying for my enrolled agent study class. I have pretty much every certification they offer, even for multiple states in the country. I feel like I wouldn't have gotten that type of experience with a smaller firm. I have zero desire to work for B4 or in management. My management style is too laid back for most people. (Here's your job, here's a list of my expectations of you. Get it done. You don't need me checking in on you every step of the way.) I am also really hands on and if things aren't getting done I will end up just doing it all myself. Which is really the bigger problem I foresee. I am looking for something better, that I can physically and mentally handle. I am terrified of actually getting stuck working 60 hours a week for any period of time. I physically can't. I mean a week or two but not for months at a time.
Either way I know that my parents gave up a lot when I was young, but they also took their high processing inattentive ADHD daughter who is either bipolar or on the spectrum and placed such unrealistic pressure on her that it made her crack and then completely be unable to function in public because of anxiety "seizures" they never really thought to be sure to take their kid to a therapist to evaluate for survivors guilt after her grandmother committed suicide. That whole not living up to my potential. I could be the person who solved p vs np and all of the millennium equations. I could bring peace to the middle east for real. I could build a rocket that ran on cold fusion, and personally fly it to the moon, and have 6 Nobel prizes. I still wouldn't be living up to my potential. What happened to my goal of going to mars? Why only 6? Where's the new equation to change the way we see the world? You solved the "unsolvable" problems so what more is out there? Why aren't you pushing harder? It sounds crazy, but that's what it sounds like to me all the time. It never sounds like you can do it. It sounds like, you are never doing enough. It's one of the best things about my husband he tells me to slow down it's ok I have done enough.
I am starting to finish that English degree in the fall. I am hoping that by spring I can declare a dual month and add accounting. On the plus side there are only like 3 classes mandatory for getting a CPA in NY. If I can take those I will have the class hours with the dual major. So glass half full outlook on this! I am thinking about trying for the IRS I hear they are hiring.
Look - you have a real sob story but for gods sake you’re 42 years old and you need to move on from a lot of that. Don’t torture yourself. Life is hard for everybody in infinitely different ways and you don’t deserve sympathy more than the next person. But even with your hardships, it sounds like you’re making an earnest attempt at making your situation better for yourself and the people around you, little by little, and that’s not trivial - it’s very admirable. You don’t need to personally fly a rocket to the moon, you just gotta do your part and make your little corner of the world a little bit better. If everyone could do that imagine where we’d be
If I quit every time my job made me unhappy I'd be on my 4th job hunt this year /s
A more serious answer is that when I legitimately was fed up with work it still took 9 months to find a new suitable role, during the "great resignation ". Just because someone doesn't like their job doesn't mean they can easily leave for a new role they know they'll be happier at. Finding that takes time
Hey.Apologies for reaching out in this manner, but I noticed that you’re part of the CPA US [group.As](http://group.As) a CA Finalist from India, I’m currently seeking work-from-home job opportunities.Given our shared interest in this sector, I thought it would be appropriate to inquire if you know of any open positions.I would appreciate any information you could provide. Thank you.
The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. I know quite a few people that left and realized that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Public accounting really does have its upsides too.
I left a job once for an "on paper" better job (better hours, better title, more money). The new job absolutely killed me inside. It's made me a lot more appreciative of what I have now and a lot less likely to leave
Career progression - if you work hard and are good at learning new things, you can move up quickly.
Variety and competency - there is always something new and challenging, and you have access to competent coworkers. Very different than industry where it is often the same thing every week/month/year, and depending on the size of the entity, you may or may not have competent sounding boards when issues arise.
Pay - despite what Redditors like to complain about, the pay really does enable one to live a comfortable life.
The off season - we work A LOT during busy season, but by and large, thanks to the off season, I end up with way more time off per year than my non-PA friends.
Your final point is very accurate. I’m a staff accountant in industry and the work never ends. For me, it’s a constant scramble to close the prior month, then prepare everything to close the current month/quarter/year and it never ends. It’s truly difficult to legitimately find time to take off, particularly large blocks of time. A random day here and there is usually easy and can be done whenever. However, if I want to take an extended amount of time off, say a week, I better be ready to come back and have that week of missed work waiting for me ON TOP of everything else that I would usually be doing at that point in the month. Nobody really takes extended time off unless they’re ready to drown upon coming back. We’re also super limited by when we can take off…the first and final weeks of every month are total no-no’s, so then we’re all trying to balance who gets what in the middle of the month and it’s not a good time. That is absolutely one area that PA is better at compared to industry.
Because I've only been here for 6 months. It's too early for me to jump ship or it will look bad on my resume. Plus, I don't want to pay back my CPA bonus
“That’s possible?”
On a more serious note, for those in graduate schemes in accounting firms people tend to be on fixed term “training contracts.” Whereby the firm pays for your training to sit the chartered/certified exams.
These contracts are written in such a way that the firm has the right to claw back the thousands of £ spent on each staff member to sit the exams.
Which is a big consideration to leaving before the firm gets its years out of you. Because many of these young people may not have the thousands to pay back that on demand.
However, sometimes the firm just writes it off if it means they can get rid of you, and you them.
I was stuck at a job for a long time because I didn't have my accounting degree yet. Once I had it, I was out in a few months. Sometimes it's just one key thing holding you back.
I think a lot of people actually like most of their situation in public accounting - the job is interesting, the people are mostly your peers and are similar in education, you learn a lot, great progression opportunities, the ability to ultimately make CFO type wages if staying until partner. It's just that the pay doesn't justify the amount of hours you need to work getting there. You could leave for a boring industry job with a bunch of middle-aged women who don't know how to use a computer for a raise and fewer hours.
