I was recently laid off. Hoping to leave public accounting altogether - tired of no work-life balance year round but nervous that all I'll be able to get is another pressure cooker PA firm. I have a big personal goal outside of accounting and I want a job where I get paid a decent salary but also have time for this other thing i have. Does that exist or did I pick the wrong career path?
I had a third-round interview where the hiring manager spent 20 minutes bragging about how they work hard and play hard, which we all know is code for having no boundaries. I asked what time the team usually heads out on Fridays, and the room went completely silent. It’s so hard to find an Industry role that isn't just Public-lite. Are there actually any chill companies left, or has the startup culture poisoned the entire private sector?
I have an interview for an Internal Audit role, and I’m trying to figure out how to lie and say I’m passionate about process improvement. The truth is I just want a job where I don't have to deal with clients or busy season. How do you fake enthusiasm for IA without sounding like a robot? Is there any part of the job that is actually interesting?
Am I crazy for turning down a Director title because of a 3-day RTO mandate? I’ve spent the last three years working fully remote, and I just got an offer for a Director of Finance role at a retail brand. It’s a $180k base (up from my current $145k), but must be in the office Tuesday through Thursday. The commute is 55 minutes each way.
Should I take the exit opportunity? Currently, M3 going to M4 (no promo to Sr Mgr for FY27), in MCOL B4 Risk consulting making $152k base + $7K bonus and in office 3x a week. Company is offering remote work, $160K + 10% bonus for similar work and my title would be a Sr Mgr, no independence restrictions.
You should be a dentist
Or a RN/NP. Some of my friends work 3 days a week, 12 hour shifts and have 4 days free
It’s different for everyone. I casually looked for exit ops for 4-5 years in my manager-senior manager years and just never found anything that was appealing enough to leave for. I’m a public accounting lifer now.
Essentially you get stuck in PA career if you do not leave beyond certain number of years..yeah if you join one of your clients it may help…but in general by 2030 we will see drastic changes in public accounting profession for good, bad and worse.. coupled with more extensive outsourcing to low cost foreign markets creating imbalance in local US markets/regions unless controlled properly by federal and state agencies…not sure how much up-skilling will work but the impact yet to be seen in next 3 to 4 years…things will work more for big companies owners, concentrated groups and firms of Ai developers and IT companies leading to concentrated wealth distribution and widening the gap rich vs poor with contraction of middle class sandwich layer generation obviously…on the positive side, survival of the fittest will still work but will need constant learning and development brushing up technical and soft skills… outdated curriculum in colleges and universities will need big-time changes to sustain new graduates in current challenging markets…as they will not only compete domestically but also with their international outsourced counterparts/communities to whom the US jobs were mobilized and transferred…we are currently in RIFs in stages which will hit US domestic employment drastically in pockets for number of years needing less human intervention for repetitive tasks creating needs for high demand tech, soft skills and professional judgement capabilities.. your path is not wrong but see where u can make adjustments to your experience and qualifications to make yourself in high demand even in challenging times to protect yr personal and professional goals. I agree journey is different for everyone and some are more luckier than others but keep moving on with the right mindset as the universe is setup to help everyone so long as the right conditions are met at the right time 😀😀…good luck to u and may u find something worthwhile soon..
Thank you! Audit Manager who wished he got out sooner... but I am hoping to turn this unexpected turn of events into finally finding that role that won't destroy my soul.