Fell for the accounting/cpa meme

>unemployment benefits with let me NEET it up for 2 years.

2 years? How the fuck? I thought it's 26 weeks and that's it.

I think I'll use my CPA plus some decent programming skills to land something financial analyst related. And/or use programming and my CPA to do shit on my own. I.e., SEO marketing, web design, valuation, contract accounting, etc. Shit sucks out there, and tons of dumb grads willing to work a shit schedule for "muh progression".

I'm surprised no one responded to this. I finished half the CPA exam.

(you)

W-what? Fuck. I'm an accounting dropout and thought about getting into programming. Don't you at least have better chances at working freelance with programming than with accounting?

What do I study now? Seriously though, no kneepads.

Finished the CPA exam, don't even need it (yet). It does give the upperhand when looking for a new gig tho

>What do I study now?

You err in thinking that studying will be your salvation.

Following a tracked professional path will just make you run into the same problems OP listed.

This is because universities are churning out too many candidates with identical skill sets. So everyone goes for the same entry-level jobs to get experience. And because everyone has roughly the same background fresh out of college, the only metrics you can compete on are personal skills and being a workhorse.

The way to avoid this is to NOT follow the trodden path and instead become proficient at something unique or rare.

I understand perfectly what you're saying, but:

>The way to avoid this is to NOT follow the trodden path and instead become proficient at something unique or rare.

Is way, waaaaaaaay more easily said than done...

>Get college diploma in an in-demand field
>Get boring, stable job

>Be an entrepreneur
>Struggle for years for POTENTIAL success

Your conclusions are correct, but those 2 aren't the only options.

My point wasn't that you had to start your own business. Just don't do what lots of other people are doing. It's a bad idea. Take for instance CS - we've all heard the "we need more programmers" meme. But the truth is fresh grads outside of the major tech hubs are forced to take shitty webdev/helpdesk work because there are hardly any entry-level positions available.

Can you think of a single degree that doesn't have this problem? I can't, and that's why I would argue that there are no 'in-demand' fields and thus no easy path to a stable boring job.

Top kek at everyone who studies something for the money and then find out that no matter degree you have, it won't just fall into your lap. Congrats on cucking yourself.

>get accounting degree from Cal Poly Pomona
>Have 1 year of experience under belt
>find job right out of school, first found one for 70K, then two weeks later, I quit and was hired at one of the top 10 firms in SoCal making 84k.
>3/4th done with my CPA
>probably gonna be making 6 figures by the time I'm in my 30s, and start my own firm

You're the C U C K who got F U C K E D op.

Also, work a shit ton of hours (50-60 a week) ONLY during tax season, after that the rest of the year is lax.

Yeah I understood what you meant from the start, I just chose a poor example.

My other concern is that if you become a very specific specialist, it might work well for a while then rapidly crash due to changes in the industry etc. while you have invested a lot of time, energy and probably money to become so specialized.

And, most importantly, while it's certainly not impossible to find a super specific niche, most of the time it's very difficult unless you are exceptionally brilliant or lucky.

I'm studying my third section, FAR now.
Shit is just weird.

graduated six months ago with an accounting degree, one year experience. can't find a job. not sure whether I should take the CPA or just give up on this field. probably too late for me now.

>accounting major
>no cpa
>wants a job in corp Finance
>only has 4 years audit firm experience

Lol into the trash it goes

I passed all 4 parts before working. Never was able to get the job I wanted - corporpate accounting that would lead to CFO w 40 hr wks like the profs promised. Getting a public tax job was easy bc those jobs suck and everyone hates em. High turnover and they work u like dogs. Meanwhile uwhwt r u learning? How to fill out govt forms lol. Bullshit. And they want u to get good at it

>I am considering programming
Programming + Accounting/Finance is good I think

I'm a ECE and Finance 2nd year and I started working at an accounting place, but,I ended up making financial calculators for very specific things that aren't available on the internet which required programming, math and finance knowledge skills.

The point is, any programming with any area that can be automated is very useful. I would recommend you get good at math, I mean at least the beginning stages of calculus + upper algerbra as well as comfortable with a few programming languages.

