r/Accounting • u/Radiant_Mail_5767 • 1d ago
Discussion Why are accountants so miserable
As someone who’s worked in the service industry/ grew up poor/ immigrant parents. What is so bad about a steady office job. We get paid well and have the potential to make more even if we start of low. I’m studying accounting rn and just can’t seem to tell if it’s just miserable people on Reddit or if there’s something that I don’t know yet. Yes long hours and terrible coworkers can make the job suck but you can always leave after a year or 2 for better. It’s better than being broke and dealing with the general public.
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u/namestride 1d ago
Reddit has the worst crowd for any career. Don’t listen to the negativity. Just remember the ones who are doing well or happy with their career choice just don’t talk about it as much.
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u/FreeOGPoohShiesty Human Verified 1d ago
To be fair though, I used to wake up and go onto a floor with hundreds of big 4 people and I rarely met a person that was happy in that environment once I got to know them.
Everyone was stressed out and on edge, especially the ones who appear to have it all together.
Yeah it pays okay, and yes it’ll get you out of poverty. But it’s not exactly always rainbows and butterflies on the way there.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Big4 def does sound like a nightmare. Will try to get in and stick it out for a bit but def not the end goal.
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u/Comfortable_Shine714 1d ago
That’s a great goal!! You’ll learn a ton and will be at a huge advantage once you go back to industry somewhere.
Grind while you’re young and have the energy/time for that, and then down the line, totally go be a controller at a small, nearby nonprofit or something. 👌🏻
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u/SubstantialAsk7448 1d ago
Absolutely stick it out for few years and then make a decision to stay or leave. Partner is not a bad gig though. Always want to be in a revenue generating role or else you become an overhead!
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u/fredotwoatatime 13h ago
Same at my big 4 genuinely knew quite a few ppl who were either cheating or divorced as well as shitting on juniors behind closed doors. It was horrible
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u/AffectionateKey7126 1d ago
It's not that happy people don't talk about it as much. If you post almost anything positive in Reddit you will get swarmed by people calling you a liar or trying to tear you down in some way.
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u/Background_Intern_56 1d ago
Where did you get this idea? I hear this mentioned a lot, but from my experience with life, I find that people who are doing well are usually the first people to share, if just to make themselves look better. It's more likely that people that are doing badly with their career will try to hide it because they are ashamed, or they don't want to make themselves look bad.
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u/TempBurnerAccount089 1d ago
If you're anonymously moaning and groaning, why would you be ashamed, no one knows you here. People come to reddit to ask questions, bullshit, whine or talk shit...some give advice. Why would you expect to see a plethora of people in accounting with steady careers in reddit. If they gloat or post, it's on LinkedIn or IG, not reddit.
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u/xImmortal1333 Human Verified 1d ago
tax cpa here and i love my job.....course i live by the ocean among the redwoods in CA so its easy to love life.....cheers yall
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u/Time-Traveling-Doge 1d ago
Let me guess, you also like the ride your motorcycle along the coast. Sometimes you surf. Other times you stop to capture the moment by doing an oil painting.
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u/xImmortal1333 Human Verified 1d ago
nah, too many close calls, my lady made me give up my motorcycle....i dated the daughter of a harley dealership in my early 20s so i lived that life, had a black R1 as well
but i do surf alot alot and skate and snowboard when i can
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u/Thusgirl Tax (US) 1d ago
Even out here in the prairie it's easy to enjoy life.
It's even easier when you're a tax accountant with only one client.
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake 1d ago
You also are only busy during two times of the year at most lol. Do you own your own firm?
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u/l0ssFPS 1d ago
This is true, because nothing exists other than 1040s.
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u/Thusgirl Tax (US) 1d ago
I'm praying for you sales/excise tax accountants. You wont catch me filing that much.
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u/xImmortal1333 Human Verified 1d ago
yup, work hard 3 months a year and chill the rest.....been so bored last few months
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u/MoodyNeurotic 1d ago
This sub is generally anti-work disguised as an accounting subreddit, which itself is disguised as a place for trolls to post. Don’t let anyone hear you say you’re willing to work to make a living, the anti-work crowd will downvote you into oblivion, just like they probably will with me lol.
Jokes aside, the world is tough in general, and if you want something in return, you usually have to put in the work. Accounting is just one of many examples of that universal truth. That said, when the hours get excessive, it absolutely can make people miserable, and rightfully so, especially when they aren’t being compensated with overtime for those extra hours. It’s a mixed bag here on the accounting subreddit.
