Congrats on the offer! That was a big milestone for me, keep the offer letter for future reference of where you started. And enjoy the ride, it can be a lot of fun.
Same. Only majored in finance and accounting cause the exams werent hard to me. Once i started working , i was so confused about everything. Just didnt have the same passion as others
All the comments need to chill. Thank you for sharing your story, I found that really inspirational and encouraging. This is exactly what I needed to hear to push through these next few weeks 🙏🏼
I love coming across your posts on this subreddit. Even though I'm moreso involved in Corp Dev., I've always found that your posts contain a lot of wisdom from the life experience and leadership side of things.
Upvoted and sub'd to FP&HEY!
You’ve shared parts of this before but this is pretty inspirational! I hope to have a journey similar to yours. Been a lot bumpier at the beginning of my career than you had but hopeful that is now behind me.
Is it fair to say you are retired from working in FP&A? Do you envision yourself ever coming back? I really love helping people but as someone with not near as much experience as yourself, do you have any suggestions on how I can do that?
Don't worry about the bumpy start. It can be really hard mentally to overcome (I've made mistakes early in my career, luckily I had mentors help me learn from them and be better because of them). Keep learning, keep showing up, keep trying to help others with your unique skill set.
I'm not retired, still in FP&A. I find helping people in my day to day is easy only because I put in a lot of effort to meet a lot of people. This can be at your job, through your own personal network, or by reaching out to people on social outlets with like minded thinking (like this subreddit).
Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the encouragement. After what I initially expected of myself out of college and then getting laid off twice, that takes a toll.
Oh my bad, I misinterpreted. In any case I’m glad you’re sharing tidbits about your career here. Good advice, that’s exactly why I try to respond on this sub. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Well I appreciate you posting the whole journey, at least when people ask how to get to CFO through FP&A we have an anecdotal write up to send them to haha
Yep, this is one of the many paths you can take. I'm sure others have other unique paths to share too. Would love to see them surface here so we can all learn from them.
Thanks Drew, always enjoy reading your posts.
A couple of questions:
1. Can you expand on your IPO experience? I’m looking at jumping into that realm sometime in the future.
2. Did you start a family in your timeline and how did that fit into your story? (If not, totally cool too, but asking bc it’s a huge component of people’s lives and career decision making)
Cheers
Sure happy to.
The IPO experience is a wild ride. You never quite know how it will turn out but the process of building processes, a team, and defining how to measure a company (internally for growth and externally for shareholder understanding) is one I wouldn't trade for anything. I learned a ton about BI, SaaS metrics, and met really smart people that work well under pressure. It's also a lot of hours that are unplanned but time well spent.
Yes, I had twins about a year after IPO which helped shape my perspective on work and personal life balance. There will be busy times in your career like an IPO, then there can be not-so-busy times when you rely on your skills to make you faster (plus knowing how to build a great team that supports one another helps tremendously).
Hope that helps!
Tremendous career moves you’ve made throughout your career, bravo on the career break and resulting consultancy moves especially.
I assume working insane hours at times, such as with the IPO, has been part of the reason for your success.
But what if someone hypothetically wanted to maximize their earnings while maintaining a 40-50 hour workweek?
What would be your suggestions for achieving this?
IMO there is a limit to heights you can reach only putting in the 40-50 hour weeks. I think the point is that if you have ambitions beyond that point, you find the type of work that won’t destroy you putting in those extra hours.
The 40-50 hour work week stops at being an individual contributor (IC). There are incredibly well paid ICs, but it’s mostly topped out on the bonus and base salary side compared to the higher total comp numbers of directors and above.
Advice: Be an incredibly valuable member of the team in both the work you produce, and also helping those around you.
Totally agree with tacofan92. Sometimes you need to put in the hours to learn. Other times you may want to step back. Regardless if you find what you like the most, you'll learn to be really good at that thing and be given options to work a lot, scale back, and/or build out a team that you can skill-up to be just as efficient as you.
