Should I switch from tax to audit?
I am only like a month and a half into tax but I am not enjoying it at all. I am on a ton of different teams but never get to connect with the people I work with. I hate sitting at my desk and only having teams meetings where people’s cameras are off. I loved everything about accounting in school, and I especially loved tax law. But given how drained I am from isolation and monotony now I don’t know if tax will work out for me. Any advice would be appreciated!

BROTHER you just got here. Make a group of in-office friends doesn’t matter if they’re on the same engagements. Also, outside of the busy seasons you’ve got plenty of time to do whatever the hell you want

Sorry but you need to complain less and be thankful you have a job. Times are really that hard right now. I could see if you were being mistreated or abused that would be a different story, but give it some time

You started in the middle of tax busy season. Stick it out for a year to see all the different types of things we do before making any decisions to switch

Audit is way more monotony. Tax is fun if you know what you’re doing. I’m hoping you’re no doing individuals because those suck.

Go to law school and become a tax lawyer

i resonate with part of this. i enjoyed learning accounting in college and loved tax law the most and went straight to industry actually working in indirect tax. im okay with the monotony but doing some of these more general accounting tasks of doing reconciliations and tie outs i never thought i’d hate so much. granted im doing monthly reconciliations that are several hundreds of thousands of transactions and if its not all balanced and i have to try and find out why i begin to question everything lol

I moved from Tax to Audit and I like it better. Tax is a lot more isolating and monotonous than Audit, although Audit isn’t necessarily that social either. I think MBA -> consulting is the best route to a more social job.

Which is worse for you? The monotony or the isolation?
Personally, I felt the longer I was in tax, the less monotonous it became as I learned my clients, strategy, planning, etc.
As for the isolation, sounds like maybe just a bad team. I've had some bad trams that I didn't click with, but I've also had amazing teams that I loved! In my opinion, if you think you still like tax, maybe just try a different team. I will say though, since you are new, it's probably worth giving it a bit more time so you can try to settle in and get to know people more. If after sometime it's still not working, first try to adjust/switch teams to see if that helps before going to audit. I always tell college students at recruiting events that all the firms do basically the same work, so what you really need to know is what the people are like. The people you work with are a bigger deciding factor as to your success and happiness than the actual firm you are with.

Switch to audit. Both suck, but tax has worse hours and audit has better exit opportunities.

Make the switch, get a couple years of audit experience, then switch to consulting at a top 10 firm outside the big 4.

Ask people to turn their cameras on and go into the office to see people in person. Tax is better if your want to stay in public accounting, despite your current teams. Audit is better if you want to leave.

I've done tax and audit and prefer audit. Try and be well rounded if possible, it helps if you want to be a partner in a small or medium sized firm. Totally disagree with audit being boring and monotonous. I get to be onsite for my audits and learn what my clients do so I understand their business. There are so many different types of sectors to specialize in, such as MD&L, non-profit, government, healthcare, real estate, construction, cannabis, etc. Having the tax background gives my audit clients an extra edge, especially when my firm is also preparing the returns. You can also do reviews, compilations, and AUPs.

Audit has all the baddies

I would give it more time. Solve your isolation. Do you go into the office on regular days as your teams or peers or other professionals?

I absolutely think you should switch if this is what you want to do. If you really dislike tax, it's a better situation for everyone to switch to audit and worth the effort of doing it.

You chose the wrong career for you. If you hate monotony and repetitious work activities, you shouldn’t be an accountant. Well, I am saying this because I have almost the same issues. The only difference is I do enjoy accounting although it’s monotonous. My personality is combined: I am both melancholic and sanguine, two personalities opposite to each other. I love accounting and solving problems but I don’t like the repetitious and mandate everyday work. I am a Sanguine 50% and 50% Melancholic. However, I learned to enjoy monotony and challengers solving difficult situations and issues arising from business decisions.

Definitely stick with tax for awhile. Do all types of returns 990s 1040s 1120s 5500s. Etc.and learn ALL OF THE FORMS and Schedules. It will be a helpful base of knowledge if you switch later. But try to get through the busy season so you have the experience. Look at how the FS flow to the Tax returns. Figure out how you map it through. Ask lots of questions... ask why they do this or that...research the IRC. Why is that an exception? Is there a case that was won/loss due to this exception? When I was an IRS agent it was very helpful when the CPA/Lawyer knew wtf he was talking about and could show me the IRC he pulled from. The lawyer I was working with won a "No change return accepted" digging deep into the code. I was like I knew there was an acception to royalties. Anyway, happy hunting.