I feel stuck. I just want a normal life working 40 hours a week and making decent pay (at 100k now) I am in tax and have been for about 5 years.

I’m at a mid size CPA firm. I can’t do busy season anymore. I just don’t know what’s out there for me! I feel like anywhere I go I will take a pay cut. I do general taxes (Corp, ptshp, ind).

Are there any people who have transitioned into normal lives after PA tax? Looking to leave my firm after this busy season and need to figure out where to look…

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I haven’t worked over 40 hours total a week for the last year and a half. Just gotta find the right role and team.

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If the market wasn’t bad I’d totally refer you to my team

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I was in the same boat and hit my breaking point two years ago. I liked the work, but couldn’t do the insane hours any longer. So, I decided I wouldn’t do busy seasons any more and interviewed with multiple companies saying I wanted 40 hrs a week year round. Every company pushed back trying to get me to agree to the same old story of how busy season at that firm isnt as bad as everywhere else, “we really keep it to 55 hrs or 60 hrs,” blah blah blah, all that b.s. we all know is not true, but I stuck to my guns and every single company agreed to it. I have now been doing this even schedule for a year with a very supportive team who respects the boundaries I set and gives zero pushback, and I am so happy I stuck to my guns on what I needed and wanted. The demand for good labor is there, so you can absolutely get that schedule if you like PA other than the crazy overtime. Go for it!

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No, actually I got a big pay raise because I got a title promotion at the same time. But I am treated as an 80% employee, so yes I give up 20% of what I would get paid if I were “full time” but that is worth every penny to me.

Another way to think about it is: the reduced pay is the salary for a full time schedule for most people, and that extra 20% is the premium paid for the overtime. Is that 20% worth it?

The funny thing is most of my friends cannot get it through their heads that I’m considered part time/80% while I work what is a full time schedule for everyone else.

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Have you considered the IRS?

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Yah I can certainly see that perspective.

I would just note that there are other jobs outside of being a revenue agent. For instance, I got hired as a specialist and assigned to a practice network. Essentially I provide technical guidance to agents when they have certain issues and need an explanation of how the law applies etc. I rarely deal with TPs and work primarily with the agent. It’s a lot of research and memo writing. You also get to do unique things like looks at any proposed guidance/regs and add your comments before it’s release to the public for their comments.

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You will have to leave public accounting to enjoy some normal work hours. Some of my most miserable work years was in public accounting. I would only go back to public accounting if it was the last option on this earth. I despise it so much.

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Tax especially

Im in industry with minimal overtime. What you want can be found, but there is a lot of variation in WLB across companies so you have to do research on culture on the front end.

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I thought mid size cpa firms have better hours but I guess not ? But ya if you want fully remote positions then I think the options are limited (definitely not IRS etc)

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I was at Deloitte for 3 years before I went to my mid size firm. When I left I was clocking 90 hour weeks for busy season deadline weeks. Left shortly after that lol

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I feel the same way!!

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