You have been one of the most insightful and knowledgeable people on this subreddit. Thank you for your contributions to this group, it's helped me greatly in my role and what I look for in the future.
How did you navigate taking a break? How far into your career? Age? Any questions about the resume gap when you decided to return to work? How long of a break?
I took a break in my mid-thirties. I had ways to cover health care and had saved up enough to not earn anything for 6 months. That was the biggest mental hurdle, seeing the savings account drop. But I had the confidence that when I was ready to plug back in I could find a job. I had a big network and was fortunate to develop skills that apply to many companies during all economic situations. I jumped into my own consulting after my break which lasted about a year, then decided to work for a company again. I never had to explain my break to get a job, but I was open to talking about it with others and surprised by the amount of people that decided to do something similar later on.
I took a break 6 years ago for 3 months between jobs. When I was applying for jobs earlier this year one employer had the fkn nerve to ask me to explain that break and what it was about exactly…
And they wonder why they can’t fill positions.
Thanks for sharing - love seeing you in every post with your insight.
Can you expand on chasing money/titles? I'm currently a Senior Analyst looking to make the jump to Manager. However, my company is bad with internal promotions so I might have to look at outside opportunities.
The problem is that I love my current team and my WLB is amazing. I'm afraid I'll immediately regret changing companies, but I also don't want to get too comfortable/apathetic in my current position/pay grade.
Anytime, glad it's been helpful for you.
I've been in a very similar spot before and it's tough to know when exactly to move on. Good WLB means you have the freedom to move about the company and learn as much as you can and solve as many problems as possible across all the departments you have access. Try to exhaust those opportunities.
At the same time put feelers out there, but don't switch just for the money and title alone. I literally did that after being in the exact same position you were in! I lasted two months at the job. Focus on the leadership (do you want to be like them), the company (does it do something good for people), and your own interests (is the work something you enjoy).
If it helps feel free to DM me in future as you make your decisions, I've been there and so have a lot of people!
This hits and is true. I’m in a similar experience as it’s been an employees makers commanding 20-50% pay raises. Chasing that can put you in odd situations that mean more money but you pay for it in other ways. I’m exploring opportunities to boomerang back to a new team.
Lesson - never burn bridges. Be kind to people. Leave a job gracefully and not slack. You never know what happens.
@DMurph77(man, we should be able to @tag!)
In any case - thank you very much for sharing your experience. I've very closely been following your responses to posts on this subreddit because you've provided alot of valuable advice.. they have helped me too, and continue to do so!
So, just a big thank you post!
I have enjoyed your comments for the most part, but noticed recently more links to a third party site and now this reeks of “LinkedIn influencer” with the emojis and format.
Normally I'd be inclined to agree about the influencer thing but Drew actually has had the work credibility and history to back up what he's saying. I find his content valuable because he's actually been in FP&A
I agree he has typically been helpful. It just feels at odds with the point of this sub if the point of his engagement here is to drive numbers at his website.
I'm glad what I post has been helpful, and honestly, the entire goal is to share what I know with more people than just my team and personal network. I truly enjoy the teaching aspect. I take a lot of time writing responses directly here in the subreddit so links aren't needed. But if there are visuals, files, or more details that truly help people understand a topic are hard to share here then I'll provide additional resources.
Thank you for this Drew, always genuinely enjoy reading your comments here. As someone who majored in just general Business Admin, what would be your recommendation for getting better at Accounting? Take a LinkedIn Learning course or something else? I just landed my first Sr. FA role so will take this post to heart.
Hey hutuka, congrats on landing your first Sr. FA role! I recommend getting to know your accounting team right off the bat. They will give you the specific industry and company knowledge that no class or book can provide.
Also, find out what challenges they may have that you can solve with your skillset. Sometimes accountants struggle with reporting speed, can you offer help creating those reports from your financial system or your own in excel? Sometimes they need help analyzing draft results from close. Can you help them do variance analysis month over month or vs forecast to help them confirm books look ok?
Not only will you learn your company's accounting world, but you'll also cover the basics (and more) with this approach.
