[jm962011]

Sorry for the really long post, just feeling completely lost… How do I figure out what I want to do with my life?!!

I found out I passed my final CPA exam with the June 9 score release!! It was a 2 year journey, luckily nothing ever fell off but it took me a few times to get my first and second passes. But all of a sudden, I feel like tax (mostly indirect tax because that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 3 years out of college) but even in general accounting this is not what I want to do with the rest of my life.

1st job out of college: software company that had a tax opening that I was interested in. I interned in the revenue department throughout my last year of college and enjoyed the culture. It was just me and a senior whom I looked up to. Averaged 50 hours a week. Company didn’t care about tax and the senior left. I ran a tax department for about 3 months. Loved the “client facing role” which was just me talking to customers about the sales tax on their invoices. Senior that left the company encouraged me to look for another job. I was there a little over 1 year.

2nd job: very large health insurance company with nearly 40 tax professionals spread over 3 offices but most of them where in my office. LOTS of personalities to deal with, lots of red tape, my “manager” didn’t review my work as he signed all returns except the federal consolidated but would have monthly 1:1s. I was filing the premium tax returns, very very easy, almost $0 separate state income tax returns, kind of helping out all over with sales tax audits, property tax, did some very small 1065s. Decided I was unhappy (looking back, not sure really why I was unhappy, the work/life balance was amazing, maybe a small blip of 45 hours about extension and return due dates) and wanted to go back into sales tax full time with just a little bit of income tax to keep my brain fresh. Reached out to senior that left me 1st job as I really considered him a mentor and he had an opening. I was there about 16 months. (Note, about 8 months into this job, I attempted to go to big 4 but none of them would contact me… found out through the grapevine that my employer used all big 4 for consulting.. not even tax consulting but actuarial consulting, lobbying…)

7 months into 3rd job: sales tax analyst at a manufacturer, paying me more than I should probably be paid. There are 12 tax professionals which includes a couple of international employees sitting in Europe. Holy crap this place is awful. SO DISFUNCTIONAL and UNORGANIZED. My manager is so laid back we hardly file things on time which just does NOT go with my personality. We start projects, put them down for months, only to pick up and say “where are we with that?” No one respects anyone’s time. It is nearly impossible for me to want to go to work. The VP of tax has said she prefers quality over quantity hours, which I agree with 100% (a hiring manager once told me they felt like I could get 40 hours of work done in 35…) because I like processes and efficiencies but my manager is always jacking around… he has to work til 7pm every night because he jacked around for 2 hours during the day. I’m more of a “if I’m at my desk, I’m working” kind of person. The low cubicle walls don’t help this. I think the biggest mistake was listening to that mentor who got a bonus for referring (and my subsequent hiring) even though I report to a different manager.

Today: looking for indirect tax jobs in greater Boston area (because I know indirect taxes and in Boston because my boyfriend moved there about 7 months ago to help take care of his aging parents and we discussed me moving there after I passed my exams). We see each other 4-5 days every 2 months. Feeling discouraged because not many indirect tax jobs in Boston, both public and private but then again, do I even want to do tax? I also get worried about my apparent “job hopping”…

So how do I figure out what I want to do with my life?!! I really enjoyed my international finance, banking, and economics classes, and I enjoy business overall. But I do like some tax stuff. An MBA is out of the question right now because of $$$ but I just don’t know what to do.

[jbarwick]

Don't think moving somewhere else will be less dysfunctional and more organized. I seemed to have gotten myself into roles where 100% of the work is “Ad Hoc”. Imagine sitting around some days without much to report on then days where you are super busy. It really depends on what you want out of a job. The perfect job may exist or you have to put up with both the good and the bad and at the end of the day, live you life outside of work. Good luck but remember, a job interview will paint the company with rose colored glasses so what you see is not always what you get.

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

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