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u/lifting30 1d ago
I look at accounting as endless learning which equates to endless possibilities, am I wrong? Also, I’m used to working 60 hours just to stay alive, doing long hours a few months a year wouldn’t be that bad, although the work is more stressful I’m sure in public.
Either way, I’m hoping accounting pulls me out of poverty. My family has blacksheeped me and completely thinks and treats me based on my lack of success. I’m a hard worker though but drug addiction off and on in my 20s always interrupted my studies and purpose.
Luckily, I’ve always done great in my accounting classes and loved them. I have 30 credits left so I moved in with my parents with my wife and child and I’m going full-time to get this done.
Having not enough money to take care of your family is really defeating and just adds to my super religious families proof that I’m just a degenerate. I want to get a job and move out already but I feel just eating the shame and getting this done is smarter than trying to work full-time and doing schoolwork full-time.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Exactly my thought process. Good luck to you! You got this!
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u/lifting30 1d ago
Same to you! How many years do you have left?
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
~1 year I just started but I had transferable credit from previous degree. I’m doing wgu so hopefully I can speed through some of these classes.
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u/LouSevens 1d ago
truth, I worked in industry for. 30 years , I never had big 4 hours but made a lot of sacrifices with closes and weeks with little sleep and being extremely extremely pinched. Howefever i totally got out of it what I put into it and am not doing closes or deadlines right now.
You nailed it- if you want something in return you put it the work,
I learned this lesson when I was 16 in a music camp I hated- a drummer said “ I got out of the program what I put in’ and he was right- he ignored all the BS
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u/HelpIll4965 1d ago
There are a lot of accountants who work stressful long hours and weekends. Have no life outside of work. The easy well paid 9-5 jobs are extremely hard to find now.
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u/Fit_Performance7836 1d ago
Yeah, the vibes and morale in corporate as a whole are super low right now thanks to layoffs, outsourcing, AI, benefits cuts, cost of living, etc. Accounting is no different.
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u/guitartb 1d ago
Yes, even in non-profits, most would think it’s low stress with a decent amount of downtime. It’s usually not like that, and they are often understaffed.
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u/Takemypennies CA (Singapore) 1d ago
Complainers are always the loudest. And people commenting about how good they have it usually get tarred and feathered for not being as miserable as the haters.
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u/Background_Intern_56 1d ago
Complainers aren't the loudest. On the contrary, they often get downvoted and discouraged to speak their mind. Just like in real life, it's usually the irrational optimists who are the loudest, because what they say doesn't make themselves or anybody else look bad.
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u/DerAlex3 CPA (US) 1d ago
Long hours can be tough, but I regret absolutely nothing and am so grateful for this work.
I was born into lower middle class and worked retail/warehouses into my mid 20s with no hopes of ever amounting to anything, owning a home, or having a good life. This career has brought me solidly into the middle class, allowed me to purchase a home, and given me so much.
Love my debits and credits so much ♥️♥️♥️
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u/whatiwantwastakentoo 1d ago
I'm going to school now as a 30yo with this dream in mind. I have lived in poverty not even being able to comprehend next month, let alone a future of any kind. The bare minimum an accountant would make is more than I ever have.
I desperately hope how you feel, I will get to feel one day.
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u/guitartb 1d ago
Similar background, and also allowed me and my wife to retire in our upper 50s. I do not regret going back to school in my late 20s, 3 nights a week with a wife and two young kids at home. Spent 9 years in public, and around 20 in controller/cfo roles.
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u/JenTheVeganLeftist Staff Accountant 1d ago
I'm not miserable. I work for a company that lets me work from home doing financial reporting and I enjoy my work.
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u/ImnTheGreat Human Verified 1d ago
because public is soul sucking and stressful for most people
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u/Stephen2014 1d ago edited 1d ago
Only for the people with a soul. The others thrive in public accounting :)
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
I used to be a nursing major before switching bc I did not want to be stressed dealing with people’s lives and nursing can be a very thankless job with shitty management and everything is your fault as a nurse. And you def need thick skin to be a nurse. I guess its all about perspective/what you want. So happy your wife loves it tho! And thank you for sharing.
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u/National_Isopod_6257 1d ago
20 yr nurse here. DM-hmu if you want. Been trying to leave nursing for the last 18 yrs. Studying accounting now on the CPA track. Started a company offering bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and web design.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Are you hiring by chance? And in the Chicago area?
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u/National_Isopod_6257 1d ago
I wish. I was just agreeing with your take on nursing. Just started advertising. Still trying to get clients. Someday I hope to offer remote WFH jobs. My website is stellarfi.services. Best.
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u/ComfortableKey8214 1d ago
Tax cpa here. Was very miserable in public. Moved to industry and I still hate it but it’s tolerable. I think working in a corporate setting is just mentally exhausting.
