[HTXAccountant]

Hello everyone.

I graduated about a month ago in May with my Masters in Accounting (Tax concentration), and am currently looking for employment. For most of my college experience, I had thought I wanted to move to a big city and live a fast life (most people in my program end up working for the Big 4 and other big public accounting firms), but my priorities have since recently changed, and I just want a decent work-life balance. I’m not looking to make a lot of money or advance quickly–I just want to make enough to pay my bills and have a little saved.

I’ve had a prior tax internship at a Big 6 and a Masters, so I guess I’m overqualified for jobs like accounting assistant or clerk (which I have applied for, but have not heard back from). The only interviews I’ve gotten were for public accounting and financial services, which admittedly sound very good on paper and pay well, but require the strenuous hours that such occupations require (12-hour days, etc.).

This is probably the wrong place to ask, but does anyone know what jobs a recent Masters graduate could apply for, with the standard 40-hour workweek (occasionally overtime is okay, of course, but the regular work week is all I want)? I’ve heard industry is a lot better, but I’m not sure how a recent grad could get into industry without prior experience.

Is it too late to…I guess…go back and get a degree in bookkeeping? Is it even possible to do anything like that at this point? I just feel like I’ve wasted all this effort of going through college and getting my Masters, only to end up having a miserable young life (I’m in my early-20’s). I know that a lot of people think it’s a worthy sacrifice because they can end up making the six figures by their 30’s, but I would honestly be good with living off of a $40k-$60k salary for the rest of my life, if I got to actually have time to live.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[HTXAccountant]

Additionally, how long is it reasonable to wait for the “perfect” job to come, post-graduating? I've been unemployed/looking for about a month now, and I'm feeling the pressure to just go ahead and take a job I know I will hate and end up wanting to quit in 6 months, but I don't know if that would make me look even worse.

I would rather take the chance and wait another month or two to see if a better-fit job would come along, but I know that the longer you are unemployed, the more unemployable you are per se. Yet I would feel terrible for agreeing to take on a job that I know I will want to quit in a few months, if I am able to find something better. Though as an entry-level applicant, I guess I don't know whether I should think to be afforded that privilege.

[Chantel]

There definitely is in nonpublic accounting, in public, there are few. I curently work at a CPA firm where 40 hours is atandard. I maybe worked two half day Saturdays during tax season and one Saturday when w-2s and all that were due. Wait as long as your financial able to to find a job that you feel fits you.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 75
FAR - 90
REG - 87

AUD - 73 twice, third time's a charm!

F - F ('12), 90 (Dec '15)
A - F ('12), 73 (Feb '16), ? (July '16)
R - 87 (May '16)
B -

[iloveaccounting220]

You can def find a job in private. One of my coworkers is 24 and got her masters right after undergrad. She got a job doing bank recs and other random duties. She is making 50k. I would apply to staff accounting positions in private if I were you. You can learn everything at work, i think having a master's looks really good and can get you interviews. Just keep trying. Are you using recruiters? I think she used a recruiter to get this current job.

BEC - 76 (1/24/15)
REG - 82 (4/13/15)
AUD - 89 (5/31/15)
FAR - 78 (8/16/15)

Starting right now I'll be strong
I'll play my fight song
And I don't really care if nobody else believes
'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me

[jbarwick]

After graduating in May 2010, I didn't find a job until January 2011. You can find a job with work life balance but you need experience first. Get something, work hard, then look elsewhere after a couple of years. Recruiters will contact you regularly with opportunities once you have a few years under your belt. Good luck!

Journey Started - January 2015
FAR - 4/2015 - Passed
AUD - 7/2015 - Passed
BEC - 8/2015 - Passed
REG - 11/12/2015 - Passed

[Anonymous]

government. it has a work life balence and pay starts at around 40k if u look at your states department of revenue/auditors office

[HTXAccountant]

^ Thanks for the input, everyone!

I've mainly had experience in tax, so it seems that whenever I apply to a staff accountant position, I don't get replies back….the thing is that I'm very capable to doing general accounting work, but I guess my resume seems to show that I “want” a career in tax, which I really don't. (In tax, it's difficult/near impossible to find jobs where you are able to have a life about half of the year, during the spring/fall tax deadlines–honestly, I regret having a tax concentration, but I chose that over audit because at the time, I didn't want to travel the amount that Big 4 audit travels, but it seems that it's much harder to find tax jobs in industry.)

Speaking of which, does anyone know when the prime seasons for tax accounting hiring in industry are? I know it's summer right now, which is the slowest hiring season for most accounting jobs really, so ideally I would like to wait until at least August/September to see whether more positions open up.

