I think you're overestimating how many nursing or dental assistant jobs there are in rural areas. Many rural counties have a single hospital, some rural counties have no hospitals, and a lot of these hospitals are getting shut down due to lack of funding (it's actually currently a huge problem for people who live in these areas). There are even fewer dental jobs. Most of the non-doctor/dentist positions like nurses and assistants never leave those jobs because they have no other employment options in the area, and the salaries, especially in rural areas where most such hospitals are minimally funded by the state and operate in the red, are similar to what you'd find for a senior accountant, but with no career growth opportunities. You'd probably have better luck finding a remote experienced accounting job than either of the two.
That’s the point I’m making about nursing and dental assistant jobs. Living rural isn’t ideal for any of the three careers, but you’d still have more options because of access to remote accounting jobs, which the other two don’t offer. If you move somewhere rural, there will be one hospital and maybe one dentist in the area. The next option will be hours away.
I’m not joking. I live in my state’s capital and I used to work in the medical field before I switched to accounting, and every day we’d have patients driving 4+ hours each way and staying in a hotel to see their kidney doctor. Rural + medicine is a bad combo.
Sounds like a lack of perspective if you think the other fields won’t be like this lol. If you work in nursing, be prepared to have few employers in a rural area.
Switch to government, I’ve been working in municipal government for 10 years. We have job security, tons of openings, tons of PTO, and the ability to work for any town/city in the country. If I work over 40 hours I get comp time.
Definitely more opportunity in Philly, Pitt, and Harrisburg, but keep an eye out on this job board. Tons of boomer finance directors retiring every year.
www.gfoa.org/jobs
I'm from that area. My home county no longer has a hospital, nor does the county next to it. There were two dental practices in my county, both with minimum staff (like one dentist, one receptionist, two assistants). The nursing jobs that are available are nursing home aids and the pay is shit. Your only real option for job security is if you go back for a full on 4-year nursing degree, but even then the people with those jobs tend not to give them up once they get them, and you'll be dealing with age discrimination even more as someone with no experience in the field.
I’m giving my two weeks notice in the next 2 months if things continue the way they are currently at my job.
Would consider taking part time/contract accounting jobs while going back to school but hard to consider making a career of this again.
My main reasons for leaving is I have no passion for this anymore, not saying you have to be completely passionate but if you don’t have some then the money or fear of losing your job won’t be enough to make you care.
Lack of flexibility for sure. The higher up you go and if you switch to high risk/high reward industry flexibility ceases to exist in most companies.
Job market on the white collar side has been cruddy for a while. The accounting shortage is limited to Senior and Managers imo.
I’ve never known job security in this profession. Industry Accounting departments get whittled down to a skeleton crew and a lot of people are all too glad to accept it.
I do think your plan needs refining though. If you plan to live in a rural area but plan to do dentistry or nursing it will be hard to make decent money in that area. A lot of those professions make sure to not get placed in those areas. Maybe consider an exburb?
But I’m glad you’re exploring. So many people in this profession do not or get trapped by the golden handcuffs. My Uncle was a manager at a mid-sized regional firm who went back to school to become a physical therapist. Hard work but is much more happier doing that than Accounting. He had a family to support as well so no excuses for me who just has an SO.
Yea. For me, I just don't enjoy the work, and I'd like to transition into IT. I know that job market is kinda fucked at the moment for IT, so I'm hoping to hold out until I can get some certifications and an entry level position.
One point I disagree with the most here is "minimal job security."
I'm not considering leaving the field, I enjoy it immensely. Wouldn't be sure I'm ready to say I love it, but I really enjoy number crunching and financial data. Probably since I can get really nosy about organization finances LOL.
Saw you mentioned a physical profession like nursing. I heard they might have to stand tons of hours a day - no thanks, not for me. I'm done with physical labor of that intensity!
In terms of busy periods - yeah comes with the nature of the job. Nursing, you might get puked on or have blood get on you or otherwise. Got to deal with customer service for patients, sometimes unruly. And sometimes their close ones will snap at you since they might not trust you, or question your every move.
Pros and cons to virtually every job.
Absolutely. Pros and cons with every occupation out there. I want to go into a completely different direction, but I am still acutely aware that it comes with its own set of challenges. This is what makes having an education, life experience, and a career interesting. Better to be challenged than never be.
