Stuck with my career

Donny7

Hello all,
Hope everyone is keeping safe. I am so stuck with my career and I am not sure what steps to take next. I have been an accountant for 13 years, and i have no passion or motivation to continue with it. Was made redundant back in April 2021, and since then I have been in two minds about the career. Do I stick with it just to earn some money, or try and pursue something else.
I cannot stand working in a corporate environment anymore, with high levels of stress, long hours and pathetic staff. 
Has anybody ever moved away from accountancy/finance/ Corporate career and pursued something else? Would be great to know your thoughts on what options I have.

Thank you,

tacpot12

Many people will be feeling this way at the moment because it's winter time, and we are in a national lockdown after nearly a year of gloomy news. It's not unreasonable to feel down, nor to consider whether your career is panning out how you wanted it to.

Many people do make career changes, but it comes at a bit of price. Usually your earnings will dip for a while, but most people manage to get to a point where they are happier and as financially secure. Do a skills inventory, review why your choice of career hasn't been rewarding. Consider what you want from a new career.

I had similar feelings in my career about 10 years ago, but I was only 5 years away from retirement at the time, so I decided I could stick it out. I saved harder to allow me to retire earlier, and that was my way out. I expect you are too young for this to be an option. You might consider working for a small accounting firm that is very local to where you live. The pay won't be as good, but you might have significantly lower costs as well. You might also look to see if there is a way to move to work for an Independent Financial Advisor as they will be grateful of your knowledge and skills, and you may find the work in personal finance more interesting. 

You have a job. This means you can use some of your income to pay to retrain in something else. Just be very careful if you want to sign up for a training course. You need to speak to people who have completed the course recently, and ask them how useful the course was in finding work.

macman

Why don't you work as a self-employed accountant if you don't enjoy the corporate aspect of the job? There is always work available, though some of it may be a bit routine if you have 13 years experience.

Nebulous2

I’ve given up a job and gone elsewhere twice. Once it worked ok, and once it absolutely didn’t. My view is that changing careers is a huge gamble unless the crossover is pretty good and a lot of your skills apply. 

I say that as someone who has recruited literally hundreds of people into care. I once interviewed a company director on £120k for a basic grade care job, around £13k at the time.  Those who came with no idea what it would be like often sunk without a trace. Those with voluntary experience, or who had cared for a relative were more likely to make it. 

Are there other areas in finance you might enjoy? Industry? I know a couple of accountants who work in the food industry and they seem to enjoy it. Most of their time isn’t spent with other accountants or trying to bring in clients. I also know an accountant who became a trainer (and agent for) financial software. Again a way to use existing skills, but get a change at the same time. 

[Deleted User]

Do some volunteer work if you think you want a drastic change in career. This is the advice I would have liked in 2012 after leaving a secure albeit considered pretty poor paid job in the same hotel of 5 years (fair enough I wasn't management but a consistant role holder who thought they knew everything) but it upsets me to know I left for an insulting home care assistant job (the person offering the role tone never sat well and fortunately these days I don't think companies get away with not paying training these days but that is the only thing) which I never truly recovered from and ended up broke months later when the classic sold work in your 'very community', ended up in reality being miles away for a driver. Nowaways it is not even a job I would consider. (It is one of the things I'm pretty glad I just cannot get a reference for) I couldn't cope with the age range and when at 32 should have been doing anything else. But I was blinded. I can chat to a a 60 year old in desperate for things they don't have but do personal care these days - No. And this is just how things can change in 8/9 years. I would not accept or go for the same job of 2012. I would go volunteer in a food bank whereas back in 2012 not so, so perhaps as you get older feelings are unavoidable. Hats off to those who get up at 6am, do 16 + hour days, 6/7 times a week in purely looking after the elderly in their own homes.

