Am I in the right career?

Scorpio33

Hi,


I am 36, married with two kids.


I am a qualified accountant and earn circa £50k.


When I started in accountancy it was purely as I was good at Maths. The hours were long, but I was young with little commitments and my thinking was that when I am qualified I will have the accountancy qualification behind me to fall back on at least. Since being qualified I have been given a large salary and the lifestyle to match it.


For the past 4/5 years I have had a yearning to change careers. I hate doing more than the minimum in any job and every moment at work is a moment away from my family. The career was a good start and a good thing to do when I was young. Now that I am older, I am not as career focussed, I yearn for a job that means I see my family as much as possible.


The issue I have is that (a) I have got used to the salary I earn, (b) I have no idea what I would love to do for a career and (c) I have no idea that even if I change careers it would be better. I guess my question is - do I feel apathetic about my career due to the career or will it be that way in any job/career?


I yearn for a change, but don't know what that change is, so end up staying doing what I am doing. Then over time resentment creeps in again and I get the yearn to change again.


Has anyone else ever felt like this? Are there any practical steps I can take to improve my happiness?


My current situation is making me depressed, have little self-esteem and huge levels of guilt for being at work away from family. I need to change something, but I fear any change I do will not improve anything.

Paully232000

can you not move companies, still in accountancy, but to a role with more of a work/life balance.
I know someone who did just that, from one of the 'big 4', as was working all the hours god sent, and was away from home a lot, to a smaller company, and now works less.

duchy

First question is - are you in a position to let a well paid career go to do something that makes you happier but likely will pay less ?

Do you have a mortgage -what lifestyle changes would a lower salary make ? Would you (and any family you have) be happy with the changes ? You say you have the lifestyle to go with the job - How palatable would lifestyle changes be? Not just to you but any partner and children too ? Would they be supportive?

There's no point in moving until you've identified what you want to do. If a particular sector interests you - could you move into that sector in the accountancy field with a view to seeing that sector as an insider - and then moving sideways or downwards into a more satisfying role.

Whilst you are working out what that sector is -it would probably be an idea to clear any debt- creditcards, overpay mortgage and start saving a cushion so if you do jump finances won't stop you...... and if you ultimately don't jump you are better financially situated for early retirement so it's win win.

Scorpio33

I would love to, but how do you find a company with a good work/life balance? It seems impossible to find a role like that earning what I do as the expectations always seem to be long hours.


Also, if I am unwilling to do the hours, doesn't that say more about my willingness in the career than the company I work for? Surely if I enjoyed the career then I would be willing to put in the hours?

Paully232000

Scorpio33 wrote: »

I would love to, but how do you find a company with a good work/life balance? It seems impossible to find a role like that earning what I do as the expectations always seem to be long hours.


Also, if I am unwilling to do the hours, doesn't that say more about my willingness in the career than the company I work for? Surely if I enjoyed the career then I would be willing to put in the hours?

You need to research different companies, noone can do that for you, to find others who do similar roles for other companies and find out what their working life is like.

No, i dont think it says somethng about you, as from my experience with accountancy roles the expected hours are unreasonable. Nothing to do with enjoying your role/not enjoying it and putting in the hours, IMHO. For instance I love my job and wouldnt do anything else, however if they started expecting me to work 12 hours a day, be away from home all the time (I have two kids), I would soon fall out of love with it.

Or, maybe you have to sit down and work out what other roles pay, and if less, is the extra life balance (for instance) worth it and can you afford it. Money, as long as you have enough (whatever that is to you), is not the be all and end all of a life.

Scorpio33

duchy wrote: »

First question is - are you in a position to let a well paid career go to do something that makes you happier but likely will pay less ?

Do you have a mortgage -what lifestyle changes would a lower salary make ? Would you (and any family you have) be happy with the changes ? You say you have the lifestyle to go with the job - How palatable would lifestyle changes be? Not just to you but any partner and children too ? Would they be supportive?

There's no point in moving until you've identified what you want to do. If a particular sector interests you - could you move into that sector in the accountancy field with a view to seeing that sector as an insider - and then moving sideways or downwards into a more satisfying role.