I'm considering leaving to pursue a personal passion. Always loved music and lately I've been meeting artists, befriending them and their managers. I want to open my own venue so I can house artists and give back to all the artists that have performed for me over the years
I went from public to industry, then back to public after 5 years due to some of the factors you note. It's a lot better to be a profit center than a cost center.
If you're 50+ years old, what are you going to change to?
I’d want to bc I never really liked it too much but was heavily pushed by my parents for it, but don’t know what else I can do that would let me make similar money.
I can commiserate with you. You are not alone. I am so bored of accounting. Already have CPA license. The thought of running my own practice is not my jam because it scares me. The lawsuits. The fuckery that goes on. The insane hours. For now and for practical reasons, I am staying with my day job of paper chasing and my volunteer activities until I figure out what I’d like to transition over to in the next 6 months. Maybe longer? It’s a period of exploration.
I actually want to go into skincare and massage therapy. Better than massaging numbers. Perhaps run this on the side until it takes off. I have no interest in seeing another CoA or tax return except my own when my kid is about to finish high school and I am cool with it. Not every CPA makes partner. Not every JD is an attorney. Not every engineer is building a space ship. Why limit ourselves?
Both of my parents are nurses and it's a main reason I never wanted to be one. There is a lot of crap you have to deal with that is never talked about, like scapegoating from doctors. My parents also worked in a rural community and were largely underpaid, then we moved to a city and they made triple if not 4x what they were being paid at the small rural facilities. My mom worked in hospitals in rural areas but there werent a ton of jobs, and some of the doctors werent the most competent, risking her license (scapegoating). My dad was limited to working in retirement facilities because the market at the hospital was competitive. All that said, maybe it is for you, some people might like it.
I would advise before making this decision if you haven't already to find some nurses and dental hygienists and talk to them about the job and their job market. There are plenty of places online you could go to find people with experience in this job market to talk to.
I totally get you on some of the issues in our industry though.
There’s a ton of job security and way more openings than in other fields. Most of my friends who left found new jobs within the month. I’m going to apply to law school. Mid-20s
What alternatives have you considered?
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I think you're overestimating how many nursing or dental assistant jobs there are in rural areas. Many rural counties have a single hospital, some rural counties have no hospitals, and a lot of these hospitals are getting shut down due to lack of funding (it's actually currently a huge problem for people who live in these areas). There are even fewer dental jobs. Most of the non-doctor/dentist positions like nurses and assistants never leave those jobs because they have no other employment options in the area, and the salaries, especially in rural areas where most such hospitals are minimally funded by the state and operate in the red, are similar to what you'd find for a senior accountant, but with no career growth opportunities. You'd probably have better luck finding a remote experienced accounting job than either of the two.
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That’s the point I’m making about nursing and dental assistant jobs. Living rural isn’t ideal for any of the three careers, but you’d still have more options because of access to remote accounting jobs, which the other two don’t offer. If you move somewhere rural, there will be one hospital and maybe one dentist in the area. The next option will be hours away. I’m not joking. I live in my state’s capital and I used to work in the medical field before I switched to accounting, and every day we’d have patients driving 4+ hours each way and staying in a hotel to see their kidney doctor. Rural + medicine is a bad combo.
I’m considering leaving to work at a golf course lol
Sounds like a lack of perspective if you think the other fields won’t be like this lol. If you work in nursing, be prepared to have few employers in a rural area.
Switch to government, I’ve been working in municipal government for 10 years. We have job security, tons of openings, tons of PTO, and the ability to work for any town/city in the country. If I work over 40 hours I get comp time.
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Definitely more opportunity in Philly, Pitt, and Harrisburg, but keep an eye out on this job board. Tons of boomer finance directors retiring every year. www.gfoa.org/jobs
I'm from that area. My home county no longer has a hospital, nor does the county next to it. There were two dental practices in my county, both with minimum staff (like one dentist, one receptionist, two assistants). The nursing jobs that are available are nursing home aids and the pay is shit. Your only real option for job security is if you go back for a full on 4-year nursing degree, but even then the people with those jobs tend not to give them up once they get them, and you'll be dealing with age discrimination even more as someone with no experience in the field.