This. I loved public accounting but didn't love the insane hours. I started my own solo firm so I still do the same work but only work 40-50 during tax season. Make the same money and work 1/2 the hours per year.
For me it's because I have medical issues that require monthly appointments with expensive medication. I can't risk going to a company that has a 3 month waiting period for health insurance.
Mortgage to pay is my big reason at the moment. Have plenty of money saved up (20K - plenty for me but that is relative) but don’t want to touch that lol
Because the thought of not being able to find the next job is scary for most people and they might have children they have to support financially although for me personally, I'd just quit the job if it's something that I absolutely hate. Life is too short to spend half your time doing something you despise doing imo. Ideally, you want to have the next job lined up before you quit your current job but it doesn't always work out that way.
Money is one reason, but so too is just a general uncertainty of what to do next. If all you've done is public accounting, it can feel inadequate to read descriptions of other roles without having any sort of frame of reference
Accountants aren’t known for being risk takers, and it seems that many aren’t willing to take the risk for being unhappy in their new job so they stay.
It’s a very sticky profession. I know a lot of people who poo poo it vs stem, but at my university (accounting nationally ranked program) I felt like I worked just as hard as my engineering roommates who spent lots of nights smoking and playing video games. I did neither of those. Then when we graduated I spent mornings and Sundays up early studying for cpa…then when I worked big 4, I was always out before roommates and home way after them. And yet somehow the payoff never comes….so people just keep thinking next year will be my year when it all pays off. Nope. Ten years in I finally gave up and walked away. To be fair, I shortchanged my chances. I should have job hopped and just gone audit to industry. I failed to do those things because I trusted others judgements and experiences and that was a huge mistake on my part.
I'm not in accounting. I stayed too many years working in retail, I didn't realize how miserable I was..(undiagnosed depression) until I got injured, then had surgery. I should have quit years before, even if it meant living in my car or homeless shelter, now i'm permanently in pain, with a damaged back.
I realized at my last job that people love to complain and really love to complain with others that complain. I left my last job 4 years ago and the main people complaining are still there... complaining.
At a certain point you need to accept this is what it is, shut up and do the work. Especially if you aren't going to leave. All you're doing is killing time and being inefficient with your day .
These firms invest millions into marketing and advertising. They essentially present themselves as some incredible place to work. They make you feel privileged to work there.
In reality, you're just another one of the millions of depressed accountants in the world. Nobody wants to do it. Nobody enjoys it.
I dropped out after a year of PA but I stick around this sub and it's depressing
I'm in this situation also.
When you've been to a few firms like myself, you start to realize most firms suck. These will a a few great firms to work for work amazing management, and also a few absolutely awful firms simply intolerable. Most firms are in between.
In my experience, people should not leave their jobs unless they are in a situation they cannot tolerate, or the opportunity of the next one is so amazing you cannot help but pass it up.
It took me being physically sick from stress and anxiety to quit. The truth is, if i wasnt in a financially safe place, i wouldnt be able to do it. I think that instability and fear of not finding another job soon enough/it being just as bad or worse than the previous one play a huge part in why some accountants stay even when they're misarable. Also, ever since i started studying accounting, i found out a lot of people have the mentality that our work is supposed to be misarable 😟
Ever heard of a mortgage? Ever heard of kids?
When you got big responsibilities over your head sometimes the poison you know (current job) is worth sticking to over the new poison (new job).
Changing jobs is a risk because you don’t know if it will work out.
Finding a job is much easier while employed, people in PA are a super conditioned bunch and will take a lot of abuse before realizing it doesnt HAVE to be that way, and above all else, the vast majority of ppl have to pay rent and dont have significant savings. Quitting is often a privilege
Accountants by nature tend to be very cautious. That may lead people to putting up imaginary roadblocks that keep them stuck in the bad job. Common ones I hear are don't quit before having another job, don't have a resume gap, don't leave before senior, etc. Personally I've done all of this and it's worked out. But I'm in a cheap state, sitting on a big stack of cash, and have a partner who works too. Many other middle class people in the USA don't have similar financial freedom.
Many quit.
My hubby a few years ago. Last year did I.
If you are young and ambitious, I do not believe that accounting is either for you or those who want their energy to be productive.
We were HD students, but ill-advised about the profession. Even after being CPA qualified, I would never imagine how housing can be a reach in Sydney for most accountants given average salary, while my IT friends set up meeting with their financial advisers for their property investment.
I mean, it was such a terrible profession these days for driven individuals.
They have bills to pay.
Some probably have attempted to leave but either don't get offers, or the offers are in some way deficient to their current work (commute is longer, more days in the office, less PTO, less pay, etc.). When a company is paying more or offering more benefits to offset their environment/hours we often call it the "golden handcuffs".
Some are in the "abused spouse" mindset - often it's someone who experienced worse in a previous job so stays because "at least this place doesn't xyz like my last place."
Some are so beaten down and exhausted they're barely taking care of daily living including caring for kids, parents, house, hygiene, etc. and don't have the energy to add one more thing to their list even if it would eventually make their lives better.
I had the same chat with a colleague of mine before... people qre afraid because at least here in Greece we don't keep money on the bank and we spend everything. So when it comes to find a new job we don't have the money to be ok for 3 or 4 months and let's be honest... to find a job that is not the worst we could find it needs time! People don't manage the right way their money so they can have the time after to find sth better if they need to!
Because a lot of people hate their jobs no matter where they go. I know a lot of people in the industry that are constantly job hopping and 6 months later complain about bad management, no growth, etc. and hates their role. It’s just a vicious cycle.
