[Small4]

What is you threshold in terms of when you would realllly consider leaving a job? 20% 30% raise? Of course work life balance is afactor but lets jsut say its mostly money driven focus…just curious what you guys would say..

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[nomorestudying]

my rule would be 20% if moving for money, but also make sure that it'd be a positive move for your long term career goals!

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - 84
FAR - 78
REG - NINJA in Training

Over this

[OTK1995]

LMFAO… if it's a great job, I could leave for 15%. No amount of money will make me leave a job if the company offering is crap.

B - 75 (exp 9/2010) , 76 (11/2016)

A - 69, 89 (exp 9/2010), 73, 83 (3/2018)

R - 76 (exp 1/2011), 77 (5/2018)

F - 74, 69, (11/2010), 69 (11/2016), 71, 86 (12/2017)

Ethics: 93 (6/28/2018)

[Tim]

I like to move jobs it gives me more varied experience and keeps work interesting. So it would be more based on how long I've been in my current job and how much I still have left to learn in my current position for me. Of course all the other work/life balance stuff is important. For instance, I spent many years with one-way 1-hour plus commutes and I don't think I'd ever do that again for any amount of money. So much valuable time lost. I'd rather work more hours than sit in traffic getting mad at bad drivers. Also, I would prefer to change positions within the company I'm in than go to another company. But many times that's not really an option.

FAR - 97 (10/12/17)
BEC - 95 (01/15/18)
AUD - 88 (04/06/18)
REG - 89 (11/16/18)

[Small4]

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I'm pretty torn. Not that I have something for certain to jump into but when you get to a point in your current job where everything feels fine (Work-life balance is amazing actually) but you look out and you see you couldddd be getting paid more plus learning something new could be a perk in itself in terms of just growing as a professional…that be said, the content part of me goes “who am i kidding, i work essentially 9-5 …why do i want more stress for 30k more”…but the 30k more is also enticing long term (saving money…)…we shall see….

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[slickrick]

I ponder this everyday. I currently work at a food processing company in the rural south and make 75k doing sales and use tax. I’m pretty much the only individual on staff with with extensive sales and use tax knowledge. I’ve been doing sales tax for about 10 years now (between 2 companies) and really not finding it interesting anymore. I started studying for my CPA exam last summer and will hopefully be taking my last exam in December. Should I hang around and keep dealing with sales tax or move on to something more in the accounting field after I pass my exams? I’m in my mid 30’s and have about 3.5 years at my current company. The CFO is currently the only CPA and getting anywhere in the company is all about the buddy system and who you know.

[Accounting_is_Taxing]

I switched jobs for an 11% raise but I also got substantially better benefits like great insurance and investment options. I also work fewer hours than my old job which leaves more time to study for the exam.

AUD - 75
BEC - 77
FAR - 77
REG - 76

Licensed in VA

[Painted_Jeans]

@slickrick 75k in rural south is a pretty good salary, no? if you get your cpa will they give you a raise? unless you really hate it that much i'd stay and get licensed, then talk to the cfo maybe he needs a controller buddy 🙂

FAR - 80

AUD - 78

REG - 76

BEC - 56 (April 2019); CREDIT (September 2019)

 

ALL PAU PEEPS!!!!

[slickrick]

@painted_jeans That is an exceptional salary for this area. My job also pays for all of my CPA expenses and they made a mention of a bonus when I passed all of my exams. I don’t think they’ll give me an actual salary increase though. I don’t actually work in the accounting department so I doubt a controller position is in my future even after obtaining my CPA.

[Small4]

@Slickrick I hear ya. 75k as you said is amazing in rural south. I live in the land of extreme expensive everything in Cali where money doesnt go as far…so for me its the same mental struggle of whether to try to work more and earn more OR just be content…a part of me wishes growth opportunities exists in my current gig but its not (and its not their fault, its a great company but its just not structured to have promotions like say in public accounting)…anyways, its at least nice to hear from folks where it turns out we all have something in common. That Wayfair decision could open up big time tho for S&U tax accountants so whatever the wind blowns, good luck!

