Emie made a great post last week, about a potential change in career, and I have to say that, it is something that I have long and hard thought about. I am not a CA - yet.
I need one more year of experience until I become a CA. Now the question, that I really need to ask myself, and search deep inside myself.. Is it really worth it?
If you go all the way back to the very first post of this blog, you will recall me blogging about the "Young ambitious high school student." It talks about someone who is talented and smart, and has no idea what he wants out of his life.
That was me. Fast forward 5 years, and I am partly still the same way. I got my accounting degree. I have my UFE passed, and in one year, I will be a CA.
That is, If I stay.
Yes, busy season is bad and that partly may be the reason I am contemplating seriously quitting. But, a part of me feels that Big 4 is destroying my youth and happiness - and the longer I stay, the older and less risky I will be. The more and more I will stop looking for my own dreams (despite not really knowing what they are) and being merely satsified with what I have. I don't want to be old and say I regret wasting my youth on something I ultimately didn't really like when I have the capability to take risks now.
My biggest problem and concern is the brainwashing of the ICAO and Big 4 due to young kids, and I fell for it at the time too.
The CA is a highly marketable designation but does having a CA ultimately make that much of a difference in your career? It will guarantee you a good paying job, but ultimately will you be satisfied? Isn't life the pursuit of happiness?
I do think that some Big 4 experience and exposure is good, but if you are going to jump ship once you get your CA, isn't it pointless to wait if you really think accounting is not for you? I need to start thinking about opportunity costs.
My biggest problem is "Brainwashed friends" and "Drone like co-workers" who think that once they have their CA, their life problems will be solved. That, all the hard work they put in for their 30 month (lucky people like me) or 36 months (unlucky people afterwards) will guarantee them a nice ballin' life with a good job.
Let's be realistic. Getting a CA and leaving big 4 doesn't guarantee you anything. You might end up working in industry in a job you hate as a controller for 10K more, and hate your life just as much as you did in Big 4 (if not more).
Ask yourself this question. Having the CA opens doors, but does it necessarily open the doors to the jobs that you like?
And then when you find out you hate industry, what will you do?
If you hate accounting and auditing and are sticking around in accounting just because you want your CA, don't you think your wasting your time?
So, the question, I need to ask myself is "Am I really wasting my time?" What exactly is the CA designation going to bring me? Will it bring me happiness or entry into another high paying job that I hate?
I haven't really "reverse engineered my career" and I dont' think a lot of you have either.
The proper way to do things is to find out what you want to do in life, and figure out what you need in order to get there. In reality,
Would I be a fool to throw it all away, at age 23, with less than 1 year left until I qualify?
I need one more year of experience until I become a CA. Now the question, that I really need to ask myself, and search deep inside myself.. Is it really worth it?
If you go all the way back to the very first post of this blog, you will recall me blogging about the "Young ambitious high school student." It talks about someone who is talented and smart, and has no idea what he wants out of his life.
That was me. Fast forward 5 years, and I am partly still the same way. I got my accounting degree. I have my UFE passed, and in one year, I will be a CA.
That is, If I stay.
Yes, busy season is bad and that partly may be the reason I am contemplating seriously quitting. But, a part of me feels that Big 4 is destroying my youth and happiness - and the longer I stay, the older and less risky I will be. The more and more I will stop looking for my own dreams (despite not really knowing what they are) and being merely satsified with what I have. I don't want to be old and say I regret wasting my youth on something I ultimately didn't really like when I have the capability to take risks now.
My biggest problem and concern is the brainwashing of the ICAO and Big 4 due to young kids, and I fell for it at the time too.
The CA is a highly marketable designation but does having a CA ultimately make that much of a difference in your career? It will guarantee you a good paying job, but ultimately will you be satisfied? Isn't life the pursuit of happiness?
I do think that some Big 4 experience and exposure is good, but if you are going to jump ship once you get your CA, isn't it pointless to wait if you really think accounting is not for you? I need to start thinking about opportunity costs.
My biggest problem is "Brainwashed friends" and "Drone like co-workers" who think that once they have their CA, their life problems will be solved. That, all the hard work they put in for their 30 month (lucky people like me) or 36 months (unlucky people afterwards) will guarantee them a nice ballin' life with a good job.
Let's be realistic. Getting a CA and leaving big 4 doesn't guarantee you anything. You might end up working in industry in a job you hate as a controller for 10K more, and hate your life just as much as you did in Big 4 (if not more).
Ask yourself this question. Having the CA opens doors, but does it necessarily open the doors to the jobs that you like?
And then when you find out you hate industry, what will you do?
If you hate accounting and auditing and are sticking around in accounting just because you want your CA, don't you think your wasting your time?
So, the question, I need to ask myself is "Am I really wasting my time?" What exactly is the CA designation going to bring me? Will it bring me happiness or entry into another high paying job that I hate?
I haven't really "reverse engineered my career" and I dont' think a lot of you have either.
The proper way to do things is to find out what you want to do in life, and figure out what you need in order to get there. In reality,
Would I be a fool to throw it all away, at age 23, with less than 1 year left until I qualify?