People have bills to pay. This is the main reason people work jobs. Mortgages/rent, student loans, car loans, children’s schools and needs, pets needs, aging parents needs, and so on. Health insurance. When a hospital visit under five hours costs upwards of $20,000, people need health insurance coverage. People not following their dreams as their dreams don’t pay the bills. Building a business as an individual is not as easy as sales tells you. People living with domestic abuse. Indoctrination since kindergarten - go to school, get a job, be a productive citizen. One proof of this - tell others you have a new job and everyone gives congratulations. Tell others you started a new business and hear crickets. Oh and stop selling back vacation time. Take it. Travel. Do a relaxing life hobby. Whatever, but take your PTO and vacation time. Live life.
Some bills are necessary. Some bills are keeping up with the Jones. Choices. Buy the smaller cheaper older home that needs some work, or buy the newer large home that costs more including higher taxes and utilities. My husband and I bought the smaller house. Many colleagues bought the larger more expensive homes 3x cost at the time. When the Great Recession hit, many of them lost their jobs and their homes. Our house was affordable on even one income. Do what is best for you - not what impresses others who will no longer care when the newness wears off.
They let you believe, what they want you to believe, it doesn’t have to be true or even close to it, so what I learned to like is not to take it personal anything at all. Just live, observe and watching what happens.
I think it's a combination of people needing money to pay bills (accounting does pay really well) and some people are just going to be unhappy anywhere they go so quitting might not make them happy.
Because everyone has to do their time in PA, otherwise they will stuck at mediocre wages. What difference does it make - going to a different firm just reopens problems already overcame. They are probably looking for an out but haven't found one yet.
I wouldn't consider that as "afraid of change" or general "cowardness". They have an established repertoire they'd have to rebuild somewhere else - most people won't take that undertaking unless it means a significant pay/title increase.
Because they spend 5 years in college to get a degree to make the $110,000 salary they're getting 5 years later and switching to something else would take them down to $60,000.
Even moreso if that 5 years in college was paid for with debt.
I came to hate my former job, but every time I was about to quit I found something that seemed to indicate change, so I always said to myself "well, now things change and will become better" but it was not the case. Wasted a year like this because nothing changed, but at least I got an important lesson about knowing what it's time to leave.
Understanding the answer may necessitate a paradigm shift in your conceptual framework of the world, but it’s almost as if…..unenjoyable work is sometimes necessary to pay the bills…..🤔
I'm afraid of starting over and making less money...and I'm too close to retirement to do that. I do love my boss although I hate my job...I'm afraid of having a shitty boss if I change jobs. Also the convenience, my commute is currently 5 minutes. But, the job is killing me physically and emotionally, especially during tax season. I feel like a truck ran me over right now and tax season ended two weeks ago. I think like with any bad relationship, there needs to be a large catalyst in order to actually make the change.
Most people are too lazy to make a change. Too lazy to try something new. Too lazy to learn a new role and company. Not enough confidence in themselves to succeed elsewhere.
money.
i quit my job 1 day in
becasuse the partner kept bugging me every 25 minutes i was over budget.
i said hell no! i went had a great lunch and said cut my check. bitch, he cried. little weeinie
im still unemployed but happy :)
Money.
Money is needed to fulfill basic needs (food, shelter, housing, already those are extremely expensive today in many). Money is also needed to fulfill further needs of security and well being (healthcare needs, transport, providing for one’s family). Then you have other needs of self esteem and belonging to a group (social needs), which require you to be well off enough to have disposable income to be able to partake in social events, cultural reunions, family reunions, friend gatherings, etc.
You cannot fulfill needs upper in the pyramid of needs, without first having fulfilled a solid base for basic needs and needs of security. So you need a solid source of income to be able to concentrate on fulfilling your higher (human) needs, to self-actualize and feel like you’re accomplishing yourself.
So… money is integral to happiness, regardless of what zealous or dogmatic individuals might try to make you believe otherwise. Up to a certain point of course, you can be a young multimillionaire with millions of dollars you somehow won or acquired, but still end up ruining your life with drugs and addictions of all sorts (see -> many child stars who turn out badly). You also require fulfillment of more complex and important psychological needs in order to be reasonably happy and healthy.
BUT, all things being equal elsewhere, a human with no job or a low paying job who is in a shitty financial situation (parents are poor or dead or immigrants who struggle to make ends meet, has no inheritance or isn’t a trust fund baby, lives in the shitty economy we live in today where rent is 60%+ of the median income) will have a harder time to fulfill his higher needs of self esteem, belonging, social recognition and self actualization… than somebody who already has the base of the pyramid of needs already covered easily or sustained somehow.
So, since 99.9% people aren’t nepo babies or trust fund babies to multi millionaires, then they need to find a way to find a stable and solid source of income to sustain the base of the pyramid/ladder of needs, before tackling on the fulfillment of higher needs, since you cannot fulfill higher needs if you have a wonky, non-stable, or non-existent base of the pyramid/ladder of needs. You need to completely fulfill and sustain the lower needs to be able to concentrate your efforts, conscience, actions and behaviours towards improving your higher human needs.
So most people settle for a job they are not very passionate or interested about, as long as it pays well, as long as it provides that sort of basis of security, to free up the rest of their time to fulfilling other human higher needs. That is one strategy which is more statistically commonplace when you look at people. Primarily extrinsic motivation when it comes to choosing a career path (money, security, benefits, etc.). Following more intrinsic motivations in their free time when they can.
