True, unfortunately. A lot of people consider a stint at the big four like grad school. Eight years after I left E&Y, it's still the first thing people notice on my resume.

I think bryris' intention was to work at a local firm to get experience. This route is likely to offer a better lifestyle and more flexibility. It won't have the cache on your resume that a big firm will, but is not a bad option if you just want the experience as a backup career or as a base to strike out on your own.

 

Best of luck. I'm looking at doing something similar. I lost my medical last March and then the wonderfull airline I work for sent me a furlough notice right in time for the holidays.

It's surprising how many different areas there are even within one accounting firm. One previous post mentioned the tedious side. A lot of firms do the accounting not only for the business, but for the business owners. When you do the owners accounting I've heard there is more exitement and less predicatability. Just depends what you want. The CPA route sounds good. Have a good Christmas, at home!

 

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P.s. Please don't chastise me, a simple no response would have sufficed.

 

So after people get experience at the big firms do most people leave or stay? If they leave can they expect to make more than they were making at the big firm or do they leave for a lower salary but for a better quality of life?

 

Most people stay at least two years. Historically this was the amount of experience required to get your CPA license. In addition, after two years you are promoted to "senior" where you have the responsibility to supervise first- and second-year staff. Having that experience makes you more valuable in the job market.

(My knowledge of the licensing requirements may be outdated).

Generally people leaving a large firm for a position at a company can expect at least a 20% pay increase, in addition to a better work/life balance. Therefore, the temptation to leave public accounting is very strong.

However the longer you stay, the stronger your resume and the higher the position (and salary) you can command when you leave. If you leave public accounting as a third-year senior, you will probably be able to get a job as a senior financial analyst at a large company, or maybe accounting manager or assistant controller at a small company. If you stay until you are an eight-year senior manager, you may be able to get a job as a controller at a large company, or a CFO at a smaller one.

These are just examples for illustration. It is much harder to move up the ladder at a company than at a public accounting firm (public accounting is "up or out"... if you stick it out and put up with all the crap, you automatically get promoted at specific time intervals). So you are always better off staying in public accounting as long as possible. But that's easier said than done. The lifestyle can be brutal, and if you have a family it may be impossible to have the public accounting lifestyle.

The other thing is eventually you would be considered to be a partner, which is a difficult path because your primary job is to get new business for the firm. A lot of CPAs are not suited to the sales role. There are no non-partner career CPAs at an accounting firm. If you stick it out that long but the firm doesn't consider you partner material, you will be "counseled out" which is a euphemism for being asked to leave.

So... other than the tiny percentage who are suited to being a partner, nearly everyone plans to leave public accounting eventually. It's just a question of when.

But just to be clear... whether you are "counseled out" or decide you can't take the 60-hour weeks anymore, leaving public accounting is hardly a defeat. Having experience at a large firm is extremely valuable no matter which level you leave from. You are likely to have many attractive, stable, well-paying alternatives to consider.

 

You have alot of good info in your posts are you going back to accounting? Like you said with E & Y on your resume I'm sure you could go anywhere and make what an RJ captain is making. (starting pay) I never worked at a big firm but know people who jumped ship at AA just before the hoopla. Yeah they worked alot but no more then a jr pilot does. Just my take.

 

I've been working as a CPA on a consulting basis while I have been pursuing my commercial and CFI. Unfortunately now it seems instructing even just part-time will not be an option, and an airline job is just not practical, at least for a conservative, stability-seeking number cruncher like me. I'd still like to incorporate professional flying one way or another, and hopefully use the CPA work to keep from committing financial suicide in the process.

You just never know... a while back one of my colleagues had a client that is a small charter company, with some PC-12s and a citation. They were looking for pilots; I could be flying now if I had had part 135 minimums. Unfortunately my timing has not been good.

In any case hope this information helps. There are so many part-time CPA jobs right now. It's not the most exciting work, but could be a great backup career or moonlighting opportunity for a professional pilot. Once you have the CPA/public accounting background it seems employers don't care about lapses in employment, and I think that would be especially true if you were pusuing a different career. One thing Tony Montana was right about is people in other fields do take interest when you tell them you're a pilot.

 

It just seems a win win situation to get the CPA. I will never work big four, PERIOD. I am a small town guy. My skills are flying and accounting. I'd rather be a pilot than an accountant as regards the actual job duties. But I see a better life down the accountant road (family, being at home, security, freedom of owning my own practice, etc) and I've spent about equal time now in both professions so can give a fair view.

I hope to run my own business in a few years, ramp it up to provide a solid livable income and otherwise fly as much as I can. Perhaps I can work as a part time flight instructor, ferry pilot, etc. I will purchase my own airplane as well, just a 172 or a Cherokee, and fly that way. Or I can try to combine aviation with accounting whether it be a "moonlighting" venture or a specialization in aviation business affairs or heading up a corporate flight department and flying occasionally or getting into an airline management position and being line qualified to fly open trips, etc. Or I can just go back to the airlines as a pilot. But, things will have to be better than this if I go back to the airlines. And I can only imagine that having the CPA would be an extra feather in my cap to put me above the next guy for an interview. Anyone with common sense will understand that it is a tough credential to get and shows many good character traits, as opposed to an aviation science degree from ERAU. I cannot claim to know what goes into corporate pilot recruiting, but I tend to think that the CPA credential would carry significant weight in that environment, more so than the airlines, even if nothing more than a weed out factor.

I wish I had "the route" figured out. But I don't. It just feels right right now to jump off this sinking ship and continue my education while the storm passes.

Who knows where the future will take me?

 

RXS676,

Was wondering if you could answer a question? My degree is a BS in Business/Management and I was thinking of pursuing accounting. I looked into a masters degree in accounting at a local university. I was shot down and told I needed my 4 yr. to be in accounting. Are there other avenues? I can't go back to school for another 4 years.

 

OK I don't claim to be an expert in the area but I researched it years back & "I know people." From what I remember it varies by state some do not even require a masters. The state where I came from requires it but you could get a generic MBA then sit for the test and ta da. The test is a bear though cause it's so boring to study for. But you can pass specific portions & then move on. Good Luck.