[OnMyWay732]

So coming into the accounting field, I always envisioned how it would be as a professional. I like wearing business casual attire. Sometimes a suit. But I don’t feel how I thought I would. You see movies and the guys looking like they deal with real business, feeling important.

Maybe it’s because I’m not a C-Level. Maybe it’s because I don’t work in the City. But I don’t feel like my career is satisfying at this point. I just feel like some guy with a job. I don’t dislike it. I have a great work-life balance and I work with great people, but I just don’t seem to have motivation for my career in my current position.

I know this is a first world problem, but I’m curious if anyone else has felt this about their career.

AUD - July 2014 - 76
REG - August 2014 - 82
FAR - November 2014 - 78
BEC - January 2015 - 81

DONE!!!!

Used Becker online. Who needs a text when you can burn your eyes out staring at the screen for months on end?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you're hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

[Anonymous]

I think it depends where you are at in your career and what your career goals are. For a long time I just felt like I was “there” it wasn't until I really got focused on my path and started working on promotions, etc that I felt like I was career focused. Do you love what you are doing? Maybe its time for a change or some new responsibilities?

good luck!

[Anonymous]

Here's my thought:

Being “that person” never feels the same as looking at “that person”. For an easy example, think of when you were a kid, and saw an adult going somewhere or doing something – does being “the adult” feel the same as looking at “the adult”? Or maybe being the 15-year-old watching the 16-year-old pick someone up for a date while you had to have your mom drive you… Does having a car feel as BA as it looked when you were 15? The thing is, when you are “that person”, you still feel like you, cause it's now who you are. When you're looking at “that person”, it's someone else altogether, and you think it'd feel like someone else altogether.

As for feeling like your work is important, that's all in perspective and attitude towards your work. If you make it your goal to do your best, just for yourself, then you'll have a goal to work towards.

P. S. And movies are a very bad thing to base expectations of reality on…but I think the movies were a side-note, not the sole cause of your displeasure.

[thelawnwranglers]

Just here banging out a mortgage – lol I hear ya

[OnMyWay732]

Lilla, I feel you. That's most likely what it is. Like I said I don't dislike my job. There's just no satisfaction in it. At least when I was in public, finishing the audit had a feeling about it.

AUD - July 2014 - 76
REG - August 2014 - 82
FAR - November 2014 - 78
BEC - January 2015 - 81

DONE!!!!

Used Becker online. Who needs a text when you can burn your eyes out staring at the screen for months on end?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you're hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

[Anonymous]

Hmm maybe setting more goals/to-do's would help you? I've had a mountain of sticky-notes with little “need to do this” type notes, and every time I put one in the shred bin I feel a little accomplished. Then I have bigger to-do lists, say with recurring monthly tasks, and every time I can complete a month's list, that makes me feel accomplished as well. In most of my jobs that I've had, there weren't big things pre-established to feel satisfaction from, so I've had to make up my own. I think it's made me a better employee, but takes a little creativity.

In my current job (which I've just been at for 3 months), we have big (for us) quarterly reporting – I expect in time that completing each quarter's reports will feel like the culmination of the last 3 months' work, and there's always projects that are of the “When you're caught up enough to work on something else” variety – getting those accomplished has always been a source of satisfaction for me. At my last job, one of them was scanning and shredding the old paperwork that was piled in boxes on the store room's floor – nothing glorious about it, but when we could finally walk into the store room and not trip over boxes, it was definitely satisfying! Any projects like this that you could take on – even if you're only able to work on them for an hour or two a week – could help give that feeling of satisfaction of a longer-term job being completed.

Another thing I've recently started doing is attempting to never leave for the day with a small task that would take less than a minute or two undone. I've usually got several of these piled up at the end of the day, but getting the last one done and my desk clear for the next day always makes me feel like the whole day was productive. I might be leaving my bigger, more important tasks half-done since they take more than a day to do, but getting several little tasks – however insignificant – completed before leaving makes me feel much better about my day. It might be answering an email that just needs a few words' reply, or making a simple journal entry, or looking through a pile of mail to throw out junk and open envelopes of current mail, or wiping off the filing cabinets cause you noticed dust was accumulated…any little things that give the “There, that's done” feeling after them right at the end of the day.