Whilst you are working out what that sector is -it would probably be an idea to clear any debt- creditcards, overpay mortgage and start saving a cushion so if you do jump finances won't stop you...... and if you ultimately don't jump you are better financially situated for early retirement so it's win win.

Am I in a position to drop my salary. Yes, but not by enough that it will mean I can take up entry level positions. I understand that if I do want a change, then it is possible through small changes, but whilst I have a mortgage and small kids, it is extremely difficult. No harm in planning for the future though. My partner would be supportive, but not necessarily what she would want.


The issue is what I want to do. I feel at the moment that my career is getting me so down that I can't see clearly what I enjoy doing and could take up as a job. How do you find a satisfying role?

persa

What type of accountancy work do you do, and what sort of company do you work for? Shifting specialism and/or sector focus and/or type of employer (practice/in-house) and/or size of employer can make a huge difference to how you feel about accountancy.

To give you some examples, I've seen people perk up considerably in the following moves:

audit to corporation tax
audit to internal audit
practice to in-house
FS to mid-markets
small firm to Big 4

What happened in the past 4/5 years to make you so unhappy? Was that directly after you qualified? Or when you moved to a more senior grading and stopped moving upwards so quickly?

It's possible you hate all of accountancy. It's more likely you're in a rut and need a change of scenery.

Carl31

Wow. You sound almost the same as me. Same age and everything

Are you sure it's the profession and not your workplace? I feel the same at times. It's like out of everyone in the company we get the most !!!!. Yes it's good money, but you get bled for it

Maybe try a different company? The average time people stay in the same role in accounting is around 2.5 years. Maybe time to try somewhere new?

FBaby

How do you find a satisfying role?

Good luck! Many of my friends have high level jobs and very few truly enjoy their job but make the most of it and enjoy the income. The only friends who do are those who have been very successful businesses. They had to work long hours to get there, but now get to enjoy an amazing work-life balance.

I have looked into changing my career about 4 or 5 times, to the point of almost giving my notice, but in the end never went through it. In the end, I came to the conclusion that it is very easy to take for granted the benefits of a high salary. We don't have to worry about making ends meet, about how we are going to pay for something that unexpectedly break down, I don't have to feel -too- guilty if I want to spend money on something I don't need, and we can afford 2/3 wonderful holidays a year.

My kids are now teenagers and I have asked them if they wished I had taken an easier job that would have made me more present and I could tell they were genuine when they said that although they did wish I had been more around, they wouldn't change things because they were grateful for all the things they got to experience because we could afford them.

I have now accepted that until I retire, I will battle with fatigue on a daily basis. I have accepted that I manage each day as they come growing more and more exhausted as the week go by and have to arrange my week-end to somehow fit both entertainment and rest because otherwise I won't cope with the coming week.

However, I have stopped doing long hours despite the pressure of the business. I refuse to fall in the trap of working long hours to prove my dedication to the job. The reality is that people working long hours are rarely more productive than those who do their job within their contracted hours. I have been able to prove that I can deliver above what is expected working 40 hours. I know I am highly valued at work even though I am the one at my level doing the least extra hours. It is all about being productive and having the confidence that I don't need to do extra hours to show my worth.

I have seen colleagues giving it all up, venturing in other businesses and finding happiness on lower income, but most have come back after a few years, usually very quiet about their time out. I have one colleague who studied for a law degree whist still working full-time, getting to the end of it and then offered a job in the profession above what she was earning before. I really admired her commitment. However, I met her again recently, 5 years on, and she complained of exactly the same issues, long hours, corporate bullying, restructures etc... Unfortunately, I think it is a sign of our times whatever the industry.

Timpu

Snap! Another person who was in the exact same position.

Sorry, I haven't read all the replies as I'm about to head out but couldn't read and run.

Could you discuss going part time within your team/another team? They may be keen to keep you and go out of their way to address the imbalance. If you need to hit monthly/quarterly reporting deadlines then it could be useful to propose how this might work. I have found one person who was part time but for when we were doing quarterly reporting for example.

If it's actually the career then think about areas you liaise with that aren't directly under the finance umbrella, see if there are opportunities there. Transferring your knowledge and learning new things within a different area means both you and the company benefit.

missbiggles1

You need to decide whether you're unhappy enough to make a drop in salary feasible or you need to make the best of your situation. You can't have everything, I'm afraid.