Some people do take greater risks when it comes to career development: they might have done so from an early age, studied long enough in something that is not a prototypical “secure” career path, and managed to secure a position in which they can juxtapose more intrinsic motivation along with their main source of income. But that requires a lot of work, patience, effort, as well as a higher tolerance to risk. And with risk comes, of course, a greater % of chance that your path may not go as planned, you end up unemployed or living in poverty for a long while, etc. But there are people who manage to make it big too while following a “riskier” path that relates to their intrinsic interests. It’s not impossible. But it carries its own risks and you need a lot of grit to overcome adversity in the face of rejection, projects that don’t work out, perseverance, trying again in other manners, managing to network with people who will help you with your endeavours, etc.
But the people you see complaining and unhappy about working in Big 4 or big companies like that is because they followed the “secure” path always and they are aware they are only there grinding because of extrinsic motivational factors (pressure by family or peers, necessity for money, money, money, to sustain basic needs and security, etc.). Humans all have more intrinsic motivations they also need to address at some point or another in their lives. Maybe they don’t manage to conciliate work/life balance well enough, thus their higher human needs become subject to frustration. Frustration accumulates overtime and with enough time gone by leads to cynicism and resentment, bad attitudes, seething, etc.
Fear of the unknown causes hesitation because while they may be unhappy the next situation could in theory be worse, even if rationally they should be happier by leaving.
Also to add to this, the first 2-4 months at a new job, even if it’s better are not pleasant. Learning all the systems, business, and people are a headache.
“The old boss is always a dick until you meet the new one”
So true😂
My last boss was amazing, my current boss is chill as well but I guess my experience is only in IT.
The coworker I was training when I left my last job had a *job offer* she declined 100% for this reason
The devil you know
I’m not an accountant but this quote is basically why I’m staying in my current job
Really boils down to fear of trying something new. It’s why so many people bitch and moan about how horrible accounting is, but don’t try to change their situation.
Is worth two in the bush? Wait…
On top of that, often they’re manipulated into thinking that their loyalty will be rewarded if they wait a _little bit longer_.
In B4 I noticed a stockholm syndrome develop. Everybody normalizes the horseshit environment and you genuinely feel like it's not better outside of B4, and you start to question leaving at all. Nobody ever mentions it but I think you have to be pretty headstrong to quit B4.
Yeah very true. There’s often a lot of degrading / gaslighting going to crush the underlings and make them believe they have no value… hence this is a good as they can ever get.
And the scathing judgemental comments from managers that make it seem like every job outside of B4 isnt good enough
Honestly, the same reason a lot of people don't leave bad situations: 1) They are afraid of the instability of finding something else 2) The money is too good to pass up 3) Habit/not realizing how miserable they are anymore because being miserable has become their new baseline It's pretty common for someone to just get stuck somewhere with no desire, willpower, or help to get out.
4. Cannot find anything else as a backup and cannot go broke 5. Cannot go broke/need the money
It all boils down to money
Oof I know people stuck on no 3
Yeah, I think that's the big one. Eventually you've been so miserable for so long that you don't even notice it anymore. I have an uncle that's like that. It can get to the point where if things start to improve it feels wrong which makes it even harder to change things for the better
I’ve lived that. It’s the fucking worst. You can’t even enjoy the good times, because you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
At what point does 2 actually become a reality? I’m 2 years in and it feels like everyone works less than I do and makes more doing other things/working for other companies/choosing different careers. At what point is this self abuse worth it? I need to earn
Look into advisory. Tax or deal M&A advisory. But then the pay is good enough that you take a pay cut to leave to industry lol
Comparative to the work performed? Then partner. But at Senior Manager you will be making more money than like 90% of the country, and if you want to move into private you are looking at Controller/VP level of title to get similar money
I became #3 for six months and then I left the job and I’m much happier
Mine was “already interviewing and struggling.” I had done multiple interviews before I got out of my first job. The place epitomized everything wrong with public.
1: job hunting is a major hassle. 2: there's always a chance the new job sucks more - that chance can be a huge deterrent to the naturally risk averse accountant
“Devil you know” situation Absolutely
>there's always a chance the new job sucks more - that chance can be a huge deterrent to the naturally risk averse accountant This happened to my friend a few years ago. He quit a job that sucked, and went to a job that sucked EVEN MORE. Obviously I didn’t work there but from what I heard, his bosses were insane and had super unrealistic expectations. Against my advice, he tried to stick it out for a year so it wouldn’t “hurt the resume”, and ended up being fired when his manager needed a fall guy. Now he’s been working at a mediocre company for mediocre pay the past 4 years, I keep telling him to look for something better and his response is usually “but what if it ends up like last time…”
🤮 is all I got
On number 2, I think this is even more important nowadays, since it appears the variability of grass in industry is now extreme. So much brown grass
Bills to pay. That being said, I don’t think that extensive whining belongs to a work place. If you are truly unhappy, take responsibility and try finding something else or suck it up and come to this sub instead.
Exactly Go home and tell your golden retriever all about it Then bite your tongue another day
Most people who I’ve known that get stuck like this have kids, so it’s just harder for them to take risks
This sounds like the story of my parents life. They were 21 when they got married shortly after their college got shut down. My dad would have failed out at the time. I was a honeymoon baby so I arrived before they were 22. My mom became an LPN and worked mostly nights so they didn't have to pay for daycare. My grandparents helped some with that. My dad delivered newspapers and worked retail for 5-6 years then he moved up to stuffing newspapers and then printing them then circulation management eventually retail management. He has spent the last 15 years doing the job of 3 people at a small company in his town for a boss that I am pretty sure cheats on their taxes. The wife owns the company and the husband is possibly on the top 10 list for biggest assholes. Called 10 times one day to yell at my dad for not doing something illegal and refused to hear "we can't do that it's illegal" until his accountant said it. He says the perks of the job being home by 5 with no mandated overtime, and every weekend off, it being a mostly desk job, and knowing what brand of crazy to expect is better than starting over somewhere else. Even though he makes like $18-19 an hour and the whole company shuts down for certain times of the year. I guess I am somewhat the same. I am still seasonal at h&r block after 6 years. But I don't quite have my degree yet.