[Tux]

As Lilla mentioned, I believe that goals are important.

Do you have goals for a promotion? If so, do you see yourself advancing at this company?

What would you have to accomplish for a promotion?

Even if your goal is not a promotion, it can be something else – i.e. accomplish x number of x this week, or this month.

Continual learning is important too.

Are there additional skills that you can learn to expand your role at work? ex. a friend of mine is taking excel classes

Maybe just learn more about the industry and keep up with current events in the industry, like who's who, and what are they up to?

There are online webinars that you can watch on various topics, and you can find conferences and events to attend.

When you have something scheduled, it will give you something to look forward to.

then, afterwards, you can find ways to apply what you've learned, or keep in touch with new people that you've met, etc.

FAR - 86 - 2/27/14
AUD - 75 - 5/29/14
BEC - 80 - 8/31/14
REG - 89 - 2/27/15
Praise Jesus! I'm done!!

Study resources:
Becker
Wiley test bank

[OnMyWay732]

I think one thing you said really hit.

Do I see myself advancing at this company? I could, but I don't think I really care to. When I was in public I ALWAYS thought about how to get to the next step and is everything I'm doing the way to get there? Then the company got awful and I had to leave public. I want to start a family and the hours aren't doable.

This company is just ehh I feel. I just don't have the spark I wish to have. I can't leave because that would probably look bad as I've only been here a few months but I need to always just keep looking forward

AUD - July 2014 - 76
REG - August 2014 - 82
FAR - November 2014 - 78
BEC - January 2015 - 81

DONE!!!!

Used Becker online. Who needs a text when you can burn your eyes out staring at the screen for months on end?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you're hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

[Anonymous]

So it sounds like you do want to advance in your career, just not so much at your current company, is that correct?

If so, then see this job as a learning opportunity. Try to learn as much as you possibly can every day. Try to take on new projects outside of your job description so that you can acquire new skills. My last job was clearly a dead-end, since there was only 1 position on site higher than me (rest of the corporate office was across the country) and that 1 individual had no intentions of leaving. I didn't know it was dead-end when I started, but it became apparent after a bit of time at the job. However, I was able to gain skills there that allowed me to take a step up with my next (current) position and perform well, because even though by title I didn't do much at my old job, I made it a point to get my hands in everything I possibly could…and my boss would give me any assignment I could handle, so I did way more than my job title would indicate, and was able to speak confidently about my experiences and skills when interviewing for my current job. That allowed me to get the position I wanted, from the position I had, even though the position I had didn't have a future of its own.

So, if your goals are bigger than your current company, make it a habit to try to learn as much as possible from your job every day. That will prepare you for the job you want someday when you've been at this job long enough to be able to move on without any issues.

[OnMyWay732]

Exactly Lilla. I definitely want to reach C level status but to stay at my company it would take forever even to reach relatively close to controller.

Definitely learning what I can. I honestly loved public but hated the hours. If I could do public but leave by 6 every day of the year I would go back in a heartbeat. It's clear to me that I am an auditor at heart.

AUD - July 2014 - 76
REG - August 2014 - 82
FAR - November 2014 - 78
BEC - January 2015 - 81

DONE!!!!

Used Becker online. Who needs a text when you can burn your eyes out staring at the screen for months on end?

"Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you're hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

[Tux]

Great! These are important things to realize.

Start strategizing for your next move, since it will take a while to find the right thing anyway.

Do some networking to find a company where you can do auditing AND have a reasonable schedule AND room for advancement.

I know it sounds like a tall order, but if you allow yourself to believe that it exists, then you WILL find it.

“You must believe to receive”

Do something toward this goal every day, so you can feel yourself making progress.

FAR - 86 - 2/27/14
AUD - 75 - 5/29/14
BEC - 80 - 8/31/14
REG - 89 - 2/27/15
Praise Jesus! I'm done!!

Study resources:
Becker
Wiley test bank

[Author]

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