Hedge Fund Accountant with Big 4 Consulting Experience - What are my career options from here?
Hello,
I feel I am in a bit of a bind career-wise and wanted to obtain any information, comments, or suggestions for my situation. My background is in both hedge fund accounting (approx. 6 years) and Big 4 asset <span><a href="/guide/consulting-case-interviews">management consulting</a></span> (approx. 4 years). I started my career off as a hedge fund accountant working for two fund administrators. I then was given the opportunity to get hired by a Big 4 firm to work in their <span><a href="/finance-dictionary/what-is-asset-management-AM">Asset Management</a></span> advisory division performing operational and technology assessments for hedge funds and conducting portfolio accounting system implementations. After almost 4 years there I left because the current project I was on involved 16 hour work days with no end in sight. During my time there I was promoted from Senior Consultant to Manager. I then interviewed and accepted an offer from another hedge fund admin as an Assistant Vice President where I performed duties as a hedge fund accountant and steadily became responsible for overseeing/training several staff members. My ultimate goal was to get hired by a hedge fund as either a Senior Fund Accountant or Assistant Controller with aspirations to be promoted to Controller one day. However because I did not have a <abbr><abbr title="Certified Public Accountant">CPA</abbr></abbr> designation and needed 150 credit hours to take the exam I enrolled in a Masters of Accountancy (MSA) program to meet this requirement. I quit my job at the fund admin because I was working 12 hour days and didn't think I would have the time to pursue the masters while working this much. I am now in grad school and not working.
I know my decisions were a bit impulsive to leave my Big 4 firm after I received an offer at a fund admin (I didn't really apply anywhere else) and to pursue grad school while quitting my full-time job. Assuming I pass my <abbr><abbr title="Certified Public Accountant">CPA</abbr></abbr> soon after graduation (Fall 2018) what are my job prospects looking like? I know I will be questioned about my gap in employment due to grad school. I know I will also be questioned why I left a Big 4 consulting position to return to a fund admin as a hedge fund accountant supervisor. Do I still have a chance to get hired by a hedge fund without Big 4 audit experience? What other career opportunities in financial services would I be eligible for or am I pidgeon-holed at this point?
