I feel like I'm 16 again, only professionally

[Tundraguy]

So this is a vent/rant. I hate to complain but I'm going to do it here because it's just going to cyber land, and if anyone would like to not read it go ahead and STOP reading now. If you would like to help me some constructive critisim I'm going to check back on this.

When I was 16 I needed a job, to get a job I needed a car, to buy a car I needed a job.

I'm 28 I need accounting experience, in order to get accounting experience I need to work in the field doing something accounting related, people don't/are not hiring people who do not have accounting experience already.

... ... ... How do people get any experience?! I've offered to clean windows, take out trash, vacuum, and do anything else a business needs in order for them to not pay me, and for me to just intern there and learn something so that I can use it as experience. I want to learn the field and become good at it. But there are local jobs in Colubmus, Ohio that would like you to have a bachelor's degree, a certification and 1-3 years of experience and they'll hire you part-time for $11 p/hr ... Like this is okay for someone who would be in a position of their life to be serious about accounting as a career.

Getting the degree is the easy part, pay the money, show up everyday and regurgitate information until I get a good grade, data dump, and continue into my next phase of 'learning' (i.e. term familiarization). You can not get a certification without minimum one-year experience in a specific aspect of accounting. Can't get the experience to get the certification ... without the certification.

I would need to find someone who wants me to work for them, and is willing to take the 30-45 days it may take to show me how to do the monotany of the job and I would know more than any college could teach me in years.

I'm a veteran, I'm 28, I'm in college full-time, and if anyone could work with my schedule I'm willing to work for free, and do weekends and holidays. Because I'm mature enough I know I need to commit to making the investment in my family and I's future.

And what is this 'Are you a Excel power-user' hogwash?! What? Do I know how to use VLOOKUP? Excel has over 165,000 commands that can be nested into any number of different array's or focuses. I'm willing to put money that what they consider a power-user is pivot tables and VLOOKUP/MATCH/INDEX commands, which puts you a little bit over those that can add and subtract with the program. Do I know VBS? No, do I know how to build SQL databases in Excel? No ... Because you build databases building Access or a number of other programs.

It's just frusterating because I see a ton of accounting jobs in my area, and none of them are looking at me it seems when I apply because I don't have any experience in the field and I'm down to willing to accept $ 9p/hr if they can teach me what to do. I've been superior to my mates in everything I've ever done (spare school because it's a bogus facade in my mind but I'm still an A,B,C student).

How in the world to a breach into these guys world? Some people have suggested make friends ... I snowboard, hunt, mountain bike, cycle, and a number of other activities that I've been told I'm too outgoing to be an accountant ... ... ... I don't understand some of these comments people make!! Haha FML

 

[AcctStudent]

I seriously feel your pain. I am in the same situation. I am two classes away from graduation and i did double major (Managerial Science/Accounting) so that i could take the CPA exam right after.

I been looking at jobs here in Atlanta and some of them are complete joke. I have seen a few where they want you to be CPA have 5-10 years of experience bleacher degree and the pay is 35000-40 000. I dont know who in their right mind would accept that job with 5-10 year experience and a CPA.


Also same problem as you i have applied everywhere for part time jobs and never get a call for interview because i dont have experience. Yes even the 10/hr book-keeping jobs want you to have 2 year experience. I AM SURE you could teach me that job in less then a week and i will be the perfect employee but seems like nobody wants to give me a chance. The last job i had as a Warehouse Supervisor , i was the best employee for 5 years and when i decided to leave to go full time to school my Manager literally cried and begged me to stay. Now i cant even get a 10/hr accounting job just because someone doesnt want to spend few days on training me. How hard could it be to train someone to do book keeping who is a senior Accounting major with 4.0 Accounting GPA.


NOPE nobody wants to give you a chance and i am 26 years old too. If i ever have a kid i am telling them not to go to college , its a huge waste of time and money. Here i am 26 year old applying for 10/hr jobs when i was making 16/hr when i was 21 years old.

 

[AcctStudent]

Oh and one thing that really annoys me is that it seems like everyone at my school who is not nearly as smart as i am in accounting already has accounting job.

I mean the last tax accounting exam i studied with 2 friends same amount. I got 87 they got 67,69 and they both have accounting jobs.

For my intermediate class i studied with 4 people i got a 100 and they got 94, 75, and 82 and 2 of 3 have accounting jobs.


I have also tried networking , i am a social guy have alot of friends and have asked those same friends that have jobs to ask around and see if i can work at their firms but they always come with the same news, i asked but my manager said we are not hiring at this time.

I have even joined the group that meets with big 4 recruiters but since i am a senior i dont qualify for internships and their full time interviews are done in august and the job doesnt actually start till like april of next year. That is too long to wait without a job.

 

[CPAinLimbo]

Welcome to the club. I'm in NYC and I can't find ANYTHING.

 

[DOB]

I can understand your frustration. I have an accounting degree from a pretty reputable private school here in GA.. I was fortunate enough to land an accounting job with a mfg co, back in 1995, through a friend who worked there. I had plenty of book/ school experience, but believe me, it was a bit different than doing real world, real business accounting. I mean don't get me wrong having the ground work or foundation of an accounting degree is great, but I learned more on the job.. for the first year, I was a bit lost at times, but after a while I was running everything very well.

I guess what I am saying is that you may need to even look at small businesses not even accounting firms, go to the local car repair shop, privately owned retail store, ask them if they need help with their books, you can certainly use that as experience. Just don't give up. Once you get your foot in, start getting some work under your belt you will be well on your way.

 

[DOB]

Another thing I want to mention. Just because you get get good grades in accounting in , or better than your classmates doesn't mean you will be a better accountant. I have seen people get accounting jobs with accounting degrees that can't put together a balance sheet.... go figure.

 

[froghair]

Tundraguy I understand your frustration. The best advice I can give is to get any office job you can, even filing. As soon as you run out of things to do start asking co workers if there is anything you can help them with. I realize it is far from ideal. This approach will benefit you in that you will gain real world experience, set yourself up for promotions, and likely you boss will be willing to give you a glowing refererce when'if you leave the company. That is exactly what I did and six years later I am a controller. Good luck!

 

[The Finance Writer]

Based upon my research, all those CPA candidates with jobs are making about $48K per year while working about 66 hours per week. That's $14 per hour for mostly standing in front of a copier. In a few years, they will be conducting audits under the supervision of managers that result in severe criticism by the PCAOB. After that, they will burn out and start their own tax practices, where they will compete with me by charging $200 per hour to take forever preparing a tax return with minimal personal contact.

However, the posts to this thread give me hope for the future. All you you seem to correctly realize that more is learned from working than going to college -- or even from becoming a CPA. I highly recommend targeted study for a specific area of specialization in tax accounting. Here's the course to take that will get you a job with a growing small tax practice that pays at least $25 per hour (and that's just in Texas, not the west or east coasts) Enrolled Agent Exam Prep and EA Study Guide