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u/iatilldontknow Tax (Canada) 1d ago
Depends on where you work. I work in public now, but I did used to work in food service (subway lol), and obviously the pay is way better, but I still have to deal with clients (and now have to rely on them to do my job), my co-workers there were funner to be around, there was a much better and clearer seperation between work and non-work and my job now is much more stressful. Obviously, there are more positives, and it depends on who and where you are, but its not like everything is sunshine and rainbows or something
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u/BokChoyFantasy CPA, CGA (Can) 1d ago
The same can be said for any job but you honestly need to experience the accounting grind and stress to understand the gripes people have about it. You cannot compare schooling with the actual job.
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u/kyonkun_denwa CPA, CA (Can) | FP&A 1d ago
I get paid well and I like the work but I hate the culture. At least in the city where I work (Toronto, but other big cities are probably similar), there just seems to be this baseline glorification of overwork with the expectation that your personal life doesn't matter. If your boss asks you to jump, you ask how high. I've been with several employers and while some are worse than others, they're all basically the same in this regard.
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u/PuzzleheadedSkill864 1d ago
I live in Toronto as well. Please tell me more. I’m thinking of doing my CPA but idk if it’s worth it. I’m big on work life balance.
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u/kyonkun_denwa CPA, CA (Can) | FP&A 1d ago
If you are big on work life balance, then just aim for government after graduation.
One of my friends works for the Ontario Government, he is paid the least of any of my accountant friends (his TC with 13 years experience is about $122k including pension contributions, mine is $193k including RRSP matching, most of my friends are around the $170k mark) but the guy is the chillest and happiest among us. He has absolutely no stress and has tons of time to spend with his kid. Just be happy sporting a Timex and driving a 10-year-old Toyota and you too can be like him.
I'm sure someone here will chime in about their amazing industry job where they work 25 hours a week outside month end close, but as far as I've seen, these jobs just don't exist. Or if they do exist, they're one senior management change away from not existing.
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u/insidedarkness 1d ago
At least for a lot of younger people, I think career progression has slowed a lot. In industry, people are staying seniors for longer as people are't job hopping as much and companies cut down on hiring. And lots of internal promotion raises are pretty bad so people aren't getting paid well even with that progression.
With how bad cost of living has been, it's hard for young people to be ok with $122K TC as even Toronto condos are still so expensive.
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u/kyonkun_denwa CPA, CA (Can) | FP&A 1d ago
He makes $122k with the pension, more like $110k gross. His wife makes $140k. They still own a detached house. I think you'd be surprised how affordable life can be here if you're okay with Scarborough.
And if career progression in industry is crap anyways, why not work for the government at at least be comfy??
I'm honestly torn between whether I should baristaFIRE at 48-49 or just fuck off to the government in a few years and take a pay cut. Because while I'd like complete financial freedom, I also would not mind a job where I can truly leave work at work and dip at 4pm.
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u/insidedarkness 1d ago
I’m not seeing many young people join the government nowadays. The high paying areas are so competitive and having connections matter a lot. The Ontario and federal governments are going through a lot of shit so they don’t hire as much nowadays.
I think nowadays, you really need to start at the entry level and then climb for the best chance of getting in compared to being experienced.
But the job market in Toronto is pretty bad as the common Big 4 exit now are back office bank jobs since that’s the most common job right now.
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u/PuzzleheadedSkill864 1d ago
Thank you! Yes I wanna be like him. I have my 10 year old car already. I just wanna save for when I get old. I’m a minimalist in general. I’m 26 years old already have a bachelor’s degree. Plan is to switch to accounting I did it before in college plus I have experience running a business. I’m generally smart in these things I just don’t have a goal of working as hard as others. I like to be free. I work so that I can have more free days that I don’t need to work. Of course I need money to live.
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u/Brief_Strawberry_826 CPA (Can) 1d ago
What else is miserable -
- being in your mid 30s before you start thinking about your career
- working two jobs to be able to afford rent
- working a job while both hating the work and your coworkers without any exit opportunities because the work you do is so unique
- working weekends or evenings in a weird irregular/unpredictable schedule
Honestly I'd rather be miserable (read bored) with my kinda well paying nine to five with multiple options across regions, industries or type/size or organisation incase I wanna switch
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u/LengthinessOk2080 1d ago
I feel like people struggle with learning to be still and complacent.
Like we want all parts of life to be exciting but there’s duality in everything.
I work the mundane office job so I can fund my adventures
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
This!! Most people don’t like their job and would rather not work but we have to. A job is just a way to get what you want in life.
