[kauffe9a]

I am considering an entry level tax auditor position with the Florida department of revenue. I sat for a skills verification test today and anticipate an interview in the coming week. I have heard that State employees salaries are not paid very well. I really want to get some solid accounting experience, but I have heard that working for the government can hurt your career if you want to work in industry or with a CPA firm later.

Does anybody have any experience working for the government? Any positive experiences? Negative?

Any advice is welcome

[Anonymous]

I've always heard that working somewhere like a state revenue auditor gives you good experience to do something like work in tax later, since you know the state tax code inside and out. State jobs also give good benefits and great security, so you might find that it's something that you like on an ongoing basis. For industry, though, I'd think the only way it would be a big benefit would be if you were to work for a company big enough that they had someone whose main job duty was to work with FL sales tax or something like that.

[LongShot]

I hated working for the state, but a lot of that had to do with terrible pay, declining benefits, and near-zero chance for advancement except in 10-15 years when someone ahead of you retires. Also, I did get a lot of negative responses from industry from people who felt I was pigeonholed as a government employee. Justified or not, there are a lot of very negative stereotypes about government employees.

I'd never tell someone else what to do with their career, but my advice would be to go another route if at all possible.

FAR - 75
AUD - 72; 87
REG - 64; 74; 84
BEC - 88

Done!!

[Anonymous]

I was a state tax auditor for roughly four years. I actually interviewed with the FL DOR and was offered the position but declined due to the pay.

I found the experience of working at my state's DOR to be both good and bad. I gained a lot of tax experience and found an area that I really liked (sales tax). But, like mentioned above, the pay wasn't great, time, not skill, was the only way to advance, declining benefits, and not the most motivated co-workers.

I have since moved to public accounting, still working mostly with sales tax (in all states). I couldn't be happier with the decision to move to public accounting.

I think working for the state I worked for allowed me to really understand statutes, administrative rules, etc. I don't know the sales tax laws in every state but I can easily research an issue and come up with an answer thanks to my experience as a tax auditor.

I don't know if this helped. I may have just rambled on.

[Excel14]

@bababooey:

I think I need to network with you, since I'm currently a State of Florida employee, and have been for almost 24 years now. In fact, I spent some time at the FL DOR myself. The reason for going to work for state government has diminished over the years. Yes, the pension and benefits are nice, but in my humble opinion, if you invest wisely and shop around, you can do just as well on your own. I have had both good and bad experiences, but had I known I'd be “pigeon-holed” by recruiters, managers, etc., I'd have left a long time ago. I am currently testing the waters in private industry, but not having any luck whatsoever. I haven't passed any of the CPA exams yet, but I have an MBA and two Bachelors degrees, as well as my CIA, CFE, and CGAP certifications. Personally, I'd advise people that you might want to try government to get your “feet wet”, but I would NOT stay for the long haul.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[henryv]

Hi Excel,

How long is staying long on government? Is 5 years reasonable? Thanks.

Regards,

Henry

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[Excel14]

@henryv:

Everyone is different. I guess each individual has to make that determination. However, with the State of Florida, you vest with a pension in 6 years (under the standard pension), so if you're going to stay that long, you might as well stay the extra year to be vested. Granted, it wouldn't mean a lot of money at retirement, but you'd get something. Just throwing a number out there, but I certainly wouldn't stay longer than say 10 years (and probably less than that). Remember, this is just my humble opinion. The next guy/gal you talk to, may tell you they'd never work anywhere else.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Crunchtime]

I started at the State of Minnesota as a Revenue Auditor for S-corps and Partnerships, I left after 2 years and multiple job offers, i had my picking very well respected. As long as start with a good department.

AUD-77
BEC-70,73,68,74 SH##!!!!!, 80
REG-73,76
FAR -74,82

Ethics here I come!!

[Anonymous]

I think the longer you stay (and the further you progress) in any specific industry within accounting, the more pigeon-holed you'll be, so I think some of that is not specific to government jobs. If you don't want to stay somewhere for your whole career, spending 20 years there will make it harder to leave! So, my thought would be, if you don't want to stay in a government auditing job for the rest of your career, then after you've built a bit of job history start looking elsewhere…but if you like the job/benefits/work-life balance/etc., then don't be afraid to stay longer, cause staying longer just makes you more specialized – better prepared to do well in your specific field, less familiar with the larger field.

[Anonymous]

@Excel do you have any interest in leaving the government? Has the pay gotten better as you've put in more time there? I was offered a tax audit job in the FL DOR's Chicago area office. I think the starting pay was around $37k which was really low.

[Excel14]

@lilla: Pigeon-holds happen with any sector, but government regards private industry experience, while private doesn't reciprocate when it comes to “government employment”. Many recruiters have even stated that there is a “false stigma” associated with government employees.

@bababooey: I definitely would love to find something outside of government; the problem has been, doing so. I've moved around and the pay has gotten somewhat better; however, in terms of advancement and what I most likely could be making in private, it pales in comparison.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[Anonymous]

@Excel the thing that turned me off the most about government work was the lack of advancement opportunities. The only way to advance, at least in the government I worked for, was time. I was so much better at my job than the other 12 or 15 people on my team, but I was paid much less because I hadn't been there for 25+ years. I don't even think I'm exceptionally smart or that I was exceptionally good/efficient at my job, I just think the others were THAT bad/lazy.

And I agree that the private sector isn't really impressed by what you've done in government which can make the transition pretty tough. It took me awhile to get out of the public sector but looking back, I'm very happy with how it all worked out. Hopefully you're able to find something in the private sector if that's what you want.

[fuzyfro89]

It's okay for some who like the security and benefits, but that was a generation ago. The last 25 years were probably much more rewarding than the next 25 will be… Though this probably goes for most industries.

I will say that there isn't generally a good impression of govt employees (we can save whether or not it's true for another conversation), so moving into industry later won't be as easy as moving from one industry to another.

[mystical guy]

A. Public Accounting (get experience 1-5 years) B. Industry (get the money -over 30 years) C. Governmental (retire and get benefits – last 10 years of your career).

That's the kind of route that people I talked to advised. If you skip a step there pros and cons. The government will take care of you if you can join them the last 10 years of your career, or a little bit sooner, but not now

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[Excel14]

@fro:

I definitely don't need to save the impression of govt employee argument for another conversation. There are good and bad with government, just like there are with private. While it might be the way it is, it is dead wrong to generalize about anything/any group of people.

What do they call an accounting person, who only managed a 75 on all four parts of the CPA exam....you got it, CPA!!!

BEC (2/28/16) ----- 78
FAR (09/10/16)-----
AUD
REG

CIA, CGAP, CFE

[kauffe9a]

Thanks everyone for your responses. This has given me a lot to think about. Since my initial post, I have scheduled an interview with the FL DOR and a small CPA firm. Not sure what the pay will be for either, but all things equal I am leaning away from the gov't job. I will have to see how the interviews go before I make the final call. Thanks again.

[Author]

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