So a bit of background:
– 24 years old
– Chemistry graduate, with a first.
– Currently working at a Big 4 firm, in tax. One set of exams left and 18 months of the contract before I’d be chartered.
I am not completely unhappy with my job. The people are fine, the work isn’t too stressful outside of the busy periods (around 2 months out of the year for me) and although the pay isn’t great at the moment the prospects seem good once qualified. The exams have been a bit rough especially balancing them with work but it is definitely doable.
My problem would be that (at least at my current position) I am not finding the work particularly exciting or stimulating. It’s purely compliance work which doesn’t really change very much year on year so it feels like I’m just going through the motions most days.
As you get more senior you obviously have to delegate the monotonous things I’m currently doing and get involved more on the advisory side which could definitely help. Still, all in all I am struggling to imagine myself working in this area for the rest of my life. Talking to seniors/managers etc really doesn’t help either, I know its common for people to joke about hating their jobs but to a man everyone I work with expresses regret at not doing something else.
I’m not even sure why I ended up in this career. I knew it was stable, a respected qualification and relatively well paid and I guess I fell into it after University for a lack of any better ideas. I feel like a mug for not sitting down at the time and actually thinking about my future.
I really don’t want to make this mistake again so I am planning to spend the last 12 months of my contract (after my last exams when I don’t have anything else to worry about) exploring my options. So far I have been talking to a few friends and have been looking into a few options:
– Data science. I have the STEM background, albeit only Chemistry which wasn’t particularly intensive in terms of maths.
– Cyber-security. I have a friend working in this industry and from chatting to him about what he does day to day it sounded genuinely interesting.
– Software development. Again have friends in this, even some from the same Chemistry course and from chatting to them their workday seems far more varied and stimulating than mine would typically be. Of course I am wary that the grass is always greener and that every job is going to have drawbacks/can’t be exciting 24/7.
– Management consulting. I know a few people that actually went straight into this from my current job so that’s a big benefit here as there wouldn’t be much retraining involved. From talking to them their work seems varied and they’ll be working on one particular project for a while before doing something entirely different.
If I could make a list of ideal things I want from my career:
– Relatively varied in terms of what I do day to day.
– Intellectually stimulating. I like problem solving and figuring things out, I love reading and learning about new things. I know that sounds cheesy and I’m sure everyone does to some extent but its true.
– In terms of the social aspect, I am a fairly quiet person so not something that would require me to be super outgoing (i.e sales or marketing etc). I am happy to work with people of course and feel I have done OK at my current job with respect to that.
– Flexible working, I have been WFH for 2 years and its great. Saying that I don’t mind going in a few days a week.
– I am not particularly driven by money, at least not right now being young, single and living with friends. The above qualities are more important and hopefully the money follows.
Apologies I know the above sounds a bit naive and of course not everybody loves their job all the time but I do sincerely think I could do better than what I’m doing at the moment.
So finally to get to the point of the post, what is everyone else doing with their lives and how did they get there? Do you think I would enjoy your job and do you have any advice. I am going to keep researching, save some money, get chartered and hopefully if I find something that catches my eye I can look into online courses etc to see if I like it.
12 comments
I think you have a 50/50 shot of this going down in flames.
You are earning good money and will be earning what is obscene money to many in a year or two. So cries of ‘its unfulling’ might rub people up the wrong way, especially in the current climate.
You can do whatever you want. I would get chartered first though.
Most jobs are dull and boring really. In that regard the grass is always greener.
Did a BTec in design and display an HND in graphic design, didn’t have a clue what I wanted to be when I was younger. After college and a few jobs here and there I spent 11 years working in a bank, a few more just to tide me over jobs after that and am now a postie. Pretty much just winging it and realised many years ago a job is just a job not my life. You are on the right track, keeping an eye open for the next opportunity and trying new things but make family and friends a big priority.
You should probably stick to one path. The fact you’ve gone from Chemistry to Accounting is a bit strange already.
Also, Management Consultants usually work a lot of hours so I would cross that off my list as an option personally.
I’ve been at a very stable, well paid job with excellent job security, great benefits and overall easy workload for around 6 years now. It’s a really difficult job to get and a lot of people would kill for the opportunity.
I’ve recently decided to leave that position and travel to Asia and teach English, with no job security and uncertain pay and benefits.