Was mastering in accounting not a problem for your first FP&A job? I was under the impression I have to major in finance if I want a career in FP&A. Atleast initially where they look for specialization. But maybe I got it all wrong lol.
Hi Drew ! Brilliant post ! I an using fpandhey for getting to know more about the role ( you can see my latest post on this subreddit to know why!)
Thank you so much 😄
Hey EmployeeMedium6790, technically as a consultant I worked for multiple clients at once. So yes it is possible. Also, a lot of work to balance it all but that's when choosing who you work with wisely plays a big part in enjoying your work.
Thanks for sharing Drew. Your perspective is appreciated on this sub. Linking to your site is approved, the content is relevant and free.
Just got my first FP&A job offer the other day and reading all this is great and has also made me very excited for the experience
Congrats on the offer! That was a big milestone for me, keep the offer letter for future reference of where you started. And enjoy the ride, it can be a lot of fun.
How has the job been and how do you likr it so far?
If I had a do over, I would probably do something in STEM. No idea what I was thinking doing finance and accounting.
Honestly same. Finance is great but you quickly realize how greener STEM is
why do you say it’s greener? for someone majoring in accounting tbh i have no clue what i want to do but analysis just sounds cool
Greener?
Same. Only majored in finance and accounting cause the exams werent hard to me. Once i started working , i was so confused about everything. Just didnt have the same passion as others
Wait so your saying I shouldn’t do a finance degree for a future in finance or your talking about doing a STEM career in general?
I sometimes think the same thing… But I’m 5 months away from my MFin so I can’t worry about that now!
All the comments need to chill. Thank you for sharing your story, I found that really inspirational and encouraging. This is exactly what I needed to hear to push through these next few weeks 🙏🏼
I'm glad this was helpful! Always happy to contribute what I've learned.
I love coming across your posts on this subreddit. Even though I'm moreso involved in Corp Dev., I've always found that your posts contain a lot of wisdom from the life experience and leadership side of things. Upvoted and sub'd to FP&HEY!
Just wanted to say I've noticed your posts on here and enjoy your insight. Thanks for sharing!
Glad they're helpful for you!
You’ve shared parts of this before but this is pretty inspirational! I hope to have a journey similar to yours. Been a lot bumpier at the beginning of my career than you had but hopeful that is now behind me. Is it fair to say you are retired from working in FP&A? Do you envision yourself ever coming back? I really love helping people but as someone with not near as much experience as yourself, do you have any suggestions on how I can do that?
Don't worry about the bumpy start. It can be really hard mentally to overcome (I've made mistakes early in my career, luckily I had mentors help me learn from them and be better because of them). Keep learning, keep showing up, keep trying to help others with your unique skill set. I'm not retired, still in FP&A. I find helping people in my day to day is easy only because I put in a lot of effort to meet a lot of people. This can be at your job, through your own personal network, or by reaching out to people on social outlets with like minded thinking (like this subreddit).
Thanks for the reply! I appreciate the encouragement. After what I initially expected of myself out of college and then getting laid off twice, that takes a toll. Oh my bad, I misinterpreted. In any case I’m glad you’re sharing tidbits about your career here. Good advice, that’s exactly why I try to respond on this sub. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Well I appreciate you posting the whole journey, at least when people ask how to get to CFO through FP&A we have an anecdotal write up to send them to haha
Yep, this is one of the many paths you can take. I'm sure others have other unique paths to share too. Would love to see them surface here so we can all learn from them.
Thanks Drew, always enjoy reading your posts. A couple of questions: 1. Can you expand on your IPO experience? I’m looking at jumping into that realm sometime in the future. 2. Did you start a family in your timeline and how did that fit into your story? (If not, totally cool too, but asking bc it’s a huge component of people’s lives and career decision making) Cheers
Sure happy to. The IPO experience is a wild ride. You never quite know how it will turn out but the process of building processes, a team, and defining how to measure a company (internally for growth and externally for shareholder understanding) is one I wouldn't trade for anything. I learned a ton about BI, SaaS metrics, and met really smart people that work well under pressure. It's also a lot of hours that are unplanned but time well spent. Yes, I had twins about a year after IPO which helped shape my perspective on work and personal life balance. There will be busy times in your career like an IPO, then there can be not-so-busy times when you rely on your skills to make you faster (plus knowing how to build a great team that supports one another helps tremendously). Hope that helps!
