I've been hearing of an accounting shortage so I looked up salaries and holy fuck they are low. Even with a B.S. and a CPA you'll be lucky to break 6 figures in your first 5 years.

I've heard the CPA exams are difficult and the work-life balance kinda sucks. Seems like highly qualified people working long hours should be paid more - compare it to other careers like law, programming, and banking.

Can anyone explain why accounting pays such shit?

What makes it easier? The CPA exams have around a 50% fail rate which is similar to the bar exam and the CFA exams.

Obviously breaking into bulge-bracket banking and biglaw is tough, but it would seem to me that getting in with big 4 would also be tough, yet big 4 salaries are nowhere near JPMorgan/Latham&Watkins

It doesn't pay 6 figures?

What do they start at 60 still?

Their salary has been stagnant for 20 years

You can leave though once my friend did his time at Big 4 and got CPA he left for management at a smaller company probably better pay and work life balance

Big 4 accounting's always been known as a sweat shop for pretty much anyone below senior manager.

Yup grind out a few years at big 4 then move onto a more realistic job. I know a few that did this, they were able to pivot pretty easily once they had the experience.

I got rid of my accountant 15 yrs ago

Its so easy to do it yourself nowadays ,corporate is another story

But if Just personal, do it yourself

Ai gonna steal those jobs n they know it

Accounting at low levels is more of a grind like being a low level lawyer. And during certain times of the year (Jan to May) it's insane, apparently. But it's also not difficult work, so you're basically a drone, which doesn't require a high salary.

Every time I've hired an accountant when I looked at what they actually did, it wasn't anything I couldn't do myself quite easily. It was just that I couldn't be bothered doing it.

Can make big bank in auditing though

At some point you'll realize that a person's pay level is directly tied to their risk capacity and the level of risk they're willing to take on.

Accounting is one of the most risk averse professions out there. Abundant jobs, easy work, consistent, sitting in an office by yourself. Any schmuck can do it.

This, CPA firms hire way more associates than will ever make it to a good level. You do absolute shit work your first few years if you are in audit or tax where most of them are hired, I did it and I hated it. But the shit work has to be done by someone. The pay is still ok compared to a lot of other fields, but you don't make good money until you beat out the other associates to move up the ladder. The ones that don't make it still get to put their experience at a big accounting firm on their resume and are valued more in corporate hiring than accountants that started in industry rather than public accounting, ie get a controller or assistant controller gig when you don't make the cut.

The skill that makes accountants move up the ladder has more to do with personality, client relations, and sales. Most of them are smart enough to do the accounting, who can bring more revenue to the firm or keep existing clients happy. Not qualities you typically think of when you think of accountants.

I think if you go out on your own you can make great money, the accounting firm we use I think is like $2-300 an hour if I remember correctly.

Accounting is a f@g job. I’m not an accountant but I perform some accounting duties (among other things) in my current role. It’s a career for people who are low IQ, low test, subordinate, company man bitches.

So you?

Pretty much. I should’ve applied for the union in my early 20s when I had the chance instead of fucking up my life like this srs.

Too late now.. buckle down and hope for the best. Only thing i sorta regret is wasting so much time in the service industry and not becoming a tradie straight out of High School. but a ton of fun times working as a cook.

Das it mane