The reason I decided to do this was twofold. Firstly, it was something Ive always wanted to do. I’ve recently broke up with my partner and the reason I never did it earlier was because we was in a stable relationship. Secondly, for all the positives of my job, it’s absolutely rewardless in terms of job satisfaction. I’m making no impact to anyone or anything. Nobody gains from my being there and I want a job where I can make a difference in peoples’ life.
I might absolutely hate it and come back with nothing. But I might love it and never come back.
My point is, sometimes, if you’re unhappy, you have to take a risk and hope it’ll pay off.
I would get qualified but then you should be able to do parallel moves to senior management roles on cyber security or IT/BPS stuff easily enough that are more frantic, data science or dev roles would be a bit of a retrain but easy enough to get into the field on management side and have them train you on the technical side. You have a big in, no need to start from scratch. The rest is mostly just building up equivalent skills and its especially easy in a big 4/major business/IT supplier there’s loads of moving about to be done.
I started out on the business end, then service and project management, few years in cyber, service assurance and now back to business end as a commercial manager. Change keeps it interesting, moving every year or two keeps you moving forward in pay and seniority without internal promotion hassle and gives you a good diverse CV.
Make friends at your big 4 and go to the office more. Everyone is young at the big 4! Transfer internally if you really get to a point where you don’t like the work. Or before that, ask to change client/project. A new team around you can make all the difference.
I work in audit in big 4 (also a chemistry graduate, accounting is a very normal path, not sure if that other guy thinks most chem grads stay in chem?!), no one “enjoys” the work but it’s challenging enough and colleagues make it worth.
Tl;dr: change the work and environment first.
Once you’re qualified you could try to get yourself on the boards of some charities, community groups, credit unions, etc.
I’m a manager in a private hospital. It pays well and the company is pretty decent to work for but god I hate it. There’s no real flexibility, and I get complaints that I’m never available if I work from home. I got here because my business folded due to the pandemic and I needed an income. I also rent out a couple of houses, but it’s not enough to live comfortably on.
I am nearly at the end of my distance learning degeee but I don’t have any other qualifications, other than my five subpar GCSEs. I came from a pretty turbulent household so I never had any guidance or encouragement in my teen years. I fell in with a rebellious crowd and pretty much partied until I was 20. I don’t have any regrets about this as my 20s were fucking awesome.
My advice is stick on your current path and save money like crazy. 24 is still pretty young, and there’s plenty of time left to find something you’re passionate about. I lost my passion due to the pandemic, but passions change with age, and I’m still optimistic for what the future holds.
MC grad (big 4 here)
Your accounting qualification and big 4 experience will stand you in good stead in the job market. So be sure to sell yourself on that.
A few have already made the great point, of network internally at your firm. Look at MC, actuarial and other cool things. An internal move is often easier than an external move. (That being said, you’ll have to push for it as partners will always want to protect their resource)
Outside of this, look at companies people from your current firm have moved to. (Check LinkedIn) Pick your favourites and network and research.
I love my role in MC. And although a few above have described us as c-bombs….. , I think it’s a really fun, exciting and engaging way of making a living.
One factor that might work in your favour re MC is that it is project based, which means that you can dip your toe with a secondment, and see if it’s for you!
One final thing is, if you’re keen and motivated to really work hard and climb a ladder, find something that interests you, that you believe has a future…! Invest effort into a field that you love and that will be big 20 years from now, and you’ll find yourself an SME in a great field!
Best of luck
Once qualified, move into industry in a more strategic/FP&A/data heavy role. It’s much more interesting than just the compliance and assurance you’re currently doing in PA.
Take a look over on /r/accounting, Big4 for a few years -> industry is the aim of most people on there. Not many stay the distance in public accounting unless they’re **very** set on it and have a passion for it, the norm is to use the experience to move onto better things.
I do youtube, took awhile to get going but now I really only work like 10-15 hours a week and earn more than I ever have. Not for everyone though and it requires a lot of unpaid time to begin with even though later all that work earns you money.
So I work in Internal Audit as a ‘career’ which in the big 4 is usually labelled as “risk advisory” or “risk assurance” or some other similar label. I’ve worked for accounting firms, big global companies, and smaller but still large national companies, and I can honestly say it’s extremely varied, interest in data and technology is a huge plus, and if you’re really into it you can easily get a job with lots of international travel.
It should be possible to try and shift teams in your employer, or join another accounting firm, and your progress towards (presumably) the ACA won’t go to waste.
If you want a chat about it send me a message and I can give you some more details.