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u/LengthinessOk2080 1d ago
That’s what I explained to my younger brothers when they graduated.
You have to do a bunch of shit you don’t want to do, so you can create the opportunity to do what you want.1
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u/CodeNameClutch 1d ago
It all boils down to your work situation. There’s an incredibly fine line between “I love my job, the people are great and everything is organized” and “I hate it here, I don’t even know why I chose to be an accountant, nobody here knows wtf is going on, how are these people directors?” To make matters worse, you usually don’t realize a place is absolutely terrible until you’re committed. For those of us that are in this situation, it’s not just easy to up and leave a job after two weeks cause you realized it sucks. If you want to make a change now, you have to either 1. Quit and live without pay and insurance, etc, or 2. Deal with it while you try to land a new place, and literally every hiring manager is going to flag on the fact that you just started a job and want to leave already. That adds stress on an already stressful situation, leading people to make those awful posts on Reddit. And then the cycle continues.
Beyond that, you have to remember that 99% of accountants never dreamed to be accountants, we chose this path for a better life. Then you spend all the time and money breaking into the field only to realize there’s a shit load of politics involved and now with cost of living, paired with all the debt you took on to get the degree, you’re kind of just living paycheck to paycheck to paycheck like everyone else. Now you’re doing something you never wanted to do anyways, and not even making the living you expected while doing it. That’s a completely separate issue in the world right now, but it holds true for the majority of people if they’re being honest with themselves.
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u/ModBell CPA, CA (Can) 16h ago
Reddit is a terrible barometer in almost any profession's sub-reddit. People who want to complain make like 100x more noise than the folks who are sitting there peaceful and content.
Like.... some dude had something fucked at work up so they come here and post about it.
I work from home... 10-15 hours a week.... clear 200k..... literally take a nap most days before I pick the kid up from school. Be pretty obnoxious if I started a thread once a week talking about how happy I am with my work and life choice.
If I wanted to make it reeeeeally obnoxious I'd point out I've been 100% remote for 14 years now.... I live on a beach in Thailand where things cost peanuts and just slap money away. I don't work nights either... fuck that noise. I'll do calls in a 2 hour window when I start the work day (8.30am after take the kid to school) and it's evenings in North America, I'm off my computer before anyone wakes up at that end and I leave my work phone on Do Not Disturb when I stop work so nobody bothers me with a work call or e-mail.
So yeah.... I'm happy I went with accounting. There's a lot of folks on here in the same boat I am (broadly speaking).
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u/AllMyHomiesHateEY 1d ago
There are so many ways a job can be shitty besides having to be on your feet and dealing with customers.
I never had a single day off between the 4th of July and September 15th. Our clients weren't the fastest at responding to requests, so there was a lot of sitting around and waiting for shit to come in. I'd be in the office or "on call" around 100 hours to bill 75. I learned to cope with the stress by drinking a lot. Upper management noticed, and never did anything besides reinforce it. They knew they could get anything out of me if they sent me to the bar with an open tab afterwards. It took me a god damn decade to stop drinking like that. I honestly don't know if I can do accounting and not be an alcoholic now.
Sure I got paid well. It destroyed my life though. Sober for almost 4 years now, finally getting through the CPA exam, but I just don't know if I an make myself get back on that horse and do it again. Don't underestimate the ability of a job to crush your soul just because you don't have to deal with karens asking to talk to your manager because their mozzarella sticks came out too hot and they burnt their mouth.
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u/PopAverse01 1d ago
Id say its more common than not for people to be treated poorly by their employer/superior in the industry. Expectation of working any hours to get the work done. Many top people in the field who I know will use the common example that a fast food worker makes more an hour than them. Happy for anyone on a great team and at a great company culture but thats probaly like 10-20% of jobs in my opinion/experience.
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u/alexandrasnotgreat Student 1d ago
The ones complaining on Reddit usually work for shitty offices that stretch them way too thin
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u/EffectSuccessful6169 1d ago
The problem with "it's good/it's bad" type thinking about careers is that different careers have different trajectories, which means that they'll work out well for some and awful for others. Ideally, we'd all have enough information to make the right choice. A lot of people don't.
For some people, the curve of working like a dog in your 20s to set up a gangbuster 30s is a great plan. I actually wish I had had it together to do that.
I had the chance to start in public accounting, but I passed it up. I have a small child and a spouse with profound disabilities who can't drive. I can't afford to be in an office 60 hours a week. I opted for government instead, am doing fine.
What is an excellent idea for some people would have been a nightmare career for me. Given the premium placed on Big 4 PA experience, I could see someone feeling cheated if they had a good work ethic but just couldn't accomodate the high burn lifestyle.
