RE: Any Accountants on this forum who can shed some light on if it's a good field??

[Top_Fuel]

If your employer is paying for your classes, take advantage of that. Even if you aren't sure what you want to do right now, you can always take general courses that will transfer to a 4-year college and apply towards most degrees. 2-year colleges will have a list of their courses that will transfer. My wife spent 2 years full time at a community college...but she didn't get a degree. She only went there to rack up credits that would apply at 4-year colleges. She later transferred to a 4-year school and got the same bachelor's degree I did...but she spent half the money doing it.

A college degree isn't mandatory, but there are still many companies out there where you will hit a brick wall without one. I've worked with lots of smart people who were competent at their job. But because they didn't have a degree, they were often passed over for promotions and advancement. Sure...there are exceptions to that, but having that piece of paper will open up career opportunities that otherwise may not be available.

DO pursue your education now, while you're young...

As a fellow "old" guy...I agree 100% with this advice. Get in school now. Going back won't get any easier as you get older. Life gets in the way and it's just easier to kick the can down the road. You'll be in your mid-40s before you know it. Damn...I sound like my dad trying to talk sense to me when I was 18.

All of that being said... If you're going to get a college degree, get it in something "real" that you can actually use to get a good job. I won't name some of the worthless majors I'm thinking of so I don't offend anyone. And don't be afraid to MOVE to where the jobs are. There are some places in the country where there just aren't that many jobs in certain fields. And quite frankly, some places in the country are just way too expensive to live! I started out of college on the east coast. My brother went to California. We both found that we could make nearly the same salary in the mid-west...but with a much lower cost of living.

[Basic]

Oops, one more passing thought... money isn't everything. Decide what is truly important to you. Find your comfort zone. Set goals and achieve them. But, don't "live to work", unless that's what makes you happy. Personally, I just "work to live", and don't work any more than I have to any more. House is paid off, and I'm building a retirement fund.

Can't stress this enough... find what really makes you excited to go do it every day. You can "make money" anywhere, but the feeling you get when you enjoy your job because its a passion... well, its not a job anymore.

[Basic]

And don't be afraid to MOVE to where the jobs are. There are some places in the country where there just aren't that many jobs in certain fields. And quite frankly, some places in the country are just way too expensive to live! I started out of college on the east coast. My brother went to California. We both found that we could make nearly the same salary in the mid-west...but with a much lower cost of living.

Lord yes, this too... MOVE if the opportunity arises. Live, learn, go back home later if you want. The South is where its at right now btw...

[Fummins]

Here's a video with some more good advice. I make the wife watch it when she's stressed from work and life in general.
NOT FOR KIDDO'S

[Marklovski]

That's good, as you should enjoy the job you are in...also what made you consider HVAC? Isn't HVAC a Trade?

Yes HVAC is a trade. The school here is only for 1 year and if you get accepted and pass there's a 100% placement rate. As I said looking for opportunities is all that really matters. Office jobs are over saturated. I get offers for bookkeeping jobs but not staff level jobs. This means my job growth has stalled. I'm not sure I want to invest 500 hours of studying for the CPA exam plus the $3000 cost of the review kit plus exam fees.

My older brother got a mechanical engineer degree a few years back. I thought he was just a bad interviewer but found out that there's 30,000 mech grads a year and only 3000-6000 new jobs for these grads each year. For accounting I'm not only competing with accounting grads but also with finance, econ, business, etc.

Another option I was considering was going into the officer program for the Airforce. Requires a Bachelors if no previous military experience.

[MirageRally]

[QUOTE=Top_Fuel;110317]*If your employer is paying for your classes, take advantage of that. Even if you aren't sure what you want to do right now, My wife spent 2 years full time at a community college...but she didn't get a degree. She only went there to rack up credits that would apply at 4-year colleges. She later transferred to a 4-year school and got the same bachelor's degree I did...but she spent half the money doing it.*
(lnteresting, l know of a couple at my work who are both in Finance and there's a lot of drama...not sure how they let them both work in the same department if there's problems. So you both got Business Degrees? What made you decide to go get your degree? ie: Do you just like working with math...or was budgeting a fun past time? For me, l know that if l go into Accounting, it would also help me budget more effectively. Also, if l'm not that good at math does that make me ineligible for Accounting?)

*As a fellow "old" guy...I agree 100% with this advice. Get in school now. Going back won't get any easier as you get older. Life gets in the way and it's just easier to kick the can down the road. You'll be in your mid-40s before you know it.*
(Plus l might never get this opportunity again and that's why l'm trying to narrow down my search)

*Damn...I sound like my dad trying to talk sense to me when I was 18.*
(l get that a lot from my role models at work)

[Loren]

I'm no accountant, but accounting is more than just math. It's procedures, it's rules, it's laws, it's taxes. There's a LOT to it. But, I'd say that if you're not great at math... it might not be the best option for you. Computers do a lot of the heavy lifting these days, but it's still all numbers when you get down to it. If you're not digging IT, odds are you won't like accounting any better.

[Marklovski]

I'm no accountant, but accounting is more than just math. It's procedures, it's rules, it's laws, it's taxes. There's a LOT to it. But, I'd say that if you're not great at math... it might not be the best option for you. Computers do a lot of the heavy lifting these days, but it's still all numbers when you get down to it. If you're not digging IT, odds are you won't like accounting any better.

I was bad at math/writing in Highschool and early on in community college, but I started getting 4.0s in advanced accounting classes in university.

You could always improve on yourself. I believe I just didn't have the mindset to study properly until I went to university.

[dspace9]

I was bad at math/writing in Highschool and early on in community college, but I started getting 4.0s in advanced accounting classes in university.

You could always improve on yourself. I believe I just didn't have the mindset to study properly until I went to university.

That's a good point Marklovski

[Top_Fuel]

So you both got Business Degrees?

Our degrees are in Computer Science.

What made you decide to go get your degree?

There was absolutely no thought process involved in choosing my educational path. I'm pretty sure my high school guidance counselor thought I was crazy going to college. I took the path I did because my 2 older brothers had done it and were successful. So I figured I would go for it. Yes...that goes against every piece of career planning advice you will ever hear. Fortunately it worked out well for me.

I'm not crazy about what I do for a living. I sit at a desk all day when I would rather be working with my hands. But the reality is that I wouldn't have the financial security I enjoy today if I had chosen to follow my emotions instead of using my head. Some people are fortunate enough to be passionate about something and benefit financially from it. That's not always going to be the case. That is a balance you have to figure out. Like my father-in-law used to say... "If it was fun, they wouldn't call it work."