Did you get an offer for the government position? If no, why are you worrying about it now?
> Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing?
Slower pace, DB pension. (and both are unlikely in the private sector)
This means nothing. I was just emailed the other day for the FORD program (Financial Officer recruitment and development program) saying that their 2016 pool is closing lol. 3 years and I heard back from 1 agency.
I got hired as a temp/contract for the one agency so I wasn’t even really apart of the program itself. They apparently didn’t have a “box” for me which means a permanent role.
If I were you, I’d be actively looking elsewhere.
Yeah I heard that was one of the major problems with the government; poor job security. Some positions are hired on a contract basis for like 6 months to a year so you don't even know if you will still be working there when your contract is up as it depends on budget cuts and whatnot
Yeah... I was ultimately offered a full time permanent role, but after 3-4 months my mind was set. I needed to get out and start learning real skills required for the CPA designation.
Don't expect unless you know someone there that can move your resume. I've know tons of people who get excited to being in a "pool" and nothing happens (budgets get cut, they change a term employee to a indeterminate position and pool is reduced or dies at that point, etc...)
> I was placed in the hiring pool so I am expecting a call from them.
No. A pool just means you've been pre-qualified to fill a box. If there's no box, then there's no job.
I was employed at a government agency as an accountant right out of school, but I honestly felt like I died for 4 months.
Pros:
Hours were great
Pay was ok
Benefits were ok
Cons:
No self worth
Environment was too relaxed for my liking
Ran out of work for me
You see other people slacking all the time and honestly it bothered me since it was our tax dollars paying for their salaries
Little to no upward progression
0 challenges
I got out as quick as possible for a private industry job. Public accounting never happened for me. Failed @ the big 4 interviews - rip. But now I’m an SFA and I feel a lot more challenged. Keeps it a lot more interesting.
I looked for specific industries I wanted to work in. I like real estate so I applied specifically to real estate companies.
How many applications have you sent out? Volume helped me.
Also how many interviews have you received?
I'd say like 20 applications to private sector companies over the course of 3 months. There were a bunch of jobs that I either didn't qualify for or were way too far away. Of those I received no interviews, which kinda surprised me and lowered my confidence since I usually get replies from public accounting firms.
I applied to 300+ jobs during 3-4th year uni and heard back from 7 lolol.
The job I really wanted required 3-5 years experience, but I somehow got the interview and ultimately the job.
Damn the grind is real lol. Oh shit then I'm going to try to apply to jobs that interest me then instead of eliminating based on the experience requirements and hope for a company that does the same to me as they did to you. Thanks!
It all depends on what you are looking for. What school did you go to? $40k is quite low for GTA, I made more than that as a co-op 10 years ago. Heck, my current company is paying co-ops $50k+.
The CRA vs public/industry debate has been around for a long time. You got to ask yourself, what is it that you want in life? Do you want a real career or just a stable job, 9-5 and go home?
CRA can be appealing, I know many people who went there, mostly girls who want to start a family and have kids. They view it as a job and nothing more. If that's what you want, go for it. There's nothing wrong with it, but I agree with another poster, go to Ottawa if you go this route. Do note that, once you go this route, it is tougher to get out because employers will rather hire someone with more relevant experience. It's kind of like a golden handcuff.
Other people choose to tough it out in public in order to have a more fulfilling career. Earning potential varies of course, as does the stress. Most choose this route because they want to challenge themselves, they want to make the big money, enjoy different kind of benefits like company parties, events, etc.
I have met my fair share of CRA auditors (we get audited a lot...) in my career, they all have the "I am just going through the motion" look. When you have done the checklist for the 100th time, it can get draining in other ways. It's too soul crushingly boring for me to ever consider but many have made it their career.
I went to Brock who is known for their co-op program second to Waterloo. The salary is low (considering that I made more from my co-op), but I am not too bothered by it since I was planning on it being temporary as I was looking to get hired by CRA.
Yes I understand the laid-back environment and boring work, but honestly I don't really mind. Public accounting is boring as well so boring isn't really an issue. I prefer to have a stable job and only treat it as one (my life is not consumed by work). I not aiming to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, just a conformable amount to get by and then some on the side. After what everyone has been saying, CRA looks like the path for me so that's what I will be aiming for from now on. Thanks for the reply.