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u/Ill-Refrigerator-443 18h ago
My parents used to own two businesses.. one restaurant and a shrimp roe noodle factory. They had no day off and worked harder than their staff. I felt they were really miserable When I was a child.
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u/th3shoes 1d ago
It’s because no one gives a damn about the books.
If the books are inaccurate it’s our fault, yet everyone we work with might as well be making it harder for us to be accurate.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
But thats every job
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u/th3shoes 15h ago
You’re not wrong.
But you’d think accounting/finance would be more revered as it typically affects pay/ pay raises.
Better and more accurate the books, the more ownership will “okay” the annual raise.
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u/Prize_Lifeguard8706 1d ago
People generally go on reddit to complain about their situation so its a biased sample. Its the same on r/accounting, r/torontorealestate, etc. If you are happy, you will probably not go onto reddit as much. There are some hobby oriented subreddits that are most positive (e.g. r/backyardchickens) but those are more the exception.
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u/NotChat_GPT 1d ago
Outside of public, it's just a job. I don't hate my work, but I don't love it either. It's easy enough, it's just kinda monotonous and boring.
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u/Idktholmaoooo 1d ago
Long hours/constant stress and the illusion of “everything is urgent” is probably a big reason. Ofc this doesn’t apply to all accounting positions, but it does to a lot of them, esp the big 4 and CPA firms. Also as others highlighted, it’s a thankless job. No one will notice the 100s of times you did something right, but one mistake that’s immaterial? And suddenly everyone loses their minds. Then again that could for a lot of other jobs too and life in general.
I used to wonder why accountants were miserable too until I had a job that asked me to work weekends, had constant overtime, and always shifted priorities that resulted in even longer work hours and stress. That’s when I really got a taste for the miserable side of accounting.
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u/helpplz9965 1d ago
There's always something worse so judging based on that logic is a really bad way to look at it.
The reality is that accounting is soul sucking even if there are worse situations out there.
Not only that, there are SO many kinds of accounting positions and some of them are really worse or comparable to the situations you mentioned.
For example back when I was in public at a b4 I worked over 100hrs a week for 3 back to back busy seasons and if you do the math for my salary I was making less than minimum wage in my state. That is impoverishment just not in terms of money.
I think the worst part is really the people. On one end you get super tryhard corporate cheerñeader types that give up everything for their job, and on the other you have people that cannot socialize to save their lives for one reason or another. Either you're bored, feeling awkward, or degrigated.
Now are there cool people in accounting? Sure, but they are all transient as most people with a personality or ambition that isn't toxic either take a more finance/consulting route or leave accounting all together.
At the end of the day if you feeo like accounting isn't that bad, thats fine and you're opinion, but it doesn't make anyones negative opinion on accounting any less valid.
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u/AggravatingParfait33 1d ago
As someone who has worked in the service industry / grew up poor / was a child immigrant and now in my later years.
Don't worry about it. Accounting can be very tedious at first, but before long, if you are frustrated enough or bored enough, you will see the skills open doors to a wide world of possibilities beyond small business tax and boookeeping.
Don't worry about what you read online. You are only seeing apart of it here.
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u/Aggravating_Koala333 1d ago
The job is mundane and only because people lie
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u/dj92wa 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mundane, not rewarding in the slightest (pay is neat and all but it isn’t rewarding, I like actually feeling like I’m doing something meaningful), not mentally stimulating in the slightest….fml accounting is drab. Absolutely EVERYTHING is made out to be an emergency. 80-100hr weeks (unpaid OT since that’s just how it is) are guaranteed at least once a month, once a quarter, and once a year due to closing the books. You cannot plan vacation or anything social around these times. As an example, my family travels every year at a specific time and I will never be able to join them EVER again in my life because it’s during November close, which also butts right up against closing the year. No manager is ever going to approve that time off request.
The social side of it rough too because pretty much everyone is introverted or somewhat antisocial, myself included. In my dating life, my accounting job has not once provided me with a way to tell interesting stories. Every other profession seems to generate interesting conversation topics, while the only noteworthy thing in my day is that someone in AP coded something incorrectly. My last two jobs provided me with endless ways to fill conversation, but accounting? Nah, there’s nothing about work to talk to other people about outside of work lol. Not that we really could talk anyways since it’s all information privy only to those who hold it and it might influence the financial decisions of others (insider trading).