I would recommend learning python first

Dunno user. I'm focusing on programmin, wed design, marketing, and more. If I have to do accounting I should at least try to get paid well doing contracts without recruiters taking a cut. U can make good money w contract work or if u do accounting on ur own - I.e., bookkeeping, small tax, etc. But I think having a tech background w acct is good. Was just told about a $40/hr job on contract if I knew Access & VBscripts. So might do that. Imagine getting some shit like that w/o a recruiter - that'd pay about $70 easy.

And I like finance and technology so that shits up my alley.

I guess the thing is, it gives u something to fall back on. That's what college is for I guess. If shit doesn't work out - u don't hit the lottery & have to work, I've got something.

If u do accounting, focus on building skills to start ur own business. I think the same is true for anything - programming too. It can just be contract consulting too, which isn't as bad. U get to be a neet now and then.

Nobody in the firm I am working for knew what VB was so I ended up writing code in VB for someone.

point being, it's clearly not that important if a whole firm doesnt know about VB, im confused as to why they need you too know it.

>tax

Enjoy working weekends during the most beautiful time of the year the rest of ur life, especially if u start ur own firm and r greedy.

>85k in Cali
>barely comfy

Enjoy filling out govt forms & reading up on useless tax law updates every year. Shit is boring as fuck. Enjoy ur mandatory billables nigger. Oh and ur falls suck too for extensions.

Oh enjoy ungrateful clie ts that want shit done for free too.

Dont' know. It was for this specific contract assignment for some bullshit reason. Point is it's good to have a programming background with accounting is the shit I'm hearing.

Thanks. I just went through first lecture of Sedgwick on Algorithms. Apparently "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs" is what these guys say. Guess that's why /g/ keep harping on that shit. So I'll probably add that to my self study curriculum in hopes of getting into something more interesting.

Finance is competitive. "Financial Analyst" is a highly in demand job title for both employers and employees (tons of applicants for each job ad). I heard sql, python, etc. are good to learn for these jobs.

It's rough out there. Fucking sucks. I don't know what to tell you exactly. The CPA would help - maybe, but do you want to do that shit? The 2017 exam looks like it will be a little harder.

I hear CISA & CICA combo might be good - it's a niche. This guy says internal control jobs are more cushy maybe true, who knows?

You're that kid that bags out everyone that went to uni and did real degrees and is now currently unemployed with a 2.5GPA with a major in social justice.

>ID

Nigger, check it. I'm the OP, CPA.

lol, touche.

>I heard sql, python etc are good to learn for finance stuff

I'm writing in python right now making a calculator, python, without a doubt is very useful

I do python and SQL. I audit and have to manipulate large data for other auditors who don't know how.

I also heard the SOX is like an accounting jobs act meme.

To be fair OP, professors don't tell you shit about a lot of careers. Accounting is what you make out of it. You can go into Audit and talk/work with complete retards called "clients". You can go into consulting or advisory which you can still be involved with retards. Then there's also Tax which is less time demanding, but you have to know your shit in the codes and books so you can tell the IRS to fuck off. Accounting most likely won't be a dream job, but if you have some interest in it you can make the best out of it. The people who are usually miserable are the ones who go into Big 4 from college or private and stay there beyond 4-6 years trying to make Manager/controller/etc., which is just pointless. Big 4 more times than not is just there to pick up interview points and experience just to go work for an F500/private/government work instead. Big 4 is where all the miserable belief comes from.

I assume you graduated, so, is there jobs like that once I graduate? I would like to continue doing programming, maths, modelling and research and not have to do much of the actual accounting side.

You may have read earlier that I am ECE+Finance if that helps you at all

programming maths modelling and research in the financial/accounting world*

Any career can take you places you never knew you would be. You just got to be prepared and step up when the opportunity arises. I basically got my job by being the guy who knows how to do stuff.

I was on the path to becoming an accountant but I switched to a communications/business type of program later on

Can anyone confirm what op is saying, it will make me feel a lot better about my program choice. I live in Toronto btw

>tfw you fell for the accounting/cpa meme
>field is full of bitchy, career driven women trying to get you fired so they can get promoted
>full of office politics

i can relate to these hard
i'm not even chartered yet but the reality is kicking in