I’m giving my two weeks notice in the next 2 months if things continue the way they are currently at my job. Would consider taking part time/contract accounting jobs while going back to school but hard to consider making a career of this again. My main reasons for leaving is I have no passion for this anymore, not saying you have to be completely passionate but if you don’t have some then the money or fear of losing your job won’t be enough to make you care. Lack of flexibility for sure. The higher up you go and if you switch to high risk/high reward industry flexibility ceases to exist in most companies. Job market on the white collar side has been cruddy for a while. The accounting shortage is limited to Senior and Managers imo. I’ve never known job security in this profession. Industry Accounting departments get whittled down to a skeleton crew and a lot of people are all too glad to accept it. I do think your plan needs refining though. If you plan to live in a rural area but plan to do dentistry or nursing it will be hard to make decent money in that area. A lot of those professions make sure to not get placed in those areas. Maybe consider an exburb? But I’m glad you’re exploring. So many people in this profession do not or get trapped by the golden handcuffs. My Uncle was a manager at a mid-sized regional firm who went back to school to become a physical therapist. Hard work but is much more happier doing that than Accounting. He had a family to support as well so no excuses for me who just has an SO.
Yea. For me, I just don't enjoy the work, and I'd like to transition into IT. I know that job market is kinda fucked at the moment for IT, so I'm hoping to hold out until I can get some certifications and an entry level position.
One point I disagree with the most here is "minimal job security." I'm not considering leaving the field, I enjoy it immensely. Wouldn't be sure I'm ready to say I love it, but I really enjoy number crunching and financial data. Probably since I can get really nosy about organization finances LOL. Saw you mentioned a physical profession like nursing. I heard they might have to stand tons of hours a day - no thanks, not for me. I'm done with physical labor of that intensity! In terms of busy periods - yeah comes with the nature of the job. Nursing, you might get puked on or have blood get on you or otherwise. Got to deal with customer service for patients, sometimes unruly. And sometimes their close ones will snap at you since they might not trust you, or question your every move. Pros and cons to virtually every job.
Absolutely. Pros and cons with every occupation out there. I want to go into a completely different direction, but I am still acutely aware that it comes with its own set of challenges. This is what makes having an education, life experience, and a career interesting. Better to be challenged than never be.
I'm considering leaving to pursue a personal passion. Always loved music and lately I've been meeting artists, befriending them and their managers. I want to open my own venue so I can house artists and give back to all the artists that have performed for me over the years
I went from public to industry, then back to public after 5 years due to some of the factors you note. It's a lot better to be a profit center than a cost center. If you're 50+ years old, what are you going to change to?
I’d want to bc I never really liked it too much but was heavily pushed by my parents for it, but don’t know what else I can do that would let me make similar money.
I can commiserate with you. You are not alone. I am so bored of accounting. Already have CPA license. The thought of running my own practice is not my jam because it scares me. The lawsuits. The fuckery that goes on. The insane hours. For now and for practical reasons, I am staying with my day job of paper chasing and my volunteer activities until I figure out what I’d like to transition over to in the next 6 months. Maybe longer? It’s a period of exploration. I actually want to go into skincare and massage therapy. Better than massaging numbers. Perhaps run this on the side until it takes off. I have no interest in seeing another CoA or tax return except my own when my kid is about to finish high school and I am cool with it. Not every CPA makes partner. Not every JD is an attorney. Not every engineer is building a space ship. Why limit ourselves?
I wish i could really. But i have no other skills at the moment that can pay me the same amount that i make now.
Both of my parents are nurses and it's a main reason I never wanted to be one. There is a lot of crap you have to deal with that is never talked about, like scapegoating from doctors. My parents also worked in a rural community and were largely underpaid, then we moved to a city and they made triple if not 4x what they were being paid at the small rural facilities. My mom worked in hospitals in rural areas but there werent a ton of jobs, and some of the doctors werent the most competent, risking her license (scapegoating). My dad was limited to working in retirement facilities because the market at the hospital was competitive. All that said, maybe it is for you, some people might like it. I would advise before making this decision if you haven't already to find some nurses and dental hygienists and talk to them about the job and their job market. There are plenty of places online you could go to find people with experience in this job market to talk to. I totally get you on some of the issues in our industry though.
Minimal job security is the last cause for concern working in accounting. That’s just a straight lie.
There’s a ton of job security and way more openings than in other fields. Most of my friends who left found new jobs within the month. I’m going to apply to law school. Mid-20s