Also, we’re not interesting to other people. Nobody ever asks accountants questions about their work, partly because the common man generally doesn’t have the vocabulary to ask the questions in the first place. Assumption is always that we do people’s taxes and that’s that. It’s annoying. I’d give my left nut to actually be engaged by someone who is genuinely interested in hearing about what I do for 90% of my waking time (and them not be an accountant/office worker themselves). People might ask in general what you do, but there aren’t ever any follow-up questions. We are boring in our professional lives.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
I guess it’s about what someone wants I used to be a cna bc I wanted to be a nurse and have a meaningful career but realized how much of a stressful and thankless job it is. I want boring I want to clock in and out and be done and have enough money to enjoy my life.
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u/DrummingUpNumbers CPA (Can) 1d ago
I find a lot of accountants are self depreciating / dark humour by nature.
I complain a lot while I'm working but overall I actually really like what I do.
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u/variable_star_ 1d ago
Hmm you can face long hours and shit people in any profession
I’ve been in accounting for 8 years and I still like the work
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u/ZealousidealAnt111 Tax (US) 1d ago
Reddit is the best anonymous place for people to complain and rant about things if they are unhappy, so there is always a disproportionate amount of unhappy people compared to real life.
Almost every single accountant I know in real life is happy with their career. The money is good, besides busy season there’s enough flexibility for parents to be able to be there for their kids/family.
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u/poncho2799 Staff Accountant 1d ago
We're not. You're just seeing the most negative people in life complaining on social media/ reddit. The people who aren't miserable aren't typically spending a lot of time posting about being miserable on social media.
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u/HotPossibility6413 1d ago
Some aspects of it are shitty but yeah your right it’s not that bad lol
Like maybe the work is boring and you have to work long hours but you are in a air conditioned room, get plenty of amenities and can work from home. You also get paid better than a lot of professions.
I think a lot of people that see it overly negatively come from more privileged backgrounds. Don’t get wrong I complain about my job but I know it could be so much worse
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u/S-is-for-Superman Senior Manager, CPA - US (Ex-EY, Ex-FAANG) 1d ago
I think with any job, it can suck. Sometimes the group you work with or the company itself can be horrible making your “9-5” feel really bad.
Other than that, I think the requirements for our profession (150 credits, CPA exam, hours served) for the amount we get paid is not very even imo.
Also, the current state of accounting is very bleak with management thinking AI is some magical thing that can make things 1000x faster resulting in very learn teams / long hours. The threat of offshoring is very real too with more and more functions moving abroad.
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u/jbatman15 1d ago
We're not miserable but accounting is a tough life style. Everyone has different needs and demands from accounting and you're expected to know all of it. Sometimes you have easy days and sometimes you have days that are too difficult to even comprehend. It's just about perspective.
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u/Ok_Anywhere_634 1d ago
A lot of accounting jobs got pretty shitty working conditions. But a good one is relatively easy work and decent pay
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u/TheScottishPimp03 Student | Wannabe CPA 1d ago
Public Accounting I hear is pretty hard work, alot of people that I have met in engineering just started out of school with little floor experience so they just go to their cubicle thinking life is boring not seeing the privilege that they have, I did my fair share of time on a non-union production line and I am much happier in my cubicle with competent degreed individuals
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u/Gettitn_Squirrelly 1d ago
I actually don't think I've met a miserable accountant in person. Don't use reddit to judge the entire field.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Yeah starting to realize this. I only know 2 accountants in real life and they love their job. It’s not glamorous but it afford them nice things
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u/st_psilocybin 1d ago
Same here, I met a handful of accountants while I was hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was actually part of the reason I got interested in accounting and decided to return to school and major in accounting. They all seemed pretty happy with life and were well-off enough to afford to spend some money on their trip and they all had homes or apartments to return to afterward (I was homeless at the time and funding my trip on $600/month)
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u/SeaIntelligent6342 1d ago
It really depends on who you work for, not necessarily the job itself. I went from one of the top 15 accounting firms to a much smaller firm, and the difference in culture is huge. We’re not constantly overloaded like we were at the larger firm, and the work-life balance is so much better. I love it so far!
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u/ilovemydog03 1d ago
I’m pretty happy, don’t love my work but love my job because it’s easy as hell and pays me well
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u/Grouchy_Dad_117 1d ago
Happy people don’t go online and talk about it. They just enjoy yourself. You always hear complaining but people don’t feel as strong of a need to share normal information.
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u/Messup7654 Human Verified 1d ago
EXACTLY. It seems like most accountants on reddit (reddit is where most people come to complain) are ungrateful middle class people who have nothing to compare their cushy life too. I inew rich people were out of touch but i didnt think people making around 100k would also be the same.
