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Hi:
You might want to grab your coffee, this could be a long one.
I currently work as an administrative assistant in a Fortune 50 company. I’m also 45. I’ve been here for 7 years and am the sole support for my two children (single mom). I have also been going to school full-time for the last four years, first to get my BA in accounting and this year my MSA. I have two classes left and will graduate in May of 2014. I plan to celebrate for all of about 5 minutes and begin the deep, all-consuming dive into CPA prep. I submitted my transcripts (and hunk of cash) to the IL Board of Examiners two days ago in order to get the ball rolling – my plan is to sit for FAR in August.
I was hopeful that I would finally be promoted at my company but the writing on the wall here is that it is unlikely to happen. I believe this to be a perfect storm of business conditions (which are awful – we had 4 weeks of rolling layoffs here last year plus we lost 12 employees in permanent layoff and we are an engineering group in my division), cost cutting and sadly and most unfortunate for me, the inability for my company to recognize that an administrative assistant, can and does possess a brain and can aspire to do and be qualified for more. I knew going into this that the jump from admin to not-an-admin was going to be a huge leap over a deep crevasse. I had hoped that graduating magna cum laude with my bachelors would have at least made some impression.
Anyway, I cannot go the typical route of internships and such to obtain my experience because my children have gotten used to frivolities like indoor plumbing, heat and groceries. 🙂 This combined with the fact that my current position does provide me with good benefits (just not very good pay) and well… I need to find something better, but I’m a little limited.
I have worked for some big companies in the past. And if my current company would put me in an accounting position for a year, I know this would fling open doors for me as far as corporate accounting is concerned. Eventually things will probably turn around and opportunities may open up. But I am unwilling to wait – and feedback from coworkers, one in particular yesterday, is too much to ignore.
My company offers a tuition reimbursement benefit but it was shut down last summer for my division, right as I was beginning grad school. I was told “why don’t you wait a year?” but honestly, as a mom and a 45 year old, this didn’t feel right to me. Taking “time off” is a foreign concept to me because as a person who works full time and a mom, you just don’t get “time off”. I haven’t had a vacation in seven years. All my days off have been either for things for my kids or because I had a midterm or final that night and I planned to get some extra studying in. So I bit the financial bullet and stepped into even more debt, because I strongly feel this degree will pay off in the end.
Now as I prepare to graduate and begin my CPA prep (another thing my company *would* pay for if I was working in the accounting department) I’m again being told “why don’t you wait until you have a job in accounting, then we will pay for it”. But again, this seems pretty stupid to me – I constantly go to the manager of the accounting department for my group – a group which used to have 6 employees and is now down to two because of cuts and attrition – and I volunteer to take on “whatever work you need me to do”. I am very good at what I do as an admin and if there is a way to do it faster and with less effort, I find it. I work smarter – and harder if need be – but mostly smarter and I have learned through many years of experience how to get things done quickly and efficiently. This allows me the time (with the blessing of my boss, btw) to pursue additional work in our accounting group. I have presented this as :think of me as an intern that doesn’t add to your headcount.” And… they give me nothing but empty promises.
So— and thanks for sticking with me—- how do I get some accounting experience? I have 20 years of solid work experience, including running my own small business when my children were very small. I have seven years with one company – but no promotions, unfortunately, because there is nowhere for me to go in this position.
How did you make your big leap? How do I get companies to see me for who I am – a woman who decided “I can do more” and then went out and did it.
FAR: 5/12/16... and if I don't die from an anxiety attack...
AUD: 7/8/16
REG: 8/25/16
BEC: 11/3/16
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