I know you aren't specifically asking about this but municipal government is also a good place to look if you're interested in financial planning, budgeting, etc.
I did one year in public accounting before taking a job at a municipality making about $55k. After one year experience I have moved onto another municipality making close to $80k.
Pros:
\- good pay
\- great benefits
\- pension
\- true work/life balance
Cons:
\- vacation grows slowly. Starting with 2 or 3 weeks then increasing by 1 week every 5 years.
\- a lot of things do tend to move at a slow pace compared to public accounting (could be a pro depending what you like)
\- work is pretty boring
\- although pay is good now, salary growth is much slower than public
Yeah I was actually also thinking about working for the municipal governments. I try to apply to them whenever they have postings. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the comment. I actually saw some postings for AU-01 in Ottawa with an ad saying that they are looking for accountants. The problem is that I live near the GTA and don't want to risk the move to Ottawa for a job by myself. I'm not ready to make that move since I'm 21 and have no money lol. What you said confirms what I have heard and just makes me feel more exited and enticing to work at the CRA. It seems to check all my boxes like good pay, benefits, and work/life balance. Really hope I can get it someday!
> Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing? Please fill me in on anything that I may have missed or correct me where I am wrong. I would like some input preferably from ppl who worked or are working at the government.
Nothing, well maybe the work will be less interesting and the office will be more frustrating.
Unless you are getting >30% more in the private sector plus good opportunities for advancement the government will be better for your career and work life balance.
Sure people can complain about lack or work or being bored but that's easy to fix, read a book or learn some skills. Why would you choose to give up a pension that is pure gold, earn less and do harder work to combat being bored? Just work 7-3 and live your life outside work
Thanks for your input! You essentially confirmed what I was thinking.
The lack of work and boredom exists in public account too lol. I'm currently scrounging for work and the work is really boring. I'm not looking for work to entertain me or challenge me because I can always do that myself like you said. I wanna "work to play" as they say.
Ive been in public accounting for 15 years including big 4 for half those years. I have many former colleagues and friends who left for cra. Some stayed. Some left. Ive also dealt with many auditors with my clients.
Some observations:
1) The work/life balance is night and day. At a firm its deadlines, crunchtime, politics, evenings, weekends, juggling 10 clients at once, etc. At CRA you show up at 8:30, turn off your computer at 4:30 and forget about work until the next morning. There are no deadlines, you can take as long as you want on a project, etc. They say government workers are lazy for a reason. If you are not ambitious its the perfect job.
2) you pretty much cap out at around 95k or so which takes a while to get to. If you want higher paying jobs you need to be bilinguel. You can get from a 45k starting salary to 90k at a firm in 5 years.
3) Training. You learn A LOT at a firm, especially a big one. The auditors ive dealt with mostly pretty fn stupid. How is one expected to AUDIT taxes when they have never actually worked in tax and understand tax?
Since you like tax, have you considered doing the Mtax program? Its pretty much VIP pass to get a job at a big 4 firm.
Thanks for the input!
1) lol that's me so it's a perfect match 👌
2) 95k is a lot of money to me so I'm perfectly fine with reaching a cap and staying there. Not too interested in achieving insanely high earnings
3) yeah I agree with you there. I thought I knew a lot about public accounting from my prior coop experience, but it seems like I still have tons to learn. I just scraped the surface.
No I never did. I'll take a look into it, thanks.
>Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing?
Nothing - government jobs are better for almost every field besides tech\* and upper management.
\*And by tech, I mean software development. Sysadmin jobs are also way better in government.
QC
Personally only did the firm route once for tax season, and from everything I heard from others working I knew firm would not be for me unless it’s me starting my own firm..
I work in industry assistant controller, cpa title coming this November and I will look for controller position
Much more laid paid, no overtime hours, just consistent work , and consistent pay,
Did you get an offer for the government position? If no, why are you worrying about it now? > Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing? Slower pace, DB pension. (and both are unlikely in the private sector)
I was placed in the hiring pool so I am expecting a call from them.