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[Nate]

I might be in a similar dilemma. I work for a small firm in a small town, I make $60k a year which isn't much in a lot of areas but the average income in my two is $19.5k a year, so I'm doing very well in this town. My wife is only a part-time childrens pastor, so as you can imagine she hardly makes anything, but with our two salaries together we have a new house, new car, and still have about $1,200 extra a month after all expenses (also includes student debt). So life is great, plus I have job security and decent health care through the firm, and that's important now that my wife and I just found out we have our first child on the way. This is hard to pass up. Plus the hours are light and vacation are great (can't work more than 70 hours during busy season, Sundays the office are closed no matter what, and get 1.25 hours of comp time for every hour of OT worked). The culture here is very laid back and family is first here and that is practiced as much as it's preached. Because of this, I haven't been looking, on my LinkedIn I have put that I have 0 interest in looking for another job. However, recruiters still reach out to me, and most of the time it's silly jobs they're recruiting me for, however a recruiter just reached out to me about a controller position in the same area and the pay range is from $80k-$90k and she's confident I'd be a perfect match (I've known her for a while, she's the honest type of recruiter, she wouldn't just say that). Obviously it's early but still, it might put me in a real tough situation. At what point is it worth leaving the comfort of my current job? It's so hard to know. My wife doesn't want me to leave cause she loves the job security and hours I have, but we both have to objectively look at this and see what's best for our family. Tough to know how much to pursue this opportunity.

Being a controller is down one of the paths I'm interested in as well as getting a CGMA with the hopes of maybe being a CFO someday. But I've also considered the PFS route or the ABV route as I love giving advisory services to people or businesses in need. So hard to know what to do! Guess I'll have to be patient and really take time to pray and consider everything. At this point, I'm leaning towards staying.

AUD: 54 (10/31/15); 83 (12/02/17)
BEC: 70 (01/31/16); 90 (07/02/17)
FAR: 73 (10/03/15); 88 (02/17/18)
REG: 83 (06/09/18)
AICPA Ethics: 91 (06/28/18)
Licensed: 08/16/18

[slickrick]

@small4 I can’t imagine the cost of living in Cali. I watch million dollar listing on Bravo and it boggles my mind to see how much you guys pay for houses…..The way fair decision is going to be a nightmare as we have online sales in all 50 states. I’m a numbers guy so I would still like to get more on the accounting side if an opportunity presented itself.

[Small4]

@Slickrick its ridiculous tbh. A house sold in our block for 1.2M and its a PIECE OF WORK…like in a bad way. Its literally insanity. But its hard to compete with people who just have cash lying around paying straight cash to houses in our current housing market. I read somewhere that 100k is actually considered low-income in the Silicon Valley area. If you would have asked me back in middle school or early HS if i would like to make 100k, i woulda though i struck it rich. Hence this question looms in my head always. Should a person be happy with low 6 figures but very comfy gig or be happy with slightly mid 6 figures but with even more potential to make more but has that large risk that it will be far more busy.

First world problems we got..i know but still worth discussing i believe.

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[spsone07]

I was going to leave for a job closer to home, in a LCOL area for 10% raise. Current company gave me a 25% raise to stay.

CA CPA hopeful

FAR: passed
REG: passed
BEC: on deck
AUD: crying

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." - Mike Tyson

[irishA]

I've been having this same debate lately as I decide if I need to move to a larger firm or switch to industry to move my career to the next level. here are so many variables to consider. I recently passed the CPA exam (waiting for experience verification to get licensed), will be finishing my Master's degree this semester. So I would hope for a small bump even staying in my current position. My current company is small, so not many fringe benefits (no insurance, 401K, responsible for my own license fees/CPE costs, etc.), but my salary is towards the higher end of the range to compensate; plus I also spend about 75% of my time on the road (so will all the airline/hotel point I haven't had to pay for a vacation in almost 5 years), and need to consider what opportunities might be available in larger companies. So in general I would say 15-20% to stay in public, but transfer to industry and loss the travel benefits would say closer to 25-30%.

AUD - 86
BEC - 90
FAR - 95
REG - 90

#2050817

Small4

Participant

It all boils down to this:
110k pay (senior role, not busy time at all, actually really easy, work-life amazing, a hard ceiling in terms of growth since very small group)
vs
140-145k (first line mgr role, hard since alot more work, unknown culture and unknown work-life balance, potential to grow though even if not in company, but elsewhere after 2 yrs since experience would be good for resume).

Which would you choose?

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[Small4]

It all boils down to this:
110k pay (senior role, not busy time at all, actually really easy, work-life amazing, a hard ceiling in terms of growth since very small group)
vs
140-145k (first line mgr role, hard since alot more work, unknown culture and unknown work-life balance, potential to grow though even if not in company, but elsewhere after 2 yrs since experience would be good for resume).

Which would you choose?

AUD - 77
BEC - 75
FAR - 82
REG - 77

-Becker (do all mcq, period),
-Buy NINJA mcq (68% trend), and
-PRINT trouble topics.

-Also Used WTB mcq (68% trend).
-Do 40-50 SIMs and read answers/try to learn from solutions like its a book example.
-Lastly, when having trouble with same topic, go big picture and watch trouble lecture

BEC - 68,70,72,75 5/15
AUD - 78(expired), 77 8/15
REG - 29,58,65,77 1/16
FAR - 56,68,73 - retake October hopefully (last shot)

Been doing this since 2007 on and off...

[Author]

Replies