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Am I in the right career?
Comments
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What kind of hours are you working? Is part of the problem that you are expected to do 'extra' hours and work very late or is it just the 9-5 plus commute that you still feel is too much time away from your family? If the former then could you change company to one nearer home and less pressured, or to the public sector which is much better about sticking to standard working hours? If it's the latter then is there any chance of going part time? I find being home one day a week at the moment means I can get lots of tasks done that mean my weekends are freed up for more quality family time and I get one-to-one time with my child which is lovely.
I think unless you know what you'd rather do then it would be hard to change career. I have known someone to take a step down to a less pressured role. You have to be careful though as you could apply for a lower grade job and find it's still pressured and long hours as well as less challenging for you due to your experience.
Are your children young and if so do you think this feeling is temporary as you don't want to miss out on their childhood? Then again I'd suggest going part - time or finding a role in a local firm. You'd earn less for now but without losing your skills and seniority so you could move back to a better paying firm in the future when you maybe feel like progressing your career again?
Is working for yourself an option as then you could set your own hours?Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!0 -
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?
I disagree. I have had a career change which I do not regret and am enjoying my current role. But I do my 9-5 and no more, and am contemplating whether I can afford to go part time. I didn't used to feel like that and used to work longer hours but I'm now at a stage in my life where career is less important to me.
My salary is half of yours, but my mortgage is paid off, I don't have kids and my down time is important to me.
Would you enjoy your job if it didn't have such expectations around overtime?All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.0 -
Would you be happier in a general management role? Many accountants make the leap from finance to management and are happier for the broader horizon they deal with.
Could you study for an MBA? This would give you a very good grounding in marketing, HR and so on that you may currently lack.
Many good business schools offer part time MBAs to people exactly like yourself and have frequent open days to go along and chat with staff and see the facilities.
The name and reputation of the business school counts for great deal. There are three accrediting bodies for MBA courses and you should try to choose one that is triple accredited if possible.0 -
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.
I started in a Big 4, got qualified, then went into industry in FS. Currently in a small company, but have also worked in large companies.
I guess having been made redundant 4 times, I am just apathetic over anyone that employs me - they will drop me like a stone if it suits them.
What made me so unhappy? Well I have never wanted to be in accounting, it is just as I am good at it. I guess the change happened when I had personal health issues. Being off work for several months makes you realise what is important in life and no job is worth sacrificing your family for.0 -
What kind of hours are you working? Is part of the problem that you are expected to do 'extra' hours and work very late or is it just the 9-5 plus commute that you still feel is too much time away from your family? If the former then could you change company to one nearer home and less pressured, or to the public sector which is much better about sticking to standard working hours? If it's the latter then is there any chance of going part time? I find being home one day a week at the moment means I can get lots of tasks done that mean my weekends are freed up for more quality family time and I get one-to-one time with my child which is lovely.
I think unless you know what you'd rather do then it would be hard to change career. I have known someone to take a step down to a less pressured role. You have to be careful though as you could apply for a lower grade job and find it's still pressured and long hours as well as less challenging for you due to your experience.
Are your children young and if so do you think this feeling is temporary as you don't want to miss out on their childhood? Then again I'd suggest going part - time or finding a role in a local firm. You'd earn less for now but without losing your skills and seniority so you could move back to a better paying firm in the future when you maybe feel like progressing your career again?
Is working for yourself an option as then you could set your own hours?
That all sounds great, but the practicalities are that it is difficult or near impossible finding a part time role that enables me to get the best of both worlds.
The whole job is making me physically sick. I have previously got home and felt like crying on my sofa due to the stress it is causing me. Feels like I am not living the life I want to and I am only working in the job I am to provide for my family. It is making me depressed.
Working for myself is not an option, I don't want to take that risk.0 -
Could you do freelance work and just work as many hours it takes to keep the-wolf-from-the-door. You read this stories about families who decide to change and go for the good life on a little Croft in Scotland and topping up their income with a bit of work over the Internet.Liverpool is one of the wonders of Britain,
What it may grow to in time, I know not what.
Daniel Defoe: 1725.
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I disagree. I have had a career change which I do not regret and am enjoying my current role. But I do my 9-5 and no more, and am contemplating whether I can afford to go part time. I didn't used to feel like that and used to work longer hours but I'm now at a stage in my life where career is less important to me.
My salary is half of yours, but my mortgage is paid off, I don't have kids and my down time is important to me.
Would you enjoy your job if it didn't have such expectations around overtime?
That's the thing. I don't enjoy my job, but I don't hate it either.
I just feel like I should be spending my life doing something I enjoy, but don't know what that is. I feel like I have spent the last 30 odd years doing what I thought was right to make others happy, but never thought about myself and what I like. That makes it near impossible to discover what you enjoy.
I am married, have a mortgage and two kids. I want to give them the best life, so it currently feels as if I have to choose between a job that makes me unhappy, but gives my family the best life, to a job that may make me happy, but that may mean my family miss out on a good life due to lack of money.0 -
The whole job is making me physically sick. I have previously got home and felt like crying on my sofa due to the stress it is causing me. Feels like I am not living the life I want to and I am only working in the job I am to provide for my family. It is making me depressed.
Is it possible that depression is the underlying problem rather than work? Do you still get joy and enthusiasm out of other stuff or do you not enjoy anything any more? It would be a shame to give up what sounds like a successful career if the underlying problem is mental health, which could be treated medically. The risk is that you switch careers but the depression remains.0 -
tiger_eyes wrote: »Is it possible that depression is the underlying problem rather than work? Do you still get joy and enthusiasm out of other stuff or do you not enjoy anything any more? It would be a shame to give up what sounds like a successful career if the underlying problem is mental health, which could be treated medically. The risk is that you switch careers but the depression remains.
That's the thing.
If it is depression, then to cure that, you need to find the source of the depression. To me that would be the job, no?
Do I get joy from other stuff? Not as much as I used to, but that is only to be expected with a young family and all the responsibilities that comes with.
I have thought about going to my GP about it all and seeing if it is depression, but I don't think it is that bad. At most, it would be mild anxiety. Besides which, I have felt this way about my career for years, where as the sadness I currently feel I think is only due to the current job. Which again leads onto what is causing the issue. I guess my current job is amplifying the issue. I could change jobs, but that won't make the underlying issue go away; I would still feel as if I do not want to be at work and I would not be enjoying the work, only tolerating it.0 -
I wonder if it would help if you changed sector? Charities are generally crying out for finance staff and know that they have to pay a REASONABLE market rate. Certainly i would expect a national to pay £50k for senior finance staff, and the working environment is likely to be a lot more flexible, in my experience.Ex board guide. Signature now changed (if you know, you know).0
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