Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you so much for all feedback!

This is my third or fourth post in this thread:

Helpful to know the different areas in major accounting firms. Audit/assurance is the typical area in which one starts for three or four years and can remain forever, but tax ( M&A or International) is another major practice area as is SALT (State & Local Taxation). And there are more practice areas such a as Executive Compensation, etc. (Have to cut this short due to an appt.)

OP here. Thank you so much for all feedback!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:np here. I know people who call themselves an accountant without having an accounting degree. Is that wrong or odd? It must be they have the experience needed for the work they are doing.

They are pretending to be accountants just to get the ladies. 😄

How do you tell an introverted accountant from an extroverted accountant ?

The introverted accountant looks at his shoes when speaking to you, while an extroverted accountant looks at your shoes when speaking to you.

OMG! I laughed so hard then told it to DH/CPA and he nodded….yep!

He did have those 70+ hours when starting out in a Big Firm eons ago. A long career later and there are still definitely multiple busy times of the years in corporate land, usually when the bank or external auditors show up.

But someone’s gotta count the money and when one of his gigs got shut down, he was one of the last ones laid off….cause someone had to pay the last bills.

Our two sweet DCs made him some elementary art with dried beans that spelled out “Bean Counter”. It’s makes it to every desk he’s had since.

Often boring. Often the bearer of bad news. But very necessary to successful business.

If you can find an internship, go for it. But any summer job working with “money” would be valuable experience. Those numbers on a page actually mean something.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a very good job due to making a grad marketable. It’s stable and can lead into so many different areas.

But I’ve heard the public accounting firms involve 12+ hour days, weekends etc. I would have hated that as a 23 year old. I know it’s busy during tax season but hopefully less busy the other seasons.

My son is interested in this field and I think that’s great. Any accountants out there?? Are the hours pretty intense for new accountants? Would you recommend the field to your kid?

No, accounting does not require Biglaw hours.

Very busy during tax season, but not to the extent you have heard.

Yes, they often do have those hours. We tend to think “tax season” as several weeks leading up to April 15. But there are multiple tax deadlines throughout the year, with short lulls in between them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your child should get an ordinary teen summer job, and talk to and pay attention to the person who does the books.

accounting summer jobs are the most boring jobs out there. Talk about discouraging a teen to pursuit a career...

I agree with this. As someone who works adjacent to accountants in our company, it’s hard for them to keep HS students actively engaged in a summer job/internship. It’s a very good career, and many accountants are closing in on retirement so jobs will be there, but a HS kid isn’t going to get a good feel for it in this manner.

I also agree with another PP who said just get a regular teen summer job. And kids change their minds so easily. Mine applied to colleges Fall senior year as premed. Changed to undecided by the time he started, and settled on his major Fall semester of sophomore year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WSJ recently had an article about Accountants leaving the profession.

You should take a read and have your son take a read.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/accounting-quit-job-security-675fc28f

This article only magnifies the future opportunity for me.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a very good job due to making a grad marketable. It’s stable and can lead into so many different areas.

But I’ve heard the public accounting firms involve 12+ hour days, weekends etc. I would have hated that as a 23 year old. I know it’s busy during tax season but hopefully less busy the other seasons.

My son is interested in this field and I think that’s great. Any accountants out there?? Are the hours pretty intense for new accountants? Would you recommend the field to your kid?

No, accounting does not require Biglaw hours.

Very busy during tax season, but not to the extent you have heard.

Thank you. Good to hear!

Anonymous wrote:WSJ recently had an article about Accountants leaving the profession.

You should take a read and have your son take a read.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/accounting-quit-job-security-675fc28f

This article only magnifies the future opportunity for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:np here. I know people who call themselves an accountant without having an accounting degree. Is that wrong or odd? It must be they have the experience needed for the work they are doing.

They are pretending to be accountants just to get the ladies. 😄

How do you tell an introverted accountant from an extroverted accountant ?

The introverted accountant looks at his shoes when speaking to you, while an extroverted accountant looks at your shoes when speaking to you.

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s a very good job due to making a grad marketable. It’s stable and can lead into so many different areas.

But I’ve heard the public accounting firms involve 12+ hour days, weekends etc. I would have hated that as a 23 year old. I know it’s busy during tax season but hopefully less busy the other seasons.

My son is interested in this field and I think that’s great. Any accountants out there?? Are the hours pretty intense for new accountants? Would you recommend the field to your kid?

No, accounting does not require Biglaw hours.

Very busy during tax season, but not to the extent you have heard.

I think it’s a very good job due to making a grad marketable. It’s stable and can lead into so many different areas.

But I’ve heard the public accounting firms involve 12+ hour days, weekends etc. I would have hated that as a 23 year old. I know it’s busy during tax season but hopefully less busy the other seasons.

My son is interested in this field and I think that’s great. Any accountants out there?? Are the hours pretty intense for new accountants? Would you recommend the field to your kid?

Anonymous wrote:I think your child should get an ordinary teen summer job, and talk to and pay attention to the person who does the books.

accounting summer jobs are the most boring jobs out there. Talk about discouraging a teen to pursuit a career...

Anonymous wrote:np here. I know people who call themselves an accountant without having an accounting degree. Is that wrong or odd? It must be they have the experience needed for the work they are doing.

They are pretending to be accountants just to get the ladies. 😄

My DH is a CPA and attorney. He went to VA Tech to study engineering because he loves math and it was a pressure cooker so he changed his mind and did accounting. He worked in one of the big accounting firms before attending law school, and is now a tax litigator (we both are, actually). Worked out well for him -- he understands all of the accounting issues that come up in litigation that the rest of us lawyers don't.

Anonymous wrote:np here. I know people who call themselves an accountant without having an accounting degree. Is that wrong or odd? It must be they have the experience needed for the work they are doing.

I would go further, how many people would call themselves an accountant without having an accounting degree AND a CPA license? Typically, a CPA credential is presumed.

Being able to read financial statements and understand the underlying financial values of the business is essential for managers, executives and investment managers. A vital skill that made Warren Buffet a successful business owner.