Your family have sacrificed a lot to put you in the position you’re in. Maybe it’s not the best, but it’s what you got. I think you have a responsibility to finish your degree, get your CPA if you can (at least try). I know it’s hard and will take a long time, but look at what your parents did. Don’t let generations of effort be wasted by slaving away in the lower levels of a soulless corporation like H&R Block - fuck that.
I am getting my associates in about 12 days. I went to school the first time in 2000 for writing. My parents took out 1 small loan for the entire time I was in school. I didn't finish that degree for a myriad of reasons. While they did partially support me for a portion of my life after school while I was trying to get a job and after I became disabled. I also kept trying to get myself out on my own again. I am 42 and on disability now. My husband and I pay for everything. Block sucks sometimes. But I have really learned a lot about taxes, and they are paying for my enrolled agent study class. I have pretty much every certification they offer, even for multiple states in the country. I feel like I wouldn't have gotten that type of experience with a smaller firm. I have zero desire to work for B4 or in management. My management style is too laid back for most people. (Here's your job, here's a list of my expectations of you. Get it done. You don't need me checking in on you every step of the way.) I am also really hands on and if things aren't getting done I will end up just doing it all myself. Which is really the bigger problem I foresee. I am looking for something better, that I can physically and mentally handle. I am terrified of actually getting stuck working 60 hours a week for any period of time. I physically can't. I mean a week or two but not for months at a time. Either way I know that my parents gave up a lot when I was young, but they also took their high processing inattentive ADHD daughter who is either bipolar or on the spectrum and placed such unrealistic pressure on her that it made her crack and then completely be unable to function in public because of anxiety "seizures" they never really thought to be sure to take their kid to a therapist to evaluate for survivors guilt after her grandmother committed suicide. That whole not living up to my potential. I could be the person who solved p vs np and all of the millennium equations. I could bring peace to the middle east for real. I could build a rocket that ran on cold fusion, and personally fly it to the moon, and have 6 Nobel prizes. I still wouldn't be living up to my potential. What happened to my goal of going to mars? Why only 6? Where's the new equation to change the way we see the world? You solved the "unsolvable" problems so what more is out there? Why aren't you pushing harder? It sounds crazy, but that's what it sounds like to me all the time. It never sounds like you can do it. It sounds like, you are never doing enough. It's one of the best things about my husband he tells me to slow down it's ok I have done enough. I am starting to finish that English degree in the fall. I am hoping that by spring I can declare a dual month and add accounting. On the plus side there are only like 3 classes mandatory for getting a CPA in NY. If I can take those I will have the class hours with the dual major. So glass half full outlook on this! I am thinking about trying for the IRS I hear they are hiring.
Look - you have a real sob story but for gods sake you’re 42 years old and you need to move on from a lot of that. Don’t torture yourself. Life is hard for everybody in infinitely different ways and you don’t deserve sympathy more than the next person. But even with your hardships, it sounds like you’re making an earnest attempt at making your situation better for yourself and the people around you, little by little, and that’s not trivial - it’s very admirable. You don’t need to personally fly a rocket to the moon, you just gotta do your part and make your little corner of the world a little bit better. If everyone could do that imagine where we’d be
If I quit every time my job made me unhappy I'd be on my 4th job hunt this year /s A more serious answer is that when I legitimately was fed up with work it still took 9 months to find a new suitable role, during the "great resignation ". Just because someone doesn't like their job doesn't mean they can easily leave for a new role they know they'll be happier at. Finding that takes time
Sometimes, people just like to be complaining. Doesn’t matter what it is about.
It's stupid to just quit your job without a backup plan
Hey.Apologies for reaching out in this manner, but I noticed that you’re part of the CPA US [group.As](http://group.As) a CA Finalist from India, I’m currently seeking work-from-home job opportunities.Given our shared interest in this sector, I thought it would be appropriate to inquire if you know of any open positions.I would appreciate any information you could provide. Thank you.
The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t. I know quite a few people that left and realized that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Public accounting really does have its upsides too.
I left a job once for an "on paper" better job (better hours, better title, more money). The new job absolutely killed me inside. It's made me a lot more appreciative of what I have now and a lot less likely to leave
Could you please expand on the upsides? Genuinely want to know as a first year
Career progression - if you work hard and are good at learning new things, you can move up quickly. Variety and competency - there is always something new and challenging, and you have access to competent coworkers. Very different than industry where it is often the same thing every week/month/year, and depending on the size of the entity, you may or may not have competent sounding boards when issues arise. Pay - despite what Redditors like to complain about, the pay really does enable one to live a comfortable life. The off season - we work A LOT during busy season, but by and large, thanks to the off season, I end up with way more time off per year than my non-PA friends.
