Career Advice for Non-Trad w/ Master's in Accounting?
I am about to begin my last year of my Master's in Accounting program, and I currently work for a small "part-time CFO" firm, where we do everything accounting/finance related aside from taxes for small to medium sized companies.
I'm a non-traditional student. 28 years old, with a liberal arts background, about to get married--but no kids. I would definitely appreciate work-life balance, but also job stability. Here are my career options, and I need help deciding what to do:
A) Stay with current company. I get paid hourly, but they said they could give me a base salary (to be determined), and essentially let me build my own book of business. I'd be able to leverage their name/network obviously, and commission upside could be really great. Or I could bring home nothing extra. Entrepreneurial risk, but I set my own hours. Another con--nobody on staff has a current CPA license, so I don't know how I'd get my 1 year experience after passing the exams. Oh, and ZERO benefits (insurance, vacation, etc.), although I can now get on my wife's plan at her job.
B) Go through recruitment. One of the partners I work with now is former Big 4, and he recommends the experience (although now he does option A I described above). I'm worried that I will dislike going from what I'm doing now (sometimes controller level work, financial models, even writing business plans) to filling out spreadsheets in a conference room all day while someone 5 years younger than me bosses me around...for 80 hours a week. Pro: Can get my CPA license with 1 year experience. Guaranteed salary & benefits. Con: Work-life balance. Possibly uninteresting grunt work.
C) Industry. Might be a better fit to go right to industry, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to move up without public experience. Possibly better work-life balance? One of the partners I work with now spent 20 years in industry and he told me: "Go Big 4 or a big player in industry to get the best experience right out of school."
D) That same partner also said he could get me a job at a local investment bank, so I could get sponsored for series exams and become a FINRA rep--I'd have to ask about more details on this position, but it sounds intriguing as long as it's not purely commission.
TL,DR: I am in my late 20's, non-trad grad student, about to get married, and I work for a finance firm with interesting work. I'm worried that if I stay it will be too much entrepreneurial risk (find my own clients) to support me and my wife and I'm not sure I can get required CPA experience. I'm worried if I go, I will hate public accounting's long hours and monotony, but maybe appreciate the steady pay/benefits. Advice?
Big 4. Oh, and don't get married.
Too late! (Happening in 3 weeks)
You have 90 days after you put a ring on it to get it annulled. Far from too late.
Haha. Your avatar is very appropriate.
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