Any Accountants?

[colm]

Anyone here an accountant? Planning on doing it in University next year and was wondering what it is like as a job.

[Face Kicker]

sounds like a horrible job, unless you have some freakish love for spreadsheets and numbers.

[Guest]

I used to do the accounts for my old business years ago, and I know 2 accountants. From my small experience and what they've said its one word... dull

 

Pay can be exceptional, and if you can get into a good accountancy firm then its actually ok but doing things like year end returns for businesses is awful and tight deadlines means it can be very stressful

 

Up to you though, if you just work in an accounts department then its a passable job with decent pay. If you push on to be a lead accountant or start your own business then the money is fantastic but the stress levels and hours are through the roof

[Guest]

You never got it in high school? What are your expectations?

[colm]

Yes, I am taking it in High School right now and I find it quite easy right now. I was going to do kinesiology but all the sciences were too hard. I know accountants are recognized in other countries so I will be able to move back to Ireland or England. But damn from ye it seems pretty boring and stressful job. I hope it is worth it for the money. I guess it will all depend on where I end up working on how enjoyable it will be.

[MMATycoon]

Depends what other options you're thinking of and what you're good at. I think the summary of dull, well paid and long hours is pretty accurate. I did a management degree (which was pointlessly non-committal) and I hated accountacy, so I'm probably not the best person to ask.

 

Why not ask your teacher to see if they can get hold of some uni level stuff for you and see if you can still do it OK and it if still interest you? Or see if you can get some work experience? I dunno where you live now but you don't wanna start doing it and then quit, as that more than likely costs loads. If you quite like it / it doesn't do your head in, then it's probably a better plan than just doing a degree with no particular purpose, like I did.

[Guest]

Accounting doesn't have to be boring if you have input into financial management, but most of the time it's simply bookkeeping and that's extremely boring. I think that accounting is a very good basis for starting a businesses too. There's a lot about running a business that you can't learn but either come by talent or experience. You can learn fiscal law and how to run a business cost effectively. My uncle is an accountant by degree and both of my parents are small business owners. They constantly harass him with questions on how to save money.

[colm]

Well I would like to own a sports store when I am older so it should help for that. These advanced functions are a killer right now though so I will have to pull up my socks if I even want to get into University.

[Guest]

I have some history in accounting courses in college. Really I felt the classes were very easy, at least in the initial stages when your going through accounting principals and concepts. I'm sure as you get into the higher level courses it can get a little more complex but if you have an affinity for numbers...sure it's probably a great career choice. The CPA exam is no joke--I have two friends and both failed their first time around--and I would consider them both to be very bright.

 

It's not all just bookkeeping tasks and locked away in a cubicle either--nowadays there's a great level of interpersonal communication, so you'll be spending a lot of time interacting on the phone with different departments...so if you're not a people person, it's probably not the career for you.

 

If your interested in owning your own business I would think a BAT program would be more preferable as you'll be exposed to a wider spectrum such as marketing, economics, business law etc.