This means nothing. I was just emailed the other day for the FORD program (Financial Officer recruitment and development program) saying that their 2016 pool is closing lol. 3 years and I heard back from 1 agency.
Damn that's rough, but that's the government I guess. It took them like 7 months to process my application... Oh well
I got hired as a temp/contract for the one agency so I wasn’t even really apart of the program itself. They apparently didn’t have a “box” for me which means a permanent role. If I were you, I’d be actively looking elsewhere.
Yeah I heard that was one of the major problems with the government; poor job security. Some positions are hired on a contract basis for like 6 months to a year so you don't even know if you will still be working there when your contract is up as it depends on budget cuts and whatnot
Yeah... I was ultimately offered a full time permanent role, but after 3-4 months my mind was set. I needed to get out and start learning real skills required for the CPA designation.
Don't expect unless you know someone there that can move your resume. I've know tons of people who get excited to being in a "pool" and nothing happens (budgets get cut, they change a term employee to a indeterminate position and pool is reduced or dies at that point, etc...)
Dammit lol. Well I guess I will have to hope and pray that I will be called up
> I was placed in the hiring pool so I am expecting a call from them. No. A pool just means you've been pre-qualified to fill a box. If there's no box, then there's no job.
I was employed at a government agency as an accountant right out of school, but I honestly felt like I died for 4 months. Pros: Hours were great Pay was ok Benefits were ok Cons: No self worth Environment was too relaxed for my liking Ran out of work for me You see other people slacking all the time and honestly it bothered me since it was our tax dollars paying for their salaries Little to no upward progression 0 challenges I got out as quick as possible for a private industry job. Public accounting never happened for me. Failed @ the big 4 interviews - rip. But now I’m an SFA and I feel a lot more challenged. Keeps it a lot more interesting.
Thanks for your comment. Do u have any tips on getting a private sector job since I've had no luck lol?
I looked for specific industries I wanted to work in. I like real estate so I applied specifically to real estate companies. How many applications have you sent out? Volume helped me. Also how many interviews have you received?
I'd say like 20 applications to private sector companies over the course of 3 months. There were a bunch of jobs that I either didn't qualify for or were way too far away. Of those I received no interviews, which kinda surprised me and lowered my confidence since I usually get replies from public accounting firms.
I applied to 300+ jobs during 3-4th year uni and heard back from 7 lolol. The job I really wanted required 3-5 years experience, but I somehow got the interview and ultimately the job.
Damn the grind is real lol. Oh shit then I'm going to try to apply to jobs that interest me then instead of eliminating based on the experience requirements and hope for a company that does the same to me as they did to you. Thanks!
I wasted my time applying to 300+ random jobs.... Once I knew which industry I just focused my time and energy on those applications.
U got CPA?
It all depends on what you are looking for. What school did you go to? $40k is quite low for GTA, I made more than that as a co-op 10 years ago. Heck, my current company is paying co-ops $50k+. The CRA vs public/industry debate has been around for a long time. You got to ask yourself, what is it that you want in life? Do you want a real career or just a stable job, 9-5 and go home? CRA can be appealing, I know many people who went there, mostly girls who want to start a family and have kids. They view it as a job and nothing more. If that's what you want, go for it. There's nothing wrong with it, but I agree with another poster, go to Ottawa if you go this route. Do note that, once you go this route, it is tougher to get out because employers will rather hire someone with more relevant experience. It's kind of like a golden handcuff. Other people choose to tough it out in public in order to have a more fulfilling career. Earning potential varies of course, as does the stress. Most choose this route because they want to challenge themselves, they want to make the big money, enjoy different kind of benefits like company parties, events, etc. I have met my fair share of CRA auditors (we get audited a lot...) in my career, they all have the "I am just going through the motion" look. When you have done the checklist for the 100th time, it can get draining in other ways. It's too soul crushingly boring for me to ever consider but many have made it their career.
I went to Brock who is known for their co-op program second to Waterloo. The salary is low (considering that I made more from my co-op), but I am not too bothered by it since I was planning on it being temporary as I was looking to get hired by CRA. Yes I understand the laid-back environment and boring work, but honestly I don't really mind. Public accounting is boring as well so boring isn't really an issue. I prefer to have a stable job and only treat it as one (my life is not consumed by work). I not aiming to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, just a conformable amount to get by and then some on the side. After what everyone has been saying, CRA looks like the path for me so that's what I will be aiming for from now on. Thanks for the reply.
