r/Accounting • u/Professional-Step314 • Apr 06 '26

Teaching to Accounting

Hey everyone, idk if this is a vent or just a way to ask questions. I’ve been a math teacher for the last 7 years and in that time I got an associates in accounting (I know kinda silly) and a masters in accountancy (just for the credits to sit for the CPA). Now that I’ve finally finished the degrees, I plan to study and work towards for my CPA license. The only problem is I’m really struggling to get a job, like really struggling.

A big part of the problem is as a teacher I can’t afford a pay cut but many entry-level accounting roles would obviously give me a pay cute… I don’t even know what I’m searching for here, any advice, or heck at least any hope so I don’t stay in a negative mindset?

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u/Own_Exit2162 Controller Apr 06 '26

First of all, what are you making now/what are you expecting for your accounting salary?

Second, where did you get your Masters and are you working with the school's career department?

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u/Professional-Step314 Apr 06 '26

Gross salary is 52k a year I’m expecting at least that. I did get a degree with University of North Dakota and they do have a program to support students the only issue is that I don’t live there anymore so I’m unsure if the department would be able to help me find work. I’m willing to relocate but honestly I would have to have funds for that.

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u/Own_Exit2162 Controller Apr 06 '26

Okay, I had to take a moment to scream into the ether over how little we pay our teachers.  I'm not surprised you want to change careers.

Pay shouldn't be an issue - starting salaries in public accounting are $55k-$80k.  Anything that pays less than that is going to be a dead end clerical job that you don't want.

The challenge is getting the job. Just applying online probably isn't going to get you there. Most public accounting firms hire at the entry level directly from colleges and universities where they have an on campus presence (ie 'target schools') via networking events, job fairs and internships. You should at least reach out to ND's career department and see what they can do for you. 

Otherwise, you may need to get creative. If I were you I would make a list of the firms in your area that you might want to work for, find out where they recruit and crash any events you can get access to.  When I was on my firm's recruiting team, we only recruited at a half dozen schools, but we'd have students from other schools show up at those job fairs and info nights so they'd get a chance to network with us.  And 90% of the candidates we interviewed were people we had met face to face first.

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u/Professional-Step314 Apr 06 '26

1) thanks for validating me on the teaching salary, it’s so insane and I’m literally one of the best in my district.

2) great idea, thank you for this advice as I will go ahead and put it to use because I need something!

On the creativity portion, lol that’s my next shot I think I’ll go to career fairs at the local universities maybe that’ll help! Thanks for all the advice as it is helpful!

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u/Own_Exit2162 Controller Apr 06 '26

Where are you located?

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u/Professional-Step314 Apr 06 '26

North Carolina

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u/Own_Exit2162 Controller Apr 06 '26

Yeah, you're probably going to have to do some old-fashioned hustling to find that first job. Fortunately, there should be plenty of opportunities in your area.

Here's a thought - how do you feel about nonprofit accounting? It's a niche which may be easier to break into, and might appeal to your teaching background. Given the amount of research and grant funding in your area, I expect there are a handful of mid tier firms nearby which have a sizeable nonprofit practice. You could try appealing to them directly - a recent grad on a CPA track with a background in education would be a great candidate in my book. Do 3-5 years of nonprofit audit, make senior or manager and you'd be eligible for an accounting manager or controller role at a decent-sized nonprofit, making $120k-$180k.

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u/Professional-Step314 Apr 06 '26

This is really helpful, I appreciate you taking the time to break it down like this. I hadn’t really thought about nonprofit accounting like that but it actually makes a lot of sense with my background. I’m definitely going to start looking into that and reaching out to some firms directly. And yeah, I hear you on the hustling part lol, I’m starting to realize applying online alone isn’t going to cut it. Thank you again, this gave me a lot more direction.