I regret majoring in accounting. I wish I chose a different life path every single day. I tell everyone I meet who is still in college to find a new major and that this career is nothing but long hours, high stress, and not worth the pay. Being salaried makes me feel like a slave. It's an excuse to make you work ungodly hours because you’re getting paid for finishing the client work no matter how long it takes. I truly hate my life. I know others feel like this, but if you don't, why?

I put in 5 years of non stop work in public. Then, was able to switch to a good industry tax job. Because my employer liked me and I could do a lot of work quickly, I was able to go part time and work from home while I had my children. Now I'm full time and making great money, and building wealth for my family. My husband doesn't have a high paying job, so the fact I've made this kind of money from home has been such a blessing. You just need to decide how long is long enough if you want out of public.

Sounds like you’re burnt out on public accounting. Public doesn’t represent all of accounting and the big 4 doesn’t represent every public firm. It seems like you’re painting with broad strokes based on your experience in public at a big 4. If accounting isn’t for you, that’s fine you can do something else. I did 9 years in public before quitting. It’s definitely an industry that needs a change. I know work in an internal role at a smaller firm still in accounting but with different job duties and I enjoy it. I make a good salary and have reasonable hours.

I hate my corporate life but i use it to make $$$ to fund my creative endeavours. If i ever make it ill quit my job.

If you hate it that much, you should def consider leaving. I did it for 4 years. Hated it. Was pretty decent at it but only because I really care about what my name is attached to and worked really hard. I didn’t care about the work itself or enjoy it in the slightest. Had one really amazing manager that prevented me from leaving even earlier cuz he fought for me to be on his teams and actually appreciated the effort and was a great leader but half the year I was constantly forced back to a horrible team (also had some absolutely horrendous managers). But the job and misery was taking wild toll on my personal life / mental health. Coping with the hours and stress in negative ways. And wasn’t making good money either. Friends who didn’t go to college making more $.

I did a total 180 career pivot and couldn’t be happier. It was the best choice I’ve ever made aside from pursuing my wife (who was very supportive of me changing careers).

I recognize the job is great for some, and although I think there are some serious issues with the way the industry operates, ultimately I chose to go into it and was dead wrong. Had a scholarship to college, went into business school, ended up somewhat aimlessly choosing accounting as a major due to the safety and stability and on the advice of a professor who told me it’s the best choice to be able to pivot into other careers. My current career has absolutely nothing to do with accounting whatsoever and is actually construction related. But I’m making way more $ than I would be had I stayed and the only way I’d make more money in accounting would have been to make partner.

Done rambling… but just wanna let ya know it’s possible. I thought I would be throwing my life away to quit PA after getting a degree and putting in 4 years of grueling hours… but as soon as I was gone I didn’t care about the sunk cost

Agreed. It’s a good opportunity for some people but if you’re smart and hardworking there are fields with way more opportunities

Here are some points I can share with you based on my experience:
1. Stay out of Pubic accounting, even small companies will suck the life out of you.
2. Mid-size companies (even small ones) are the best to work for, less hours, less stress and most important, they pay the same or even more than big ones, including the big 4.
3. Don't let bad experiences ruin your career, if you are not happy in your company, just quit, no company or salary or position is worth your peace of mind. The good news, there is a lot of opportunity out there, a lot.

As a former big 4 and large corporations employee, Im so happy I walked away from them, I work now for a Mid-size company, work no more than 35 hrs a week, summer Fridays year round, no stress, and earn more money than I ever earned in any other company I worked for.

Most of the time is just about to find the right company and the right people, start looking and I'm sure you will find it as I did, good luck.

Accounting is a great degree to have in terms
of employment/marketability. It sounds like you’re burnt out of working at a B4 firm in KPMG which is understandable. Maybe think about going into industry

I put in long hours in public accounting but switched to private and work a normal schedule and love it so much more

Move into contract work, it’s higher pay, you work 9-5 and if you go over you can ask for overtime or leave it to the following day. You can choose 3-6 month contracts then take a break. It’s a life changer , life really is too short to be tolerating high stress in a job

Why did you major in accounting? And what do you wish you majored in? I worked in public (big 4 and non-big 4) and industry and enjoy the work. Yes, sometimes I get burned out, but I chose accounting because it is steady, plenty of opportunities to change jobs, and the work itself is not that complicated (hours can be long, but the actual work seems much easier than a lot of doctors or engineers). Big 4 burns people out, so learn as much as you can and leave… you can try smaller companies or industry, or try doing something different from accounting altogether. Just figure out what you want to do and why. Accounting CAN have long hours, but it doesn’t have to. Same as other professions

You know you don’t have to stay forever, right? Seriously. Plenty of people leave to pursue their passions. For example: I live near wine country, and know plenty of people working in tasting rooms that say their life is much more fulfilling now.

Differentiate between accounting work and the conditions under which accounting work is performed. The biggest problem I see in the accounting world today is that most organizations do not see value in accounting. It is mostly viewed as bookkeeping with minimal value added to the real decision-makers. And you know what? For the most part tjhat is accurate.

The problem is that too many organizations do not go through the additional effort to make accounting information into a valued/useful part of the decision process. And now comes the really bad news: I predict that AI will eliminate75% of the easy stuff. Quite frankly, I have been a CPA for about 36 years. With AI taking over, I would not recommend accounting as an occupation to any person with a time horizon of more than ten years.

Some hope: the skills that make a good accountant (analytical, fact-driven, questioning, orderly, puzzle solver) can also be tweaked to create a good analyst, forensic analyst, or detective. And human beings will ensure that there is always a need for detectives and forensic analysts. Maybe specialize in the quant/financial element of crime? If I had more years of work remaining, that would be my choice.

I choose to major in accounting because I was told it had job security…what a complete lie that ended up being… I have friends in transportation planning, entertainment and retail and the passion they have for their job makes me so depressed. I typically dont look back on what I would do differently if I could go back in time because I feel like every mistake or setback is a learning experience but man, if I could, I would have chosen a different major. This was a devastating mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life.

To succeed long term in public accounting you have to sell. And if you can sell, there are other ways to make a living that don’t involve soul sucking accounting

I've worked Big4 for 4 years and industry for almost 6yrs. My industry company was going through some craziness when I joined, so still long hours at first, but over the years I rarely work more than 40 hours and have good pay. Not always exciting work, though my company does like to shake things up often, so it keeps me on my toes.

It's because big4 have spent millions persuading students and new grads, that there is only big four route and that there is nothing better. The truth is, there is a big beautiful world outside big four and outside public in general, you can exit into many many roles . Look and apply, move on from public

I hate it too. I’m a Partner and I am working as hard as I can to make as much $ as I can to go do something fun and follow my passion and dreams. But I often think about “what if I had chosen differently?” I didn’t. So I have to make the best of it.

The work kinda sucks but I’m good at it and it pays the bills and allows for a good life.

Find a way to transition your skills to a consulting industry role, at a smaller niche firm, or look to go private. Completely different.

Most doctors, pharmacists, lawyers etc also hate their jobs. It’s probably not the field of accounting you hate. There are so many different ways you can apply it. You can teach business classes to high school kids, help run a fine arts program, manage a professional athlete - accounting is just information - so what’s your passion? What do you wish you were doing, and how can you leverage what you have done and what you know to get to your passion?