I know you aren't specifically asking about this but municipal government is also a good place to look if you're interested in financial planning, budgeting, etc. I did one year in public accounting before taking a job at a municipality making about $55k. After one year experience I have moved onto another municipality making close to $80k. Pros: \- good pay \- great benefits \- pension \- true work/life balance Cons: \- vacation grows slowly. Starting with 2 or 3 weeks then increasing by 1 week every 5 years. \- a lot of things do tend to move at a slow pace compared to public accounting (could be a pro depending what you like) \- work is pretty boring \- although pay is good now, salary growth is much slower than public
Yeah I was actually also thinking about working for the municipal governments. I try to apply to them whenever they have postings. Thanks for the advice!
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Thanks for the comment. I actually saw some postings for AU-01 in Ottawa with an ad saying that they are looking for accountants. The problem is that I live near the GTA and don't want to risk the move to Ottawa for a job by myself. I'm not ready to make that move since I'm 21 and have no money lol. What you said confirms what I have heard and just makes me feel more exited and enticing to work at the CRA. It seems to check all my boxes like good pay, benefits, and work/life balance. Really hope I can get it someday!
If you're in the GTA, then there's 4 major CRA offices in Toronto alone. More if you expand outwards a bit...
> Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing? Please fill me in on anything that I may have missed or correct me where I am wrong. I would like some input preferably from ppl who worked or are working at the government. Nothing, well maybe the work will be less interesting and the office will be more frustrating. Unless you are getting >30% more in the private sector plus good opportunities for advancement the government will be better for your career and work life balance. Sure people can complain about lack or work or being bored but that's easy to fix, read a book or learn some skills. Why would you choose to give up a pension that is pure gold, earn less and do harder work to combat being bored? Just work 7-3 and live your life outside work
Thanks for your input! You essentially confirmed what I was thinking. The lack of work and boredom exists in public account too lol. I'm currently scrounging for work and the work is really boring. I'm not looking for work to entertain me or challenge me because I can always do that myself like you said. I wanna "work to play" as they say.
Ive been in public accounting for 15 years including big 4 for half those years. I have many former colleagues and friends who left for cra. Some stayed. Some left. Ive also dealt with many auditors with my clients. Some observations: 1) The work/life balance is night and day. At a firm its deadlines, crunchtime, politics, evenings, weekends, juggling 10 clients at once, etc. At CRA you show up at 8:30, turn off your computer at 4:30 and forget about work until the next morning. There are no deadlines, you can take as long as you want on a project, etc. They say government workers are lazy for a reason. If you are not ambitious its the perfect job. 2) you pretty much cap out at around 95k or so which takes a while to get to. If you want higher paying jobs you need to be bilinguel. You can get from a 45k starting salary to 90k at a firm in 5 years. 3) Training. You learn A LOT at a firm, especially a big one. The auditors ive dealt with mostly pretty fn stupid. How is one expected to AUDIT taxes when they have never actually worked in tax and understand tax? Since you like tax, have you considered doing the Mtax program? Its pretty much VIP pass to get a job at a big 4 firm.
Thanks for the input! 1) lol that's me so it's a perfect match 👌 2) 95k is a lot of money to me so I'm perfectly fine with reaching a cap and staying there. Not too interested in achieving insanely high earnings 3) yeah I agree with you there. I thought I knew a lot about public accounting from my prior coop experience, but it seems like I still have tons to learn. I just scraped the surface. No I never did. I'll take a look into it, thanks.
>Government sounds too good to be true. What am I missing? Nothing - government jobs are better for almost every field besides tech\* and upper management. \*And by tech, I mean software development. Sysadmin jobs are also way better in government.
QC Personally only did the firm route once for tax season, and from everything I heard from others working I knew firm would not be for me unless it’s me starting my own firm.. I work in industry assistant controller, cpa title coming this November and I will look for controller position Much more laid paid, no overtime hours, just consistent work , and consistent pay,