I went to college for bookkeeping and accounting and finished my program in 2019. Never had a chance to work, because I was told i needed 3-5 years of experience for entry level positions. Then COVID happened, I had better interviews, but they offered 1 or 2 dollars above minimum wage, i couldn't support myself and my nephews with that kind of money, so I became a janitor and now a fuel trucker for better pay. Now, I can't go back and try accounting because the experience, the offers and conditions aren't worth it. But that's my experience.
@@rungunninja1289 Sorry you went through that. The only advice I would give to young people is figure out if they want to work in taxes or the accounting cycle, ie tax preparer/enrolled agent or bookkeeper. Then apply at hnr block or turbo tax etc, they'll train for the basics. You can start working and get experience until you get certified where you can file people's taxes by yourself and start getting your own clients over time. They might have to have another job, but it's a better beginning than we had. Or go get QuickBooks certified and start from there. I think you get experience with paying thousands in college now a days.
I am going through this right now I was just offered 15 dollars an hour for an internship that is 40 miles away, which is ridiculous. I am currently trying to get a job were all I have to do is shovel stuff up for way more than that so screw it. I should have just bought a house with my money instead of this worthless degree.
What do you mean? Accounting has millions of jobs and it’s stable and needed everywhere even the cia and fbi has accountants. If a job even has government positions it’s not going anywhere.
@@Messup7654 I know numerous people who have been laid off from Big 4 firms from audit practices, and my own firm in advisory services has laid people off the past two years. That used to not happen therefore less stable. Salaries also have been very stagnant. So from a financial and stability standpoint, accounting is definitely worse than it has been in the past.
You also have stories that made the headlines about employees of b4 who have died recently due to the stresses of busy season. Two deaths happened at EY within the last two years and I’m sure many unreported cases of chronic illnesses due to stress from similar lack of personal boundaries that these firms and older generations aren’t able to respect or acknowledge.
I am interested in accounting. I am studying accounting now. But I have realized that it is all networking. I have to work full time so I cant do an internship. It would help if how good an accountant you could be had some relevance to whether you got a job in accounting.
There are 300+ colleges sports management majors. It is a major for kids fantasizing about being a general manager of a big time sports team. More likely to be evening shift manager at the local YMCA. Market is saturated.
9 Year CPA here. It's not worth it anymore. If I could go back, I would not pick accounting. I'm currently not working and I can't find a job. The job posting are now asking for controllers at 80-100k salary in high cost areas. Staff accountants at 40-60k with at least 2 years experience! What?!? I started at 60k with no experience and that was 9 years ago! Adjusted for inflation, these salaries are trash, absolute trash. 5 years of college, plus a grueling CPA exam which was not cheap for me, and I'm still jumping through hoops without finding good jobs. Also, employers are requiring super specialized accountants. I saw a job posting the other day that required like 4 different company specific softwares (not microsoft suite) for their staff accountant. Accounting is dead.
i applied to accounting major my exams are for next week . after seeing the comments i feel like i want to change the major , can you give me an advice
Goodness what a story. I know accounting salaries are behind legal salaries but that's crazy. Particularly as accounting services are so much in demand.
What other major is there then? Engineers can’t find jobs so that’s out, computer science majors can’t find jobs so that’s out, other business majors say accounting is the best option So WTH am I supposed to do?
@IsaiahMiguel well before I got a college degree, I was making $44/hr as an industrial electrician. You could always hit the trades lol. I got tired of working in the elements and in dirty factories
Just got a bachelors in accounting and have a background in supervision and IT. I also have an inbox full of rejection letters for entry-level positions. If there is a shortage, it's self inflicted and the CPAs in charge deserve their 60 hour weeks
@accountinginfluencers I just get generic "you don't fit our criteria" messages. I'm going to be adding an Excel Expert certification to my resume in a few weeks, but I don't think it will help much. Maybe if I get a masters and pass all my CPA exams, someone will give me an interview for an entry-level job 🙃
@IsaiahMiguel not a small city. Metro of about 700,000. The problem is nobody wants to hire entry-level. One person who beat me out had 3 years of experience. How ambitious are you applying for entry level with 3 years experience is my question
Got a bachelors in accounting & also earned a certification as a CFE. The CPA didn't work out for me years ago & cost me lots of money to take and pay back. It's not worth the risk with the job I have and the exam is not worth it with all the wrinkles they have in it unlike the CFE which is straight forward all multiple choice.