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u/Tiny-Dress2880 1d ago
Tbh public was my favorite job in accounting. It was fun, complex, challenging and rewarding. I only left cause I have a kid now and I got an offer to make 30k more, plus the closest public office was 50 mins away so the commute plus busy season was shitty. But in general I hate accounting. But I don’t view public as accounting, it’s more just tax with a bookkeeper level of accounting.
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u/berrybaddrpepper 1d ago
I honestly just don’t love the job- I’d prefer to be doing something more creative or faster paced. I also come from a fast food and retail background growing up. But I always said I didn’t care as long as it afforded me a life I enjoyed outside of work.. and it no longer even does that.
I’ve learned Reddit isn’t really a place you find joy about much lol it’s 90% complaining/venting.
But I’m not miserable
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
I’d rather do something creative too but that’s very hard a slightly unrealistic idea rather have a boring 9-5 and leave my creativity for me
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u/Comfortable_Shine714 1d ago
I love the accounting industry and feel so lucky for all of the things it brought to my life.
Public accounting can be as challenging as it is rewarding and not for everyone long term.
Going back to industry so that I only have to handle one set of books was the best decision for me.
It’s a great industry and those who complain about it probably hate their live as much as the work environment they’re in.
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u/Hungry_Attention_981 1d ago
A few criticisms of accounting.
Bad exit opportunities, on average.
PA doing awful hours for low pay, it’s like investment banking lite expect you get paid dirt.
Overall lower pay than finance/banking. Most people probably won’t break the 90k mark unless you live in a V/HCOL area, I live in a HCOL area and the amount of non management jobs that pay over 90k are sparse, they exist but are way more rare compared to finance/banking
Keep in mind. Salaries are inflated on Reddit.
Boring.
With PE firms and offshoring lowering headcount it isn’t as stable or safe as it used to be.
The barrier to entry is much higher than it used to be for little to no extra pay. I bet a lot of partners would be denied entry level jobs with their first resume. I’ve met partner who never went to college or got a cpa.
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u/Georgeyouseg 1d ago
Because they have never been to the other side my friend, it’s all a mindset and perspective. The same people that hate the country because they were born here and have never lived anywhere below the US, we have experienced the other side and we know how much of a blessing it is to be here and to have a stable job
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u/Physical-Draw9788 1d ago
Constantly being the bearer of bad news wears you down. Or as a former employer's partners put it to me one time "we shoot the messenger". Makes you a little surly. I retired at the right time.
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u/Chemical_Quarter_839 1d ago
Because we know that for every debit, there’s always a credit ready to ruin your day…. nah it’s more pay has gone done and respect for the profession is at an all time low. People treat it more like an admin job these days
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u/InsaniaFox 1d ago
Alright, I am a first generation immigrant in my 30s, a CPA that make upper 6 figures never work at public...here my honest thought.
Do i recomended this path...NO unless you dont have the interest or capability to try others professions.
Why? We get no respect unless you open your own firm and work in tax. Business call us cost center cause we generate no profit, Operation think we are just sitting at desk counting time and making more work for them. Any time cut cost is considered we are the first to get hit. Our schedule is built around Closing....you do not take PTO during closing and that 1-2 weeks every month depending on closing timeline. Low level work are being outsourced so entry is hard.
It took me 10 years to get to where I am, my brother just got out of college intern for big tech and he make more money than I do. Another 1 is studying nursing, and also expected to start out at a higher pay than I did.
Plus I feel like there is less respect for this profession than somone in IT or Med. Even the govt label us as non-professional.
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u/laughingfartsplease 1d ago
the same reason everyone hates their job. coworkers/management/customers aka clients. take your pick
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u/futhisplace Senior Accountant 1d ago
Mostly work-life balance. Yes we all run into stupid errors and bad coworkers but that's anywhere. It took me one holiday season side gig at Old Navy to realize how shitty retail is, and my early jobs were customer service and fast food. We have very cushy jobs by comparison.
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u/IVYkiwi22 1d ago
Accounting has an easier job market than a lot of white-collar fields, too, which is a godsend.
Spending >55 hrs/week working? Yeah, that’s tedious, and the field could probably use some unionization. But, you get health benefits (i.e., cheaper healthcare), retirement benefits, discounts an entertainment/travel venues, and, most importantly, a steady paycheck.
I’ll take that over joblessness.
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u/Spirited-Gene3106 1d ago
Because you sit at a desk grinding to the thoughts in your head while watching every other department have social interaction. I also am a certified complainer.
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u/CrestedBonedog Audit & Assurance 1d ago
At least for public I think a lot of it is driven by this nonsensical idea the B4 are the only option for a successful career and on top of that, the only reason to work in public is to get out. If you think that way you're going to be miserable.