Unfortunately, I'm feeling a lot of pressure from my mother (who I live with) to just take the first job I get, even if it makes me miserable, but the way I see it, I'm going to have to be the one to live with the consequence of taking a job that makes me miserable, and not her. We're not strapped for cash or anything–it's honestly just difficult to get her to understand that I'm not being “lazy,” but that I just want to make sure to get the job that I'm best fit for, and that accounting (especially tax) has certain hiring seasons.

[Anonymous]

I honestly could have written your same post a few months ago. I am in my late 20s, had a few non-accounting jobs after undergrad, went back and finished an accounting grad program, and did NOT want to go the public accounting route. I had the same situation as you where I knew I was sort of overqualified for some of the staff accounting jobs and as a result was having difficulty getting those opportunities to look at my resume and interview me. I started working with a few recruiters in my area and found that to be a very good way to get a foot in the door. I eventually found a position that I just applied to online and got interviewed for. It is entry-level but is paying equivalent to what my friends are starting with at Big4. I know my salary won't jump like theirs, but honesty I don't care much. My work week is pretty strictly 40 hrs per week except when there are unusual busy times, etc. It's very manageable and I love having the structure as well as the time to be adequately preparing for the CPA exam.

I think the challenge for people like me and you is to convince employers that we will be just as good if not better choices than someone with a 2 yr degree, for example, who happens to have a few years of staff accounting experience. My job is very easy for me right now, which is completely fine given that I am studying for the CPA exam at the same time. I plan to stick this job out for a year or two, get solid staff accountant experience with month-end stuff and software training, and then find a more challenging and engaging position in time (if my current one doesn't offer promotion opportunities or bigger challenges).

My advice would be that if you think being on the path to something like a Controller position might be in your future 5-10 years down the line, say that in interviews. I think it's important to convince the employer that you want this path because you have a passion for private accounting and really being an expert at one company, not that you just want a job with 40 hour work weeks. And I would definitely say don't settle for a job you know you're going to hate. I went through the same thing as I watched all my friends sign on to Big4 and high pressure jobs. I was tempted to take anything just to have that security and affirmation from the outside, but ultimately YOU have to get up every day and go to that job. And you don't want to look back and think … I wish I had waited for something that felt right.

[Anonymous]

I have always had a 40 hour work week EXCEPT in public accounting.

[golfball7773]

I work 40 hours a week in accounting for a non-profit

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 86
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

AUD - 71, 73

BEC - 74, 86

REG - 77*

FAR - 57

*expired

(I have been trying to become a CPA since 2013). only one test down.......

FAR: 63, 55, 62
REG: 65, 77*
AUD: Fail, 64, 71
BEC: 72, 74, 81

*expired

[Anonymous]

You could easily find a 40hr a week job in private, government or non profit. Also corporate tax might be an option. I've been out of college for 5 years and never worked a day in public, no CPA, no masters and I make $80-90k as a senior accountant at a corporate office. It's reasonable to expect to make $45-55 at entry level depending on where you live. It doesn't take Big 4 to have a successful career even though I recommend it if your life allows. If you do stay in private, I think it's helpful to find a niche industry like oil & gas, pharma, etc.

Good luck!

[HTXAccountant]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies! I feel better now, knowing that there may still be hope, ha.

@bg222: If you wouldn't mind me asking, how long did it take for you to find the first job in private, post-graduation? Currently, I'm about a month-and-a-half out of school, and have only had interviews for positions in public accounting and an investment management firm (which has roughly the same awful hours as public), so I'm still continuing my job search. I don't know how much of a post-graduate employment gap is “acceptable,” though.

Also, for those who work in private, if you have never worked in a certain industry before, how would you convince the recruiter/interviewer that you think you would be capable for/willing to learn what it takes to do the job?

[Anonymous]

Give brief examples of how you're a quick leaner and maybe processes youve improved (even if it was creating a spreadsheets where something was done by hand) and emphasize how willing and excited you are to adapt to the new office environment.

[Anonymous]

It might be different for every interviewer, but in general, your experience in a certain industry can definitely help, but it's not necessary. The interviewer will have to understand that you're applying for an entry level position and everyone has to start somewhere. I would say to think about all your accomplishments in school (teamwork, projects) and in your internship and be prepared to talk about the things that you did that made you successful or have good leadership skills.

Also, personality is important because they will look mostly at how well you will “fit” in the office. You should think about what makes you interested in a certain industry. It definitely helps if you show sincere interest and if you plan on having a long career in the industry.