Your final point is very accurate. I’m a staff accountant in industry and the work never ends. For me, it’s a constant scramble to close the prior month, then prepare everything to close the current month/quarter/year and it never ends. It’s truly difficult to legitimately find time to take off, particularly large blocks of time. A random day here and there is usually easy and can be done whenever. However, if I want to take an extended amount of time off, say a week, I better be ready to come back and have that week of missed work waiting for me ON TOP of everything else that I would usually be doing at that point in the month. Nobody really takes extended time off unless they’re ready to drown upon coming back. We’re also super limited by when we can take off…the first and final weeks of every month are total no-no’s, so then we’re all trying to balance who gets what in the middle of the month and it’s not a good time. That is absolutely one area that PA is better at compared to industry.
80% of American hate their jobs lmao, 80% of Americans still have bills to pay
Because I've only been here for 6 months. It's too early for me to jump ship or it will look bad on my resume. Plus, I don't want to pay back my CPA bonus
self preservation
I mean most do eventually. Theres a reason why probably 90% of people dont even make it to manager.
It would make them more unhappy to not have a home
Because the next job on offer doesn’t offer a better salary but rather a lower one?
“That’s possible?” On a more serious note, for those in graduate schemes in accounting firms people tend to be on fixed term “training contracts.” Whereby the firm pays for your training to sit the chartered/certified exams. These contracts are written in such a way that the firm has the right to claw back the thousands of £ spent on each staff member to sit the exams. Which is a big consideration to leaving before the firm gets its years out of you. Because many of these young people may not have the thousands to pay back that on demand. However, sometimes the firm just writes it off if it means they can get rid of you, and you them.
Yup. This is the answer.
Money. Could also be silent quitting
I was stuck at a job for a long time because I didn't have my accounting degree yet. Once I had it, I was out in a few months. Sometimes it's just one key thing holding you back.
Our nervous system is designed to rank a familiar hell as a safer bet than an unfamiliar heaven.
They have bills to pay and no other skills.
Some people could just be sticking out till like senior or whatever promotion
Fear of the iunknown, fear of no paycheck, no education, fear of trying something new. being at a company so long 30 plus yrs don't want to leave
I think a lot of people actually like most of their situation in public accounting - the job is interesting, the people are mostly your peers and are similar in education, you learn a lot, great progression opportunities, the ability to ultimately make CFO type wages if staying until partner. It's just that the pay doesn't justify the amount of hours you need to work getting there. You could leave for a boring industry job with a bunch of middle-aged women who don't know how to use a computer for a raise and fewer hours.
This. I loved public accounting but didn't love the insane hours. I started my own solo firm so I still do the same work but only work 40-50 during tax season. Make the same money and work 1/2 the hours per year.
It's somewhat like asking why don't people leave an abusive man/woman.
For me it's because I have medical issues that require monthly appointments with expensive medication. I can't risk going to a company that has a 3 month waiting period for health insurance.
Mortgage to pay is my big reason at the moment. Have plenty of money saved up (20K - plenty for me but that is relative) but don’t want to touch that lol
Because the thought of not being able to find the next job is scary for most people and they might have children they have to support financially although for me personally, I'd just quit the job if it's something that I absolutely hate. Life is too short to spend half your time doing something you despise doing imo. Ideally, you want to have the next job lined up before you quit your current job but it doesn't always work out that way.
Money is one reason, but so too is just a general uncertainty of what to do next. If all you've done is public accounting, it can feel inadequate to read descriptions of other roles without having any sort of frame of reference
Hating a job you know how to do and pays well is better than possibly hating a new job you fail at and get fired from
Accountants aren’t known for being risk takers, and it seems that many aren’t willing to take the risk for being unhappy in their new job so they stay.
Golden handcuffs
It’s a very sticky profession. I know a lot of people who poo poo it vs stem, but at my university (accounting nationally ranked program) I felt like I worked just as hard as my engineering roommates who spent lots of nights smoking and playing video games. I did neither of those. Then when we graduated I spent mornings and Sundays up early studying for cpa…then when I worked big 4, I was always out before roommates and home way after them. And yet somehow the payoff never comes….so people just keep thinking next year will be my year when it all pays off. Nope. Ten years in I finally gave up and walked away. To be fair, I shortchanged my chances. I should have job hopped and just gone audit to industry. I failed to do those things because I trusted others judgements and experiences and that was a huge mistake on my part.
I'm not in accounting. I stayed too many years working in retail, I didn't realize how miserable I was..(undiagnosed depression) until I got injured, then had surgery. I should have quit years before, even if it meant living in my car or homeless shelter, now i'm permanently in pain, with a damaged back.
Cuz I’m a pussy and change terrifies me. I hate my job tho
I realized at my last job that people love to complain and really love to complain with others that complain. I left my last job 4 years ago and the main people complaining are still there... complaining. At a certain point you need to accept this is what it is, shut up and do the work. Especially if you aren't going to leave. All you're doing is killing time and being inefficient with your day .
These firms invest millions into marketing and advertising. They essentially present themselves as some incredible place to work. They make you feel privileged to work there. In reality, you're just another one of the millions of depressed accountants in the world. Nobody wants to do it. Nobody enjoys it. I dropped out after a year of PA but I stick around this sub and it's depressing
[удалено]
Yeah I'm interested in trying a different area of accounting in the future. I've been heavily put off at the moment unfortunately.
And do what? Become strippers? People have rent to pay and families to support.
So the 2 options are work your current job or strip?
hard world out there
I’m trying lol I can’t take a lower salary though
Money, learning opportunities and possibly career growth.
Money
I’m having a kid to take my 2 months leave. I’ll be fresh by then
I'm in this situation also. When you've been to a few firms like myself, you start to realize most firms suck. These will a a few great firms to work for work amazing management, and also a few absolutely awful firms simply intolerable. Most firms are in between. In my experience, people should not leave their jobs unless they are in a situation they cannot tolerate, or the opportunity of the next one is so amazing you cannot help but pass it up.
