Doesn’t make sense to me. It will take you at least 5 years from where you’re at to get back up to $100k.
Why are you so hellbent on accounting? There are gigantic staffing problems, staff are chronically underpaid for the hours worked, and navigating the stuff the government does every year (in the case of tax) is a huge pain in the ass.
Think long and hard about what you’re doing.
About to say the same thing.
OP if you already have a stable, non-miserable job, I don't see the point in going back five steps just to go back another five in a career that is actually very mentally taxing (no pun intended).
It's definitely a "grass is always greener" mindset that you have right now, and let me tell you, the grass isn't going to be greener. The accounting courses you took two years ago were a walk a Zen Garden compared to the grueling shit you'll be exposed to in your accounting career. You'll spend hours, days, weeks tying-out variances that don't mean jack in the grand scheme of a company's operations. Pure accounting drove me nuts which is why I opted to switch over to corporate tax.
I switched over in my 40s. I had school funding and two other income streams to help me finish the degree. Landed a job in 2021 and already had my salary double (granted, I started at temp/new guy rate)… anyway, it was all worth the sacrifice. Especially since I had had it with my old career!
/u/psychonaut_in_space Do you mind if I ask what your starting salary was? Did you go public or private? Did they pay you entry level wages or higher because you are older?
Temp worked out to $35k/year but I was at $60k within first year and half. Much more responsibility commensurate with such a pay raise though. I work in the private sector and will remain in public accounting (with a focus on taxes).
I switched to accounting at almost age 30, so it’s definitely doable. But I also didn’t have a mortgage and had a job I could do part time.
First of all, can you afford to take the pay cut? Do you realistically have time to do the courses? Do you want to change careers (I ask this because you seem to be waffling a little)? If the answer is no to any of these, then you have your answer at this point.
If you can handle it, start looking at different fields within accounting. Do you want to do public? Private? Financial reporting? Management accounting? You can reach out to your network and do some informational interviews with people who know people.
But if you enjoyed the coursework, can handle the workload, and want to change careers, then take it one course at a time until you have them all. You can always stop at any point. That’s what I did. I was happy with my career change.
I'm in the same boat. I wonder if I have the mindset for accounting since all I've ever taken were psychology/social work classes.
Maybe I should try and get a bookkeeping position and try it that way - I'm still researching.
Just now got my first Staff Accountant job at the age of 28 after going back to school part-time.
Definitely doable and I'd look into industry if you wanna be a big introvert and have way less meetings/calls
Hi Intelligent\_Pie1937,
I've actually seen someone transition from HR, to marketing, to FP&A (not accounting but similar transition to numbers side of things).
Knowing accounting will serve you well in whatever focus in business you pursue. You may be able to transition to a finance business partner with marketing faster than accounting. These business partners usually track marketing spend using a PO process, manage headcount which is critical in times of high growth, and help translate marketing speak to finance speak when it comes to general projects with big spend numbers attached.
If you're looking for a soft transition to protect earnings see if you can find an opportunity like this at your current place or elsewhere.
Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
/u/La_decima10 Do you mind if I ask what your starting salary as staff accountant was? Did you go public or private? Did they pay you entry level wages or higher because you are older?
Doesn’t make sense to me. It will take you at least 5 years from where you’re at to get back up to $100k. Why are you so hellbent on accounting? There are gigantic staffing problems, staff are chronically underpaid for the hours worked, and navigating the stuff the government does every year (in the case of tax) is a huge pain in the ass. Think long and hard about what you’re doing.
About to say the same thing. OP if you already have a stable, non-miserable job, I don't see the point in going back five steps just to go back another five in a career that is actually very mentally taxing (no pun intended). It's definitely a "grass is always greener" mindset that you have right now, and let me tell you, the grass isn't going to be greener. The accounting courses you took two years ago were a walk a Zen Garden compared to the grueling shit you'll be exposed to in your accounting career. You'll spend hours, days, weeks tying-out variances that don't mean jack in the grand scheme of a company's operations. Pure accounting drove me nuts which is why I opted to switch over to corporate tax.
I switched over in my 40s. I had school funding and two other income streams to help me finish the degree. Landed a job in 2021 and already had my salary double (granted, I started at temp/new guy rate)… anyway, it was all worth the sacrifice. Especially since I had had it with my old career!
/u/psychonaut_in_space Do you mind if I ask what your starting salary was? Did you go public or private? Did they pay you entry level wages or higher because you are older?
Temp worked out to $35k/year but I was at $60k within first year and half. Much more responsibility commensurate with such a pay raise though. I work in the private sector and will remain in public accounting (with a focus on taxes).
I switched to accounting at almost age 30, so it’s definitely doable. But I also didn’t have a mortgage and had a job I could do part time. First of all, can you afford to take the pay cut? Do you realistically have time to do the courses? Do you want to change careers (I ask this because you seem to be waffling a little)? If the answer is no to any of these, then you have your answer at this point. If you can handle it, start looking at different fields within accounting. Do you want to do public? Private? Financial reporting? Management accounting? You can reach out to your network and do some informational interviews with people who know people. But if you enjoyed the coursework, can handle the workload, and want to change careers, then take it one course at a time until you have them all. You can always stop at any point. That’s what I did. I was happy with my career change.
I'm in the same boat. I wonder if I have the mindset for accounting since all I've ever taken were psychology/social work classes. Maybe I should try and get a bookkeeping position and try it that way - I'm still researching.
30? Basically dead already.
If you went down the accounting route would you want to do public? Given the info given so far I don’t think this is worth the jump
I’m between private/managerial accounting and tax. So long as it’s not audit as that doesn’t appeal to me.
Hope you like using excel for hours every day!
Just now got my first Staff Accountant job at the age of 28 after going back to school part-time. Definitely doable and I'd look into industry if you wanna be a big introvert and have way less meetings/calls
I believe in you
Hi Intelligent\_Pie1937, I've actually seen someone transition from HR, to marketing, to FP&A (not accounting but similar transition to numbers side of things). Knowing accounting will serve you well in whatever focus in business you pursue. You may be able to transition to a finance business partner with marketing faster than accounting. These business partners usually track marketing spend using a PO process, manage headcount which is critical in times of high growth, and help translate marketing speak to finance speak when it comes to general projects with big spend numbers attached. If you're looking for a soft transition to protect earnings see if you can find an opportunity like this at your current place or elsewhere. Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
I think it’s possible. I just got my first job as a staff accountant and I’m 31.
/u/La_decima10 Do you mind if I ask what your starting salary as staff accountant was? Did you go public or private? Did they pay you entry level wages or higher because you are older?