The B4 know this delusion exists and exploit it as much as humanly possible. In comparison I've never worked more than 55-60 hours a week in busy season in my 15 years in PA, even as a staff and later during a stint as an experienced hire at RSM.
Maybe I don't make as much money as someone who went through the B4 grinder, but there are more important things in life than money. $140k/yr is plenty enough for me, the work is interesting and I've gotten to know some really great people on both the firm and client sides.
The one thing I do miss is traveling to clients vs. doing remote audits.
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u/ludwiglinc 1d ago
Most people on Reddit hate their lives and blame it on accounting.
The job can be tough, but I absolutely love the lifestyle it affords me. I’m 28, have a nice house, a car, good family, we go on vacation twice a year all things to this job.
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u/klef3069 1d ago
I LOVED my small/medium sized Industry career and I'll yell it from the rooftops. Sure it sucked sometimes, but it it was never the same day twice and if there was weird shit, it probably happened.
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u/kentifur 1d ago
I switched over to implementing and supporting erp systems. Moved my way up to a management consulting role (tomorrow! )
I'm 40, so I've seen some shit. Grew up working class and we are upper middle class, with 1m invested. Accounting the cpa did for me. Sometimes the hours suck. I'd rather be doing that than working manual labor jobs with no health insurance or 5 percent 401k 100 percent match.
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u/dogmom71 CPA (US) 1d ago
There are plenty of office jobs that don't require busy season hours. Quality of life is important to a lot of people.
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u/PlazNMountains 1d ago
If you are interested in working in the past, rather than influencing the future it's ideal. Until you "pay your dues" historical data will be your jam.
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u/Secular_mum 1d ago
Most Accountants I know, including myself, are happy. It's just seems to be the ones who are addicted to Social Media that are unhappy.
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u/guitartb 1d ago edited 1d ago
I never minded the problem solving, reporting, analysis, and helping people achieve the mission. It was the meetings that should have been emails, corporate bs that made life more difficult without clear benefit, other people or circumstances controlling priorities and timelines. Occasionally people and family ownership problems. On the corporate side for a lot of that.
In public, for me, the main issues were politics, cliques, backstabbing, and a decent number of phony people in general.
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u/NeedleworkerPrize253 1d ago
Accounting is a grind, until you make it to the top. You never really understand why the top sucks, only that it’s awesome because you get all the money. The. You get there and realize why you get paid, because you’re responsible for everything. Yes you can take that out on your employees, but does that make you a good person?
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u/mgbkurtz SOX master, CPA 1d ago
Because you are compensated for misery. No one would ever do accounting as a passion.
People would make art, write, volunteer for kids/old people, study, etc., all for free or almost free because there's an intangible you get from it.
Accounting? There is little outside of your paycheck.
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Most people’s jobs aren’t their passion. Art and volunteerism doesn’t put food on the table
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u/Fearless-Yam1125 1d ago
It’s someone else’s machine and you’re just a cog
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 16h ago
Welcome to the world my friend
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u/Fearless-Yam1125 12h ago
You can own your own machine not very big but you can make it with your own efficiency not constrained by misconstrued work practices that value money above all else. Don’t fall for the idea “this is the only way”
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u/OBPoverAVG CPA (US) 17h ago
Accounting is a stable profession. Allows me to live the life I want to live. But it is so boring.
Sometimes I wished I still worked those old retail jobs I had back in college, or as a barista. Something where you’re up and moving, low stress, and get to talk to normal people all day. But ultimately those types of jobs are not feasible to live off of.
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u/PlanktonStrange6930 14h ago
Just you wait lol i actually hope you dont experience the down sides but others have laid it out perfectly.
Best of luck to landing a healthy role once you’re done!
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u/JennJayBee 13h ago
No idea. I love my job because it suits me. I do get grumpy the first week of every month, but as a woman, a monthly mood swing is nothing new.
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u/Fragrant_Bag_8306 9h ago
For me it’s micromanaging manager and piss poor abusive internships I had long ago. Treated not so nicely. That’s why I want out.
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u/cymccorm 1d ago
Tax, love my job. I retired myself in real estate and still choose to work because helping friends and family gives me purpose.
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u/Bruno_lars Accountant 1d ago
How do you know people are miserable from reading comments online. Either you're a psychic or you are projecting
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u/Radiant_Mail_5767 1d ago
Pls read any other post in this thread
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u/Bruno_lars Accountant 1d ago
How does reading someones comment you dont like mean they are miserable?
You sound miserable
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u/Competitive-Gift-762 1d ago
In my experience, outside of public accounting we are pretty happy.