They are not compensated properly, yet are expected to spend numerous dollars on continous education. You can earn more money flipping a go/stop batton and no education. 🤷♀️
i have to choose between accounting and finance, i dont wish for the ever competitive finance role but i also know that the first couple of years of accounting has very little pay and very monotonous and consists of grunt work and i dont think id be able to persevere through that before ending up quiting.
Accountants and potential students have identified the underlying issues and the AICPA has just out and out done NOTHING to improve things. In reality, the AICPA is actively working against accountants in the US by encouraging international CPA's and making it easier for everyone else before they make it easier or more lucrative for us here. I'm a current accounting student and I'm 99% sure I will never actually work in the field because the field just doesn't want me unless they can pay me $14/hour and work me 60+ hours a week. Why bother? Virtually ANY work in accounting requires a four year degree, with the vast majority of positions requiring a CPA or 5+ years of experience. Why get a Masters level education for a career that pays about as well as retail sales for the first five years? The AICPA has created this problem and needs to own and fix it, period.
I'm confused, everybody's talking about how there's a huge shortage but then y'all said that there's thousands of applicants for remote positions. I'm due to graduate fall 2027, how's it looking for me Y'all think?
@TheWalterLewis well I don't want to discourage you, but I graduated in October with a bachelors in accounting, and the only thing I have received for that is an inbox full of rejection letters for entry-level jobs. It's insane. I was having dinner with a friend who sold his CPA firm because he "couldn't find people to hire" yet I see comments all over about people not being able to find jobs
@@taleoftruthThis mixed bag of people’s experience is so confusing My cousin and sister are both accountants and find jobs quickly if they aren’t satisfied with their boss Also if not an accounting major then what? That’s considered to be the best major in business because of the jobs that are available
@@IsaiahMiguel it's really just getting your foot in the door. Once you get a year under your belt, you are golden. I'm just gonna keep applying and stacking certs on my resume until someone hires me
Accounting is over. I have a company that has a bank account here in the UAE and the phone app takes photos of the invoices etc. and the AI does the accounting - provided for free by the bank. This is now - even for large companies in 2-3 years it is "run the invoices into the scanner and have the AI sort it out".
@@accountinginfluencers Over time it will b e the end of most work as we know it. You do realize complex reasoning is solved? MOST jobs will be on life support within 2-3 years.
That's AP automation which has been around for a few years. You'll still need to set up rules to ensure invoice coding is correct and also have the competency to verify the accuracy of the postings. Accounting is much bigger than A/P btw.
Accounting is weird. We'll use tech and AI to make accounting obsolete... accountants need to work 80+ hours a week. There is a shortage of accounts... But we'll pay them less than IT workers and require more college classes than IT workers. There aren't enough students studying accounting.... We will make accounting cool just like rap makes going to church look cool.
I went to college for bookkeeping and accounting and finished my program in 2019. Never had a chance to work, because I was told i needed 3-5 years of experience for entry level positions.
Then COVID happened, I had better interviews, but they offered 1 or 2 dollars above minimum wage, i couldn't support myself and my nephews with that kind of money, so I became a janitor and now a fuel trucker for better pay.
Now, I can't go back and try accounting because the experience, the offers and conditions aren't worth it.
But that's my experience.
Same. It’s so frustrating to because it’s just not worth it for most people unless they have a good connection to get hire immediately or experience
@@rungunninja1289
Sorry you went through that.
The only advice I would give to young people is figure out if they want to work in taxes or the accounting cycle, ie tax preparer/enrolled agent or bookkeeper.
Then apply at hnr block or turbo tax etc, they'll train for the basics. You can start working and get experience until you get certified where you can file people's taxes by yourself and start getting your own clients over time. They might have to have another job, but it's a better beginning than we had.
