[Brayden]

Any accountants/CPA’s willing to share their experience and salary range in their perspective fields? Do you enjoy your work?

I need a change in my career path.

[Carl]

I’m a CPA practicing 11 years out of school salary was low to start but now I’m an equity partner so super happy.

[Penh]

I’m currently a Director of Finance and my base is $175k/year with a 20% bonus. I started off as a clerk at $36k/year about 15 years ago and worked my way up. Along the way I had jobs pay for my bachelors and MBA.

I am NOT a CPA nor do I have any desire to do that. Basically I do corporate finance and I love what I do.

I’ve been remote for over a decade now and my work life balance is pretty great. Keep in mind though I’ve lived in either LA or Boston for most of my career.

Being in/near a big city definitely helps with earning potential.

[Hayley]

You could also consider becoming an actuary. Good hours, good pay. Pay rapidly increases after each exam passed.

[Dave]

5-6 years in. Never did public accounting thankfully and decided against the cpa. It a ton of work to get. Salary is mid 70s could make more if I really wanted to but my job is alright for now with a ton of time off. Work is def not enjoyable and pretty boring. It’s a means of an end for me but I can’t wait to get out.

If you want safety where you’ll always have a job it’s good but boring as hell. If you go the public route get ready for tons of hours for little pay for the first few.

[Megan]

I’m general ledger accountant in the US (midwest) working for a non-profit. I’m technically a senior accountant so make an ok amount (think $65-85k/year) but there are LOTS of accounting jobs out there that pay more, especially corporations that have higher salary budgets. Allot of the jobs are also fully remote. I have a bachelor’s in accounting but you can definitely get higher pay as a cpa but I had no desire to pay for or study for the test.

Plus having a cpa isn’t really necessary if you don’t want to work in public accounting (which I would NOT recommend).

People saying AI will take over all accounting jobs soon is just not true, there are plenty of things that computers just can’t do. Let me know of any other questions!

[Nguyen]

5 years CPA started at 57k at one of the top 5 public accounting firm. 60 typical working hours during tax seasons and almost no billable work the rest of the year but the culture is cut throats, pressure from managers to do returns under the hour budget and do it right, bad management and wrong culture.

I moved on to a couple mid-size public accounting companies and got salary raise, now at 87k as a senior accountant, same work pressures but at least managers are willing to train.

Learn a lot from experience with different clients and types of returns.

Managers make 6 figures for sure.

[Sarah]

I’m 18 years CPA in public accounting. I make a very good living. New hires start in mid 70k and within 5 years you are probably over 6 figures. Some states require salaries to be posted for job openings now, so it is easier to find this information. I love what I do, and the job has changed with each promotion, so it stays interesting.

[Kate]

There’s a shortage of accountants coming out of colleges, so pay is starting to shoot up.

[Mike]

Nobody answered your question. Starting salary is roughly $80 to $90k and jobs are very plentiful. Start in late April so that you avoid 1 busy season.

[Author]

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