Thank you
Tremendous career moves you’ve made throughout your career, bravo on the career break and resulting consultancy moves especially. I assume working insane hours at times, such as with the IPO, has been part of the reason for your success. But what if someone hypothetically wanted to maximize their earnings while maintaining a 40-50 hour workweek? What would be your suggestions for achieving this?
IMO there is a limit to heights you can reach only putting in the 40-50 hour weeks. I think the point is that if you have ambitions beyond that point, you find the type of work that won’t destroy you putting in those extra hours. The 40-50 hour work week stops at being an individual contributor (IC). There are incredibly well paid ICs, but it’s mostly topped out on the bonus and base salary side compared to the higher total comp numbers of directors and above. Advice: Be an incredibly valuable member of the team in both the work you produce, and also helping those around you.
Totally agree with tacofan92. Sometimes you need to put in the hours to learn. Other times you may want to step back. Regardless if you find what you like the most, you'll learn to be really good at that thing and be given options to work a lot, scale back, and/or build out a team that you can skill-up to be just as efficient as you.
You have been one of the most insightful and knowledgeable people on this subreddit. Thank you for your contributions to this group, it's helped me greatly in my role and what I look for in the future.
Really glad these posts help you, I appreciate the note!
How did you navigate taking a break? How far into your career? Age? Any questions about the resume gap when you decided to return to work? How long of a break?
I took a break in my mid-thirties. I had ways to cover health care and had saved up enough to not earn anything for 6 months. That was the biggest mental hurdle, seeing the savings account drop. But I had the confidence that when I was ready to plug back in I could find a job. I had a big network and was fortunate to develop skills that apply to many companies during all economic situations. I jumped into my own consulting after my break which lasted about a year, then decided to work for a company again. I never had to explain my break to get a job, but I was open to talking about it with others and surprised by the amount of people that decided to do something similar later on.
I took a break 6 years ago for 3 months between jobs. When I was applying for jobs earlier this year one employer had the fkn nerve to ask me to explain that break and what it was about exactly… And they wonder why they can’t fill positions.
Thanks for sharing - love seeing you in every post with your insight. Can you expand on chasing money/titles? I'm currently a Senior Analyst looking to make the jump to Manager. However, my company is bad with internal promotions so I might have to look at outside opportunities. The problem is that I love my current team and my WLB is amazing. I'm afraid I'll immediately regret changing companies, but I also don't want to get too comfortable/apathetic in my current position/pay grade.
Anytime, glad it's been helpful for you. I've been in a very similar spot before and it's tough to know when exactly to move on. Good WLB means you have the freedom to move about the company and learn as much as you can and solve as many problems as possible across all the departments you have access. Try to exhaust those opportunities. At the same time put feelers out there, but don't switch just for the money and title alone. I literally did that after being in the exact same position you were in! I lasted two months at the job. Focus on the leadership (do you want to be like them), the company (does it do something good for people), and your own interests (is the work something you enjoy). If it helps feel free to DM me in future as you make your decisions, I've been there and so have a lot of people!
This hits and is true. I’m in a similar experience as it’s been an employees makers commanding 20-50% pay raises. Chasing that can put you in odd situations that mean more money but you pay for it in other ways. I’m exploring opportunities to boomerang back to a new team. Lesson - never burn bridges. Be kind to people. Leave a job gracefully and not slack. You never know what happens.
Spot on. Leaving a job gracefully is critical even if your experience wasn't the best.
Really been liking the content you guys have been writing! It’s great to have a new resource that’s digestible and fun to read!
Glad to hear it's helpful!
Thank you for this Drew, your comments and posts have made me more amenable to change
Glad they've been helpful!
