To Account or not to Account

I am in a quandary. I did well in my accounting courses, was interested in it, still have an interest in tax issues, what’s going on with accounting standards, etc. Tax is one of the rare fields where pretty much every single person is affected by it. It appeals to my interest in politics, history, and how things work.
But I seem to have a really hard time making the jump from school to the “real world.”
Some of that is because the work you do as a new accountant is basically data entry clerical work. It’s more important to have a strong working knowledge of tax preparation software than anything else. The person who goes the farthest in the early stages of their career is the person who is best at knowing how the software works. I am not that person.

I continue to apply to firms. Public accounting is not really what I want to do. It’s one of those things that people put up with for a few years until they get enough experience to go someplace else. My wife just found a job, and that makes me want to get a job even more. I don’t want to be the slacker husband, although at least I'm probably going to still be collecting unemployment for a while. I’m interested in the IRS, but that will bring with it a whole new area of stress. I’ve interviewed with them twice over the last year and have a pretty good idea of the problems associated with being a revenue agent—pressure to close cases, uncooperative taxpayers and their representatives, and a ton of bureaucracy. Good benefits, though!

Recently heard from yet another former co-worker. Apparently the Big Firm had a massive bloodbath right before Thanksgiving. I was surprised at some of the names of those let go, they were people I knew were sharp and who always had a lot of work. I assume what happened is that the firm has lost so many clients that there was no longer anything for them to do. They expect the firm to cut more after April 15, and a lot of this year’s class of new hires are afraid they will be fired before they finish their first year [important to do this in order to qualify for the CPA license, otherwise you can’t get licensed until you complete a year of experience.]

Anyway, enough of that for now. Next time…Library Book Saturday!