Am I in the right career?

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Basically, your job is boring. That's why they pay you to do it. If it was fun, they would want you to pay them.

Just stop working long hours if you want. If everyone else in your company does the long hours then you won't get promotions or pay rises, and you will be the first they will get rid of if there are redundancies, but it's unlikely they would just sack you. Companies want to keep the people who are best value.

I am not saying that it would be a bad thing for you to do this, by the way, it is pretty much what I do. But you have to make your choice. If you are worth X amount to a company if you put in long hours, you are only worth X-Y if you don't. You can choose to live a lifestyle based on the X-Y income or the X income, but you can't complain that you want to live on an X income on X-Y work.

Scorpio33

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

Basically, your job is boring. That's why they pay you to do it. If it was fun, they would want you to pay them.

Just stop working long hours if you want. If everyone else in your company does the long hours then you won't get promotions or pay rises, and you will be the first they will get rid of if there are redundancies, but it's unlikely they would just sack you. Companies want to keep the people who are best value.

I am not saying that it would be a bad thing for you to do this, by the way, it is pretty much what I do. But you have to make your choice. If you are worth X amount to a company if you put in long hours, you are only worth X-Y if you don't. You can choose to live a lifestyle based on the X-Y income or the X income, but you can't complain that you want to live on an X income on X-Y work.

I get that in order to have a certain type of work, the income comes with it. I get that. I am happy to reduced income and hours.


The issue is that (1) I have no idea as to what work I would move into (2) I have no idea if I would be happier in that other role. It then leads back to staying doing what I currently am doing, as by its nature, working is not a fun time and also it is a case of better the devil you know.


Also, I'd love to tell an employer that I am unwilling to put in the hours and am happy to sacrifice pay rises etc. However, in my experience, the employers that accept that are non-existent.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

In what way would they not accept it? If you just start going home on time, what will they do?

FBaby

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 totally get where you stand. You don't like working because you don't enjoy your job. All I can say is that I think the way you feel is extremely common. The usual Sunday evening symptom of dread at the idea of going to work, same feeling every morning when the alarm rings and again when going to bed knowing the next day is not the week-end.

You have two ways to deal with it, take the plunge, do something different that you think would excites you enough that you look forward to working or accept your situation.

Like you, I thought for a long time what I could do that would excite me, but in the end, I never found anything that I was sure would make me want to get up for every morning until retirement. I am pretty certain that going self-employed would have been it, but the only role I felt I could take on with success was never going to bring enough money to balance out the excitement of the job. I am not a big spender, but I do like the security of it, and enjoy my holidays. I think it is very easy when you are used to a good income coming in every month to get to the point of taking that security for granted.

So instead, I went through the route of accepting it and it's not that bad. I still do a job I don't really enjoy, I still dread the coming week and I still wish I could win the lottery and not have to go back, but I do make the best of it. I have also accepted that working means I get to enjoy the things that would be easy to take for granted otherwise, like lie in in the morning, looking forward to reading my book before falling asleep, watching a programme I had to record, going out for a long walk etc...

Mattygroves2

Have you actually asked about going part time or about the fact that the long hours you work are impacting on you so badly ? How about putting a business case together for a combination of you going part time and getting someone in below you to help out.

I was a part time accountant for a number of years and know many others too. Most of them are in practice but I know some in industry too.

I also agree that if you've been there two years nothing is going to happen if you start going home on time so long as you are working efficiently when you are there. As one of my old managers once said to me - doing a job well is about outputs not inputs.

persa

Few people want to be accountants. It's just something that happens - we drift into this profession, get used to the money and can't leave.

If you're working in-house for a small company, does that mean you're in a team of one, doing everything? That would explain the stress levels.

It sounds like the Big 4 isn't for you, but what about another practice position for a much smaller firm? You would have more support (part of a larger team than at present) and wouldn't necessarily be expected to have tons of ambition.

persa

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

In what way would they not accept it? If you just start going home on time, what will they do?

Are you an accountant yourself?

Standard accountancy contracts automatically opt you out of the working time directive and specify that you must do additional hours to meet the demands of the business. Overtime is part of the job.

There are some rare firms which offer time in lieu or paid overtime, but overtime is generally always expected, whether paid or not.

I've never seen it tested, but if you were to refuse to do overtime in peak seasons, I guess it would be breach of contract...

Scorpio33

persa wrote: »

Few people want to be accountants. It's just something that happens - we drift into this profession, get used to the money and can't leave.

If you're working in-house for a small company, does that mean you're in a team of one, doing everything? That would explain the stress levels.

It sounds like the Big 4 isn't for you, but what about another practice position for a much smaller firm? You would have more support (part of a larger team than at present) and wouldn't necessarily be expected to have tons of ambition.

Yes I am a team of one doing everything.


I have thought about Practice in a smaller firm, but when I was in practice, I hated the travelling, hence the move to industry. I don't think that would change in a smaller firm?

Scorpio33

persa wrote: »

Are you an accountant yourself?

Standard accountancy contracts automatically opt you out of the working time directive and specify that you must do additional hours to meet the demands of the business. Overtime is part of the job.

There are some rare firms which offer time in lieu or paid overtime, but overtime is generally always expected, whether paid or not.

I've never seen it tested, but if you were to refuse to do overtime in peak seasons, I guess it would be breach of contract...

That's exactly it, which is why I then question if I am in the right career. Surely it would be better for my long term sanity to move to a career where the hours are easier.


My goal in life is to have the best family life possible. The career is a means to an end. The issue is that I earn good money, but can't see my family and when I do, I am so stressed that I snap at them and shout at them when I shouldn't do.
Then again, moving to a less stressful career would mean I have more time with my family and I would actually be happy when I spend time with them, but then we would not have the same lifestyle we currently have; something I feel my family would hate me for. It would feel that I would be sacrificing the good things I could give my family for my own happiness, something that feels too selfish.

Scorpio33

FBaby wrote: »

I totally get where you stand. You don't like working because you don't enjoy your job. All I can say is that I think the way you feel is extremely common. The usual Sunday evening symptom of dread at the idea of going to work, same feeling every morning when the alarm rings and again when going to bed knowing the next day is not the week-end.

You have two ways to deal with it, take the plunge, do something different that you think would excites you enough that you look forward to working or accept your situation.

Like you, I thought for a long time what I could do that would excite me, but in the end, I never found anything that I was sure would make me want to get up for every morning until retirement. I am pretty certain that going self-employed would have been it, but the only role I felt I could take on with success was never going to bring enough money to balance out the excitement of the job. I am not a big spender, but I do like the security of it, and enjoy my holidays. I think it is very easy when you are used to a good income coming in every month to get to the point of taking that security for granted.

So instead, I went through the route of accepting it and it's not that bad. I still do a job I don't really enjoy, I still dread the coming week and I still wish I could win the lottery and not have to go back, but I do make the best of it. I have also accepted that working means I get to enjoy the things that would be easy to take for granted otherwise, like lie in in the morning, looking forward to reading my book before falling asleep, watching a programme I had to record, going out for a long walk etc...

I too have these thoughts and for years have gone down the "just accept it" route.


However, I still have feelings that this situation is not right and I can't go through the next 25 years or so in a career I don't enjoy doing long hours being stressed.