The moment you realize you are not as smart as you thought.

Hello everyone,

I am new here, just thought I would say hi.

I am an auditor by profession and am pursuing a masters in taxation (to get my CPA license). I went that route because it was just how things worked out for me after college (BS in accounting). I never completed a single year in high school due to moving from country to country and ended up getting a GED to go to shitty college. I was almost forced to pursue a safe option by my parents in college because job safety was seen almost as a luxury by them.

My interest has always been in research (of all kind, which is why I pursued taxation for my masters) and you an say I am a jack of many trades and unfortunately a master of none. After a year and half in audit, I am finding myself with the pay and more importantly the challenge the work provides ( I can't see myself making a career out of this). I would like to pursue a career in finance, because the only thing I constantly keep coming back to is my interest in the markets and investment vehicles. However, I am lost as to the various jobs that one can find themselves in with such a passion, and I plan to further my knowledge. However, I would love your help with any suggestions, warnings, & anecdotes.

I am not the average auditor / accountant who is clueless about finance and the markets, however I am a very quick learner and had circumstances been different in my youth, I may just have been as smart I sometimes think I am.

 
Best Response

Welcome. There is a ton of information around about different careers (go up to forums section click on something that looks interesting). The first post in each section generally has links to top rated content in those areas. Read some war stories from people, get a feel what you are interested in, then find one of the million threads about breaking into 'finance' with a CPA, from a non-target, etc...

Good luck

 
bank-on-this:

Welcome. There is a ton of information around about different careers (go up to forums section click on something that looks interesting). The first post in each section generally has links to top rated content in those areas. Read some war stories from people, get a feel what you are interested in, then find one of the million threads about breaking into 'finance' with a CPA, from a non-target, etc...

Good luck

Thanks, your comment is simple yet very helpful.

 

Misleading title.

I'll tell my story anyway based on what I thought the title was going to lead to.

Usually, very early in your career, someone blows you to pieces with their vastly superior knowledge. That is the point when you realize you are not a special snowflake.

The transcendent part of your career is when you know enough to realize the pundits can't predict the future better than you or anyone else and you realize that nobody else is a special snowflake either. That is your career defining moment. When you realize that determination, will, and the desire for power are what will propel you higher than your peers is when you have started down the path to success. Or, you accept that no one is a special snowflake and accept your position in the faceless crowd. Either way, you define your career from that point on.

 
DickFuld:

Misleading title.

The transcendent part of your career is when you know enough to realize the pundits can't predict the future better than you or anyone else and you realize that nobody else is a special snowflake either. That is your career defining moment. When you realize that determination, will, and the desire for power are what will propel you higher than your peers is when you have started down the path to success. Or, you accept that no one is a special snowflake and accept your position in the faceless crowd. Either way, you define your career from that point on.

well said
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