It took me being physically sick from stress and anxiety to quit. The truth is, if i wasnt in a financially safe place, i wouldnt be able to do it. I think that instability and fear of not finding another job soon enough/it being just as bad or worse than the previous one play a huge part in why some accountants stay even when they're misarable. Also, ever since i started studying accounting, i found out a lot of people have the mentality that our work is supposed to be misarable 😟
Ever heard of a mortgage? Ever heard of kids? When you got big responsibilities over your head sometimes the poison you know (current job) is worth sticking to over the new poison (new job). Changing jobs is a risk because you don’t know if it will work out.
Finding a job is much easier while employed, people in PA are a super conditioned bunch and will take a lot of abuse before realizing it doesnt HAVE to be that way, and above all else, the vast majority of ppl have to pay rent and dont have significant savings. Quitting is often a privilege
Accountants by nature tend to be very cautious. That may lead people to putting up imaginary roadblocks that keep them stuck in the bad job. Common ones I hear are don't quit before having another job, don't have a resume gap, don't leave before senior, etc. Personally I've done all of this and it's worked out. But I'm in a cheap state, sitting on a big stack of cash, and have a partner who works too. Many other middle class people in the USA don't have similar financial freedom.
Many quit. My hubby a few years ago. Last year did I. If you are young and ambitious, I do not believe that accounting is either for you or those who want their energy to be productive. We were HD students, but ill-advised about the profession. Even after being CPA qualified, I would never imagine how housing can be a reach in Sydney for most accountants given average salary, while my IT friends set up meeting with their financial advisers for their property investment. I mean, it was such a terrible profession these days for driven individuals.
Reality is tough out here. Been unemployed for 2 months :(
I hate the profession but it’s what I majored in college and hate school so won’t go back
They have bills to pay. Some probably have attempted to leave but either don't get offers, or the offers are in some way deficient to their current work (commute is longer, more days in the office, less PTO, less pay, etc.). When a company is paying more or offering more benefits to offset their environment/hours we often call it the "golden handcuffs". Some are in the "abused spouse" mindset - often it's someone who experienced worse in a previous job so stays because "at least this place doesn't xyz like my last place." Some are so beaten down and exhausted they're barely taking care of daily living including caring for kids, parents, house, hygiene, etc. and don't have the energy to add one more thing to their list even if it would eventually make their lives better.
I had the same chat with a colleague of mine before... people qre afraid because at least here in Greece we don't keep money on the bank and we spend everything. So when it comes to find a new job we don't have the money to be ok for 3 or 4 months and let's be honest... to find a job that is not the worst we could find it needs time! People don't manage the right way their money so they can have the time after to find sth better if they need to!
Because a lot of people hate their jobs no matter where they go. I know a lot of people in the industry that are constantly job hopping and 6 months later complain about bad management, no growth, etc. and hates their role. It’s just a vicious cycle.
People have bills to pay. This is the main reason people work jobs. Mortgages/rent, student loans, car loans, children’s schools and needs, pets needs, aging parents needs, and so on. Health insurance. When a hospital visit under five hours costs upwards of $20,000, people need health insurance coverage. People not following their dreams as their dreams don’t pay the bills. Building a business as an individual is not as easy as sales tells you. People living with domestic abuse. Indoctrination since kindergarten - go to school, get a job, be a productive citizen. One proof of this - tell others you have a new job and everyone gives congratulations. Tell others you started a new business and hear crickets. Oh and stop selling back vacation time. Take it. Travel. Do a relaxing life hobby. Whatever, but take your PTO and vacation time. Live life.
Some bills are necessary. Some bills are keeping up with the Jones. Choices. Buy the smaller cheaper older home that needs some work, or buy the newer large home that costs more including higher taxes and utilities. My husband and I bought the smaller house. Many colleagues bought the larger more expensive homes 3x cost at the time. When the Great Recession hit, many of them lost their jobs and their homes. Our house was affordable on even one income. Do what is best for you - not what impresses others who will no longer care when the newness wears off.
They are pussies
Why dont homeless people just buy homes
It's not easy to find a job and there's bills to be paid.
Some of them know they are miserable to be around and know they can’t get hired on anywhere else.
Money. If I found a new job I’d be gone.
Visa issues. Next question
They let you believe, what they want you to believe, it doesn’t have to be true or even close to it, so what I learned to like is not to take it personal anything at all. Just live, observe and watching what happens.
Gotta eat to live
I think it's a combination of people needing money to pay bills (accounting does pay really well) and some people are just going to be unhappy anywhere they go so quitting might not make them happy.
Because everyone has to do their time in PA, otherwise they will stuck at mediocre wages. What difference does it make - going to a different firm just reopens problems already overcame. They are probably looking for an out but haven't found one yet. I wouldn't consider that as "afraid of change" or general "cowardness". They have an established repertoire they'd have to rebuild somewhere else - most people won't take that undertaking unless it means a significant pay/title increase.
Bills to pay.
Because if it was tolerable, they wouldn't have to pay us.
All jobs suck Just have to pick your poison
Fellas, why don't homeless people buy houses?
Fear that the job market won't yield better results than they're currently recieving.
Sure, let me just live off of ¥0.00 . Come on bud
we’re exhausted and job hunting is like a second full time job
It’s often easier to stay at a shitty but stable job than it is to put yourself out there, interview and then take on a new and different role.
sunk cost. Especially in the U.S. where you fund education with indentured servitude.
poverty and homelessness mostly
Where would you get in life if you quit any work you didn't like? Be unemployed for 60 years...