Or go get QuickBooks certified and start from there.
I think you get experience with paying thousands in college now a days.
So frustrating. Accounting loses good talent.
I am going through this right now I was just offered 15 dollars an hour for an internship that is 40 miles away, which is ridiculous. I am currently trying to get a job were all I have to do is shovel stuff up for way more than that so screw it. I should have just bought a house with my money instead of this worthless degree.
If you’ve applied to 600 different jobs and you can’t land one you need to get a lower position and get the cpa while working for cheap
Maybe young people are looking beyond financial stability since the job market for accounting roles no longer provides that financial stability.
What do you mean? Accounting has millions of jobs and it’s stable and needed everywhere even the cia and fbi has accountants. If a job even has government positions it’s not going anywhere.
I completely agree!
@@Messup7654 I know numerous people who have been laid off from Big 4 firms from audit practices, and my own firm in advisory services has laid people off the past two years.
That used to not happen therefore less stable. Salaries also have been very stagnant.
So from a financial and stability standpoint, accounting is definitely worse than it has been in the past.
@@Messup7654I was about to say this, in my area accounting jobs seem to be paying a wage that will afford me a good lifestyle
You also have stories that made the headlines about employees of b4 who have died recently due to the stresses of busy season. Two deaths happened at EY within the last two years and I’m sure many unreported cases of chronic illnesses due to stress from similar lack of personal boundaries that these firms and older generations aren’t able to respect or acknowledge.
I wonder what the culture is like in big 4 firms who have such an expectation of hard work and long hours, albeit for big money?
The problem is PAY and that accountants don't get to do much analysis.
I am interested in accounting. I am studying accounting now. But I have realized that it is all networking. I have to work full time so I cant do an internship. It would help if how good an accountant you could be had some relevance to whether you got a job in accounting.
Those are a lot of things but really it comes down to the money.
There are 300+ colleges sports management majors. It is a major for kids fantasizing about being a general manager of a big time sports team. More likely to be evening shift manager at the local YMCA. Market is saturated.
9 Year CPA here. It's not worth it anymore. If I could go back, I would not pick accounting. I'm currently not working and I can't find a job. The job posting are now asking for controllers at 80-100k salary in high cost areas. Staff accountants at 40-60k with at least 2 years experience! What?!? I started at 60k with no experience and that was 9 years ago! Adjusted for inflation, these salaries are trash, absolute trash. 5 years of college, plus a grueling CPA exam which was not cheap for me, and I'm still jumping through hoops without finding good jobs. Also, employers are requiring super specialized accountants. I saw a job posting the other day that required like 4 different company specific softwares (not microsoft suite) for their staff accountant. Accounting is dead.
i applied to accounting major my exams are for next week . after seeing the comments i feel like i want to change the major , can you give me an advice
Goodness what a story. I know accounting salaries are behind legal salaries but that's crazy. Particularly as accounting services are so much in demand.
What other major is there then? Engineers can’t find jobs so that’s out, computer science majors can’t find jobs so that’s out, other business majors say accounting is the best option
So WTH am I supposed to do?
@IsaiahMiguel well before I got a college degree, I was making $44/hr as an industrial electrician. You could always hit the trades lol. I got tired of working in the elements and in dirty factories
Just got a bachelors in accounting and have a background in supervision and IT. I also have an inbox full of rejection letters for entry-level positions. If there is a shortage, it's self inflicted and the CPAs in charge deserve their 60 hour weeks
Can't believe that! What reasons are they saying for rejecting you?
@accountinginfluencers I just get generic "you don't fit our criteria" messages. I'm going to be adding an Excel Expert certification to my resume in a few weeks, but I don't think it will help much. Maybe if I get a masters and pass all my CPA exams, someone will give me an interview for an entry-level job 🙃
That’s strange my cousin is a cpa and finds jobs quickly
Do you live in a small city?
