[Anonymous]

I found out this Monday that I passed the last section of the CPA exam. I called in the next day and completed all the other requirements needed to submit my application, and I sent it in. Now, I have begun the tough task of determining what to do in my professional life while I wait for my license to come in.

The job I work at now is really laid back, but as part of that, I do not expect them to compensate me at an equal rate that CPAs working in other industries are making. They gave me a 5% raise when I got my Master’s, so I don’t think that having a CPA is going to be much greater.

I want to find a job somewhere else where there will be a lot of career growth opportunity. I honestly am trying to stay as far away as possible from public accounting because I have two kids, and could just not handle the schedule. Has anybody else dealt with this? If so, what career path do you recommend for someone that has a CPA, but does not want to work in public? I have 2 years experience working as a GL accountant.

If it also wouldn’t be too much to ask, where do you job search? I have looked at LinkedIn in several different markets, and I get the feeling that a lot of the employers on there are not too great as I’ve seen the same positions come available for the same employers over the last few months.

[ForgottenOne]

Employment option could be limited depend on where you live. You probably would be more valued by employers in the big cities. Other than that, working for a local CPA firm isnt that bad considering you have two kids

AUD - 86
BEC - 76
FAR - 75
REG - 83

Forgot

[NeedsA75]

Do you already work in private (corp) accounting?

AUD - 96
BEC - 86
FAR - 76
REG - 92

PETH - 92
Licensed in California

 

[Anonymous]

No, I work for a private accounting contractor. Small company not more than 30 people.

[Missy]

I've never worked a day in public nor do I ever want to but want to say if you're looking for something in industry with growth there are going to be steep hours too. I don't ever have to work a 70 hour week, but I don't ever get to work a 40 hour week, either. In fact I work as many hours as those in public but its spread evenly throughout the year instead of “busy season”.

That said location is everything, if I was willing to drive to the closest major city I'd probably make double what I do but I like where I am and what I do.

Your best bet to get somewhere in private accounting is to become an expert in a niche. Mine is defense contracts. Have always worked for manufacturers who sell to the government, I know how to use FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations) and know how to administer a contract. Since there are a lot of defense contractors in my area but not a lot of CPA's who have my background I can target manufacturers who do or intend to sell to the government.

As for job searching, you'll find the most on indeed. Don't discount craigslist, there's a lot of garbage on there but if you know how to read an ad theres legit stuff there too. Also find a good recruiter, give them YOUR wish list and say you're in no hurry. Thats how I landed this job. I saw an ad on craigslist and emailed. Turns out my own recruiter had posted the ad and didn't connect the dots that it matched the wish list I had given him a year earlier. Once I applied through craigslist he was very excited to connect me to this company.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[gigabyte2001]

I work for a defense contractor also. Something you might want to think about is working for DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency.) They seem to be notoriously short staffed ALL the time. A few years with them (they audit government contractors but it's different than GAAP auditing) and pretty much any govt contractor would probably hire you. I'd definitely talk to a recruiter about what you want and take my time looking for a good fit.

AUD - 87
BEC - 78
FAR - 82
REG - 93

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B - 11/11/16
A - 4/16/16 87!!
R - 2/17/17
F - 7/26/16 - Waiting for 8/23

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input. I definitely want to look into the defense contract roles. I applied for accounting jobs at a few defense contractors, but I never heard back. It sounds like a field that will always be in need of people given how much our country spends on defense.

[Anonymous]

I think there are two general ideas behind gaining career experience. The first one was mentioned above – finding some sort of “specialty” and getting really good at it. The other is gaining a wider range of experience in a lot of different areas. I prefer the second.

I work for a mid-sized manufacturing company ($150M in revenue, 600 employees). I'm only a couple years out of school and I'm a staff accountant. I make a decent salary for my location and rarely work more than 40 hours/week. I'm getting $5K bonus and a pay raise/title change once I pass the CPA. We are also growing quickly and I'm next in line for a promotion into management.

In less than 3 years I've done AP, managed our corporate credit card program, bank recs, prepared financial statements, I oversee our shareholder distributions (we're an S corp), sales tax, business valuations for M&A, training to non-accountant employees on understanding financial statements, cost rolls for standard costing, ROI calculations, and budgeting, among many other things. Our CEO and President know me by name and I work very closely with our CFO and Controller.

Our CFO came from banking and our Controller started out as a cost accountant. Neither ever darkened the door of public accounting (and neither did I). We actually prefer accountants with industry experience over public accounting because working here is so vastly different than in public accounting. I LOVE it – I love the variability, the responsibility, the hours and work environment, the team aspect rather than competing with peers for promotions, everything. I would highly recommend to any accountant looking for a job to find a mid-sized company to work for. If you do prefer to find a niche – a mid-sized company is a great way to figure out what you like and where you want to take your career.

As for finding one – I would definitely work with a recruiter and just tell him/her what you are looking for and definitely look on indeed.

Good luck on the job hunt!

[SeattleCPA]

You shouldn't necessarily give up on public accounting. Firms differ.

We work really hard during tax season. But “hard” means complex work which people really focus on. “Hard” doesn't mean long hours.

I don't really remember my CPA exam scores. I've been a CPA for decades... I run a four CPA firm in Redmond WA. I'm the author of a bunch of books about small business accounting including QuickBooks for Dummies and Quicken for Dummies.

[Author]

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