[gflurry]

Hey folks,

I am currently studying for FAR and awaiting my AUD score (2nd attempt). I was a teacher for 5 years and did night classes to meet the educational requirements to sit for the exam. I have a little about 2 years of “accounting” experience all in industry. Currently I am the business manager for a restaurant owned by a very popular celebrity chef. I realize that this type of job is very repetitive each month and that bothers me a bit, but I can deal with that as I have entered accounting for financial reasons not because it is my dream job. My concern right now after reading another thread is what type of salary I can demand after getting the CPA and say 3-4 years of experience. My goal is to get to $75-80K within 5 years. Is this possible? Any advise on paths to my goal?

AUD: 67, 81 (NINJA MCQ's ONLY for 2nd Attempt)
FAR: NOT GOOD, LARRY!
REG: ??
BEC: 4/4/2015

"F**K CALM, GET MAD. DESTROY!"

[tomq04]

5 years definitely? But have a plan to get there, and be proactive.

It also depends on where you live though too…

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[Anonymous]

Five years in Big 4 audit will get you $80-$100 (excluding bonus) where I am.

The range assumes normal career trajectory (i.e. you don't puke on a partner at the holiday party).

[gflurry]

@billbrasskey: I am going to stay away from Big 4–I will be 39 this year and have a 7 year old. Working as much as they require is not an option for me, I want to see my child grow up.

AUD: 67, 81 (NINJA MCQ's ONLY for 2nd Attempt)
FAR: NOT GOOD, LARRY!
REG: ??
BEC: 4/4/2015

"F**K CALM, GET MAD. DESTROY!"

[Anonymous]

Where do you live (even “big town” vs “small town” can help, if you're hesitant about revealing state etc. online)? That will have a huge impact. If you manage a restaurant owned by a celebrity chef, then I'm guessing it's somewhat bigger, more affluent area, in which case I would say definitely yes. Myself, I live in a very small town in the middle of nowhere and everything is cheap, so pay is lower, too. If you can rent a house or apartment for $375/mo, then getting paid $37500 a year is at least as good as double that ($75k) elsewhere!

In order to determine my fair market value in my region, I looked up the Robert Half salary guides, then went to the census quickfacts site: https://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html and determined for my city/county what the average income was as a percentage of the national average income and used that factor to adjust the national figures in Robert Half to something more reasonable for my locality. Might be a helpful method for you as well. 🙂

[fuzyfro89]

Depends on where you want to go and what lifestyle you are after.

Public accounting (small/regional firms)?

Industry (corporate accounting/tax/audit)?

Most quality positions will have you at 75-80 total comp in +/- 5 years in a mid-sized city or larger.

[Author]

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