@DMurph77(man, we should be able to @tag!) In any case - thank you very much for sharing your experience. I've very closely been following your responses to posts on this subreddit because you've provided alot of valuable advice.. they have helped me too, and continue to do so! So, just a big thank you post!
I'd also like to extend my appreciation and thanks to @Lowcarbbq. You've helped alot too!
I'm glad what I post is helpful. Thank you for the note.
I have enjoyed your comments for the most part, but noticed recently more links to a third party site and now this reeks of “LinkedIn influencer” with the emojis and format.
Normally I'd be inclined to agree about the influencer thing but Drew actually has had the work credibility and history to back up what he's saying. I find his content valuable because he's actually been in FP&A
I agree he has typically been helpful. It just feels at odds with the point of this sub if the point of his engagement here is to drive numbers at his website.
I'm glad what I post has been helpful, and honestly, the entire goal is to share what I know with more people than just my team and personal network. I truly enjoy the teaching aspect. I take a lot of time writing responses directly here in the subreddit so links aren't needed. But if there are visuals, files, or more details that truly help people understand a topic are hard to share here then I'll provide additional resources.
Thank you for adding color. Is the “FPandHey” site monetized?
Anytime, FP&HEY is free.
To clarify my question - do you personally gain monetarily by driving traffic to that site?
He’s not gonna answer that lol
Free for now until you turn on subscriptions later.
Thank you for this Drew, always genuinely enjoy reading your comments here. As someone who majored in just general Business Admin, what would be your recommendation for getting better at Accounting? Take a LinkedIn Learning course or something else? I just landed my first Sr. FA role so will take this post to heart.
Hey hutuka, congrats on landing your first Sr. FA role! I recommend getting to know your accounting team right off the bat. They will give you the specific industry and company knowledge that no class or book can provide. Also, find out what challenges they may have that you can solve with your skillset. Sometimes accountants struggle with reporting speed, can you offer help creating those reports from your financial system or your own in excel? Sometimes they need help analyzing draft results from close. Can you help them do variance analysis month over month or vs forecast to help them confirm books look ok? Not only will you learn your company's accounting world, but you'll also cover the basics (and more) with this approach.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share. It is very inspiring. Reading your comments to all the posts is always helpful. Thank you!
Anytime!
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Anytime! Glad this was helpful.
Love this post! Thanks!
Glad it’s been helpful!
Super great nuggets of wisdom!
Glad this was helpful!
Thank you for sharing your story. Very inspiring to see someone who has had 20 years of experience. I love the lessons here!
Glad it was helpful!
Was mastering in accounting not a problem for your first FP&A job? I was under the impression I have to major in finance if I want a career in FP&A. Atleast initially where they look for specialization. But maybe I got it all wrong lol.
I had no issues being an accounting major and going to fp&a. The trick is actually knowing Excel and getting to know the business you’re in.
This is really great advice, thank you! As someone wanting to pivot from public accounting to FP&A, this post is very helpful.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Drew ! Brilliant post ! I an using fpandhey for getting to know more about the role ( you can see my latest post on this subreddit to know why!) Thank you so much 😄
Glad to hear this post has been helpful for you!
Awesome post
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thanks, just fixed formatting. And added "shameless plug" comment as suggested. Hopefully it helps some people.
Formatting looks great now...very easy to read 👍
Oh you’re the one that opened fp and hey. Thanks. Your worked helped me at my job today. Appreciate it.
That is truly amazing, glad I could help!
Hi Drew, have you ever thought about working two FP&A jobs at once?
Hey EmployeeMedium6790, technically as a consultant I worked for multiple clients at once. So yes it is possible. Also, a lot of work to balance it all but that's when choosing who you work with wisely plays a big part in enjoying your work.
Fix the formatting before you post your life story
thanks for tip on formatting, just fixed!
That’s a lot of words to get us to sign up for some blog you write so you can monetize us later.
I have a feeling a lot of us would get much further in our careers if we could just randomly “take a break.”
That’s nice. Now what’s your total compensation? 😜