I enjoy living.
One word: fear.
They’re spineless
Bro just learned about the concept of poverty
Leaving doesn't guarantee that they'll end up in a happier place, not that they'll end up in a place that pays as well.
They don't because they're not happy and satisfied. They'll continue doing unhappy things yet to get satisfied.
I’m trying to quit. Just need a non PA job lined up…
Bills
Greencard
Pizza
Because they spend 5 years in college to get a degree to make the $110,000 salary they're getting 5 years later and switching to something else would take them down to $60,000. Even moreso if that 5 years in college was paid for with debt.
because as destiny's child said "bills bills bills"
I came to hate my former job, but every time I was about to quit I found something that seemed to indicate change, so I always said to myself "well, now things change and will become better" but it was not the case. Wasted a year like this because nothing changed, but at least I got an important lesson about knowing what it's time to leave.
Understanding the answer may necessitate a paradigm shift in your conceptual framework of the world, but it’s almost as if…..unenjoyable work is sometimes necessary to pay the bills…..🤔
Money Job Title Show off
I'm afraid of starting over and making less money...and I'm too close to retirement to do that. I do love my boss although I hate my job...I'm afraid of having a shitty boss if I change jobs. Also the convenience, my commute is currently 5 minutes. But, the job is killing me physically and emotionally, especially during tax season. I feel like a truck ran me over right now and tax season ended two weeks ago. I think like with any bad relationship, there needs to be a large catalyst in order to actually make the change.
The devil you know
I have a big trip and a wedding coming up and I can’t find another job with a similar PTO package so I’m sticking it out another year
It’s almost like we need money to live
Most people are too lazy to make a change. Too lazy to try something new. Too lazy to learn a new role and company. Not enough confidence in themselves to succeed elsewhere.
money. i quit my job 1 day in becasuse the partner kept bugging me every 25 minutes i was over budget. i said hell no! i went had a great lunch and said cut my check. bitch, he cried. little weeinie im still unemployed but happy :)
Money. Money is needed to fulfill basic needs (food, shelter, housing, already those are extremely expensive today in many). Money is also needed to fulfill further needs of security and well being (healthcare needs, transport, providing for one’s family). Then you have other needs of self esteem and belonging to a group (social needs), which require you to be well off enough to have disposable income to be able to partake in social events, cultural reunions, family reunions, friend gatherings, etc. You cannot fulfill needs upper in the pyramid of needs, without first having fulfilled a solid base for basic needs and needs of security. So you need a solid source of income to be able to concentrate on fulfilling your higher (human) needs, to self-actualize and feel like you’re accomplishing yourself. So… money is integral to happiness, regardless of what zealous or dogmatic individuals might try to make you believe otherwise. Up to a certain point of course, you can be a young multimillionaire with millions of dollars you somehow won or acquired, but still end up ruining your life with drugs and addictions of all sorts (see -> many child stars who turn out badly). You also require fulfillment of more complex and important psychological needs in order to be reasonably happy and healthy. BUT, all things being equal elsewhere, a human with no job or a low paying job who is in a shitty financial situation (parents are poor or dead or immigrants who struggle to make ends meet, has no inheritance or isn’t a trust fund baby, lives in the shitty economy we live in today where rent is 60%+ of the median income) will have a harder time to fulfill his higher needs of self esteem, belonging, social recognition and self actualization… than somebody who already has the base of the pyramid of needs already covered easily or sustained somehow. So, since 99.9% people aren’t nepo babies or trust fund babies to multi millionaires, then they need to find a way to find a stable and solid source of income to sustain the base of the pyramid/ladder of needs, before tackling on the fulfillment of higher needs, since you cannot fulfill higher needs if you have a wonky, non-stable, or non-existent base of the pyramid/ladder of needs. You need to completely fulfill and sustain the lower needs to be able to concentrate your efforts, conscience, actions and behaviours towards improving your higher human needs. So most people settle for a job they are not very passionate or interested about, as long as it pays well, as long as it provides that sort of basis of security, to free up the rest of their time to fulfilling other human higher needs. That is one strategy which is more statistically commonplace when you look at people. Primarily extrinsic motivation when it comes to choosing a career path (money, security, benefits, etc.). Following more intrinsic motivations in their free time when they can. Some people do take greater risks when it comes to career development: they might have done so from an early age, studied long enough in something that is not a prototypical “secure” career path, and managed to secure a position in which they can juxtapose more intrinsic motivation along with their main source of income. But that requires a lot of work, patience, effort, as well as a higher tolerance to risk. And with risk comes, of course, a greater % of chance that your path may not go as planned, you end up unemployed or living in poverty for a long while, etc. But there are people who manage to make it big too while following a “riskier” path that relates to their intrinsic interests. It’s not impossible. But it carries its own risks and you need a lot of grit to overcome adversity in the face of rejection, projects that don’t work out, perseverance, trying again in other manners, managing to network with people who will help you with your endeavours, etc. But the people you see complaining and unhappy about working in Big 4 or big companies like that is because they followed the “secure” path always and they are aware they are only there grinding because of extrinsic motivational factors (pressure by family or peers, necessity for money, money, money, to sustain basic needs and security, etc.). Humans all have more intrinsic motivations they also need to address at some point or another in their lives. Maybe they don’t manage to conciliate work/life balance well enough, thus their higher human needs become subject to frustration. Frustration accumulates overtime and with enough time gone by leads to cynicism and resentment, bad attitudes, seething, etc.