[Anonymous]

Non-profit and government jobs are generally the best schedule-wise. You may want to add any local college's HR pages to your regular pages to visit and check job openings – colleges are more likely to emphasize education over experience, so will be easier to get into for someone like you with a couple degrees but not as much experience. I'm the Controller at a small private non-profit college. The official job requirements had educational requirements, but no listed experience requirements. This doesn't mean they would've hired someone with no experience for the job, but does emphasize that the college was more worried about education than experience. Government jobs are more likely to strictly require whatever is listed in the advertisement (which may be something like “At least 3 years experience in _______” and 3 years experience in anything else won't count to them), but are also pretty good as far as schedules are concerned. Non-profit and government jobs don't pay as well for their 37.5-40 hour weeks as public account pays for their 60 hour weeks, but they usually still pay fairly when you consider the reduced hours.

I'm like you that I want something with good work-life balance. The most attractive thing about my current job was the fact that it is scheduled for 37.5 hours. That being said, we've been short-staffed since I started this job a few months ago, so my hours haven't been 37.5 in awhile – last week I worked 53.8 hours and felt half-killed (partially due to some health issues too which are making it harder for me to work long hours, but that's a different topic). However, the fact that a 53.8 hour week is out of the ordinary is a sign that this job is still a lot easier than public accounting. I worked for 1 year in tax accounting and decided the schedule it required was *not* for me (last week of the year I worked 100 hours – now I wonder how I did it…guess I've become an old lady in the 2 years since I worked there 😛 ).

That being said, the dream job is not likely to be your first job out of college. You don't have to take the first thing you're offered, but you shouldn't turn down all offers just cause they aren't your ideal. I'd say within 6 months of graduating you should aim to have a job, so as it gets close to that point, it's time to accept an offer that isn't your ideal. For me, it took most of the 6 months to get an offer so I took the offer that I received – paid $8/hr, less than I was making at the job I'd worked while in college, and that stung – at least it paid overtime for the 100 hour week at the end of tax season. More importantly, though, it opened the door to other positions.

So, I completely understand the desire to have a balance in life and work around 40 hours a week most of the time, and I'm glad to see others who also desire a reasonable schedule (even without kids in the home – seems like being a 24-year-old without kids who actually wants to spend some time at home is a rare thing!). However, it may take a bad job or two before you can get to what you want. This doesn't have to mean a job in public working ridiculous hours – even my tax job was just 4 days a week during the off-season so still had some semblance of balance. But it does mean being willing to accept a job that maybe isn't quite what you expected. Once you have an accounting job on your resume and are looking for another while employed at the first, your chances of getting what you want are greatly increased.

[fuzyfro89]

“‘ve had a prior tax internship at a Big 6 and a Masters, so I guess I'm overqualified for jobs like accounting assistant or clerk (which I have applied for, but have not heard back from). “

No, you're not overqualified. An internship in anything doesn't make you too good for anything else.

“Additionally, how long is it reasonable to wait for the “perfect” job to come, post-graduating?”

If it were me, I'd feel like my pants were on fire, but I'm just neurotic and restless like that. You should set a goal, and stick to it. Many people don't find a dream job right out of college, whether it's a 80-hr/wk job at a big 4 or a laid back govt/non-profit job. The market is competitive. Limit yourself to 3 months (or other amount you are comfortable with) to find a dream job, and then face the reality and start looking for jobs that aren't your first choice. Being out of school and out of work for more than 6 months is not a good thing, but that depends on where you live and what the norm is for new grads.

“Is it too late to…I guess…go back and get a degree in bookkeeping? Is it even possible to do anything like that at this point?”

It's never too late to do anything, but if you have a degree in accounting, then you can obviously do bookkeeping. Not sure there is even a bachelor's degree in bookkeeping… though there may be somewhere.

“Speaking of which, does anyone know when the prime seasons for tax accounting hiring in industry are?”

Public is very structured, but industry/govt/non profits do not have nearly as structured of hiring periods. Some companies do, but overall, it's just whenever they have openings. For entry level, it's likely a fair amount in the late fall/early spring to coincide with the last year of school for most people if they hire directly out of undergrad. Outside of that, you'll just have to hustle to find opportunities. Linkedin, school career center, recruiters/headhunters, and everyone who will give you at least 5 mins of their time.

:Also, for those who work in private, if you have never worked in a certain industry before, how would you convince the recruiter/interviewer that you think you would be capable for/willing to learn what it takes to do the job?”

You don't have any meaningful experience anywhere (more than a yr), so your “industry expertise” is low. For entry level positions, it may help to have a genuine interest and be able to support that with some basic knowledge of what's going on, but don't pretend to be an expert where you aren't.

[Author]

Replies