@IsaiahMiguel not a small city. Metro of about 700,000. The problem is nobody wants to hire entry-level. One person who beat me out had 3 years of experience. How ambitious are you applying for entry level with 3 years experience is my question
Got a bachelors in accounting & also earned a certification as a CFE. The CPA didn't work out for me years ago & cost me lots of money to take and pay back. It's not worth the risk with the job I have and the exam is not worth it with all the wrinkles they have in it unlike the CFE which is straight forward all multiple choice.
They are not compensated properly, yet are expected to spend numerous dollars on continous education. You can earn more money flipping a go/stop batton and no education. 🤷♀️
i have to choose between accounting and finance, i dont wish for the ever competitive finance role but i also know that the first couple of years of accounting has very little pay and very monotonous and consists of grunt work and i dont think id be able to persevere through that before ending up quiting.
what did you do ? iam in same spot as you
Accountants and potential students have identified the underlying issues and the AICPA has just out and out done NOTHING to improve things. In reality, the AICPA is actively working against accountants in the US by encouraging international CPA's and making it easier for everyone else before they make it easier or more lucrative for us here. I'm a current accounting student and I'm 99% sure I will never actually work in the field because the field just doesn't want me unless they can pay me $14/hour and work me 60+ hours a week. Why bother? Virtually ANY work in accounting requires a four year degree, with the vast majority of positions requiring a CPA or 5+ years of experience. Why get a Masters level education for a career that pays about as well as retail sales for the first five years?
The AICPA has created this problem and needs to own and fix it, period.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a professional organization so poorly serve its clientele.
I'm confused, everybody's talking about how there's a huge shortage but then y'all said that there's thousands of applicants for remote positions. I'm due to graduate fall 2027, how's it looking for me Y'all think?
It's a strange one. Mixed messages. Accounting should be a safe career bet as all firms need to grow and take in more staff.
@TheWalterLewis well I don't want to discourage you, but I graduated in October with a bachelors in accounting, and the only thing I have received for that is an inbox full of rejection letters for entry-level jobs. It's insane. I was having dinner with a friend who sold his CPA firm because he "couldn't find people to hire" yet I see comments all over about people not being able to find jobs
@@taleoftruthThis mixed bag of people’s experience is so confusing
My cousin and sister are both accountants and find jobs quickly if they aren’t satisfied with their boss
Also if not an accounting major then what? That’s considered to be the best major in business because of the jobs that are available
@@IsaiahMiguel it's really just getting your foot in the door. Once you get a year under your belt, you are golden. I'm just gonna keep applying and stacking certs on my resume until someone hires me
Accounting is over. I have a company that has a bank account here in the UAE and the phone app takes photos of the invoices etc. and the AI does the accounting - provided for free by the bank. This is now - even for large companies in 2-3 years it is "run the invoices into the scanner and have the AI sort it out".
That's crazy! Could it really be the end of accounting as we know it?
@@accountinginfluencers Over time it will b e the end of most work as we know it. You do realize complex reasoning is solved? MOST jobs will be on life support within 2-3 years.
whats the phone app?
That's AP automation which has been around for a few years.
You'll still need to set up rules to ensure invoice coding is correct and also have the competency to verify the accuracy of the postings.
Accounting is much bigger than A/P btw.
@@irliamthischool Yes, and AI is, too. Strawman argument.
Perhaps pay them 30% more to start. The accountants are just too cheap so they can stay and work 100 hours a week and keep all the money
Accounting is weird.
We'll use tech and AI to make accounting obsolete... accountants need to work 80+ hours a week.
There is a shortage of accounts... But we'll pay them less than IT workers and require more college classes than IT workers.
There aren't enough students studying accounting.... We will make accounting cool just like rap makes going to church look cool.
My favorite music genre is Christian Hip Hop. How did you guess I'm an accountant.
I know a guy at my school that got laid off in IT and couldn’t find a job in over two years
Because it’s boring, MI system or data route is more appealing
Why do you say talent instead of accountant? Maybe that mindset is also part of the problem.
What do you call a plane full of accountants? A boring 747.
4 venti SUP BOSS
FP&A and Managerial Accounting is much more interesting than Financial Accounting. But every university pushes Big 4 audit