Niv

To be honest, I look at my career in a different way to many (it seems). I go to work to get paid, passion for the job is irrelevant to me. I am good at what I do, the company is ok to work for, I have an element of flexibility etc etc. For fulfillment i do my hobbies, I am fortunate that one of my hobbies can (maybe one day!) bring in a small income which may allow me to go part time in the future or even retire early.

I guess my advice is, think hard before leaving a career you are successful at. Paying your bills is the number 1 purpose of a job, everything else is a bonus. If your company offers it, maybe take a career break, that way your job is still there for you but you get chance to have a break and explore other options. Probably best to do that once things are more normal, as often the 'official' reason for a career break is to travel

pogofish

Don’t we have a dedicated board for job/career issues of a more general nature?

In fact the OP has a thread going there too!

Tammykitty

Donny7 said:

Hello all,
Hope everyone is keeping safe. I am so stuck with my career and I am not sure what steps to take next. I have been an accountant for 13 years, and i have no passion or motivation to continue with it. Was made redundant back in April 2021, and since then I have been in two minds about the career. Do I stick with it just to earn some money, or try and pursue something else.
I cannot stand working in a corporate environment anymore, with high levels of stress, long hours and pathetic staff. 
Has anybody ever moved away from accountancy/finance/ Corporate career and pursued something else? Would be great to know your thoughts on what options I have.

Thank you,

I could have written exactly the same thing as you a few years back (except for the redundancy part, if I had been made redundant i might have changed careers completely)
At that stage i was on my 3rd accountancy job, 3 years audit in a large practice, then a Management Accountant and then a commercial/sales accountant - and i had hated every one of them, i was ready to give it all up and go work and go work in a shop or something (The only job i had ever liked!)
Accountancy is a large field, and lots of options are open to you, and as many accountants know, despite the people suggesting it above its not actually that easy to move from corporate to your own practice, i know i wouldn't do it as private practice is mostly tax, which I haven't had any experience of in years..so it would involve lots of training..so it depends on what area of corporate you are in..
How many different accountancy roles have you had, and in what areas?

What kept me in my career, was that a post i had applied for in the public sector came up, and as well as being in the public sector, it was a different type of accounting, moving from a more management accountant type of role to a financial accountant, i found I enjoyed the work, all the training was finally worth it, I was happy, reasonably well paid (obviously not a well as the private sector, but have a decent pension scheme, sick leave and most importantly a good work life balance)
So my suggestion to you, before giving up on accountancy, think back to your training, what elements of accountancy did you like then, is that the field you are working in now?
Also carefully look at the ethos of any place you are considering working, public sector, semi state and not for profit businesses may be more suitable to the life you are looking..

Good luck

Thrugelmir

Donny7 said:

I cannot stand working in a corporate environment anymore, with high levels of stress, long hours and pathetic staff. 
Has anybody ever moved away from accountancy/finance/ Corporate career and pursued something else? Would be great to know your thoughts on what options I have.

Opportunities exist outside of the corporate world. If you are prepared to be flexible and roll your sleeves up. Doors will open.  Life is what you make of it. 

Michael_Bear

I cant offer an decent advice but I will say that I'm in a similar position.
I've got no ide really what I want todo (to be honest I was considering accountancy which I guess you recommened against!). Its tough trying to work out whats right, is the grass greener?

Good luck with whatever choices you make and remember you make decisions with information at hand dont use hindsight to regret decisions, it'll only waste energy without any utility.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Michael_Bear said:

I cant offer an decent advice but I will say that I'm in a similar position.
I've got no ide really what I want todo (to be honest I was considering accountancy which I guess you recommened against!). Its tough trying to work out whats right, is the grass greener?

Good luck with whatever choices you make and remember you make decisions with information at hand dont use hindsight to regret decisions, it'll only waste energy without any utility.

Michael - I have been studying for 'fun' the AAT. One of the themes I hear regularly from other students is how hard it is to break into. So if you pursue this route definitely look to get yourself some work experience before applying for jobs. Before the crash it was much easier to get into, now its a lot harder.