| Topic Name: |
Are Accountants Happy? |
| Message Name: |
Tell me when you've defined happiness... |
| Date Posted: |
01/20/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
Please pardon the intrusion, I am a Pace University student taking an Accounting five year BBA/MBA course. To tell you the truth I picked accounting not because ??I like it?? but because I am constantly re-assured this profession virtually guarantees employment.
I have no Idea what kind of work this is, and will only find out by a summer internship if I am lucky. It is a bit too late in my standing to change majors and I am wondering if any accountants are happy, what kind of work is this? Do you make good money (forget the starting salaries)? What is life like, do you come into work, and sit at a desk for nine hours a day (like my CS internship reminds me of).
Switching from computers to business, I am in a very unfamiliar landscape; can anyone tell me anything of this profession, from your own perception?
Pun intended.
Thx :)
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| Message: |
First of all, there is NO profession that guarantees employment - what's hot this year is a dog the next.
This work is what you make it. You can specialize in nothing and be the drone who sits at a desk and runs numbers, or you can see the world, work with fascinating people, and earn an outstanding living.
First you pay your dues. Bang the spreadsheets, visit Podunk in February.
Then, if you've been diligent, and if you've identified an area in which you can excel (computers/business/accounting is a good start to a unearthing opportunity)
As to my perception, when I was single, I visited virtually every major metropolitan are in the US. When I tired of travel, I stopped.
Of the people I started working with way back then, about half left the profession (see Drone). Of the remainder, about a third make more than I do, and at least 3 retired before they hit 45. I am unaware of anyone who's starving.
At the same time, you will not ride the space shuttle, find a cure for AIDS, or solve world hunger. We keep business running and balance the checkbook. That's a good thing, but if your aspirations are elsewhere, the life of the drone is agonizing.
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