To think friend is wrong?.....

[TableFlowerss]

So two friends and I met for coffee. Let’s say ‘Anna’ and ‘Debbie’.

Anna proudly told us that her son has secured a job as a trainer chartered accountant. He’s a graduate with a degree in something unrelated.

Debbie asks Anna if she’s disappointed?! and said ‘well I suppose it’s better than some jobs, but I thought he would have done something different to be honest’

Cue me fumbling around and trying to swiftly change subject.

Now knowing Debbie, I think she was having a bit of a dig and trying to put Anna down a peg or 2. She’s done similar in past eg another friend bought a brand new gorgeous house. It was stunning. Debbie piped up and said ‘has it only got 3 bedrooms. The master suite is quite small eh?’ that kind of thing.

If my DC got a job as a trainee chartered account, I’d be over the moon. I would be very proud indeed! In fact I would actively encourage it.

I think it’s a career be proud of and that Debbie is wrong. It’s not something everyone can do and takes a lot of hard work and dedication!

I have a similar friend and say in a joking way ‘ you are just jealous’ and beef up how good other friends news is ... !!

Debbie Downer. She's jealous.

I’m a chartered accountant and make a damn site more than a car sales person! It’s a great job - more top Execs hold ACA qualifications than any other profession.

She’s a dick, why be friends with someone toxic who pisses on other people’s happiness?

She’s definitely jealous and to be honest I feel a bit sorry for her because happy people don’t try and put others down to make themselves feel better. It might be worth trying to get to the bottom of it and making her realise that she’s coming across as bitter and jealous rather than just ending the friendship and pushing her further into a bad place.

In situations where she says something like this just smile and say ‘why would she be disappointed?’ and watch her squirm a bit.

Wow, she sounds like a treat! An exboyfriend of mine was a chartered accountant, he's now a multimillionaire weeps

One of my best friends is a chartered accountant and is currently planning to retire at 50. She's 45 now. I am a bit jealous that I didn't have the same foresight when I was younger, tbh.
Debbie is a bitch and a bit dim. You and Anna should both ditch her.

Anna and I laughed about it later. I think we will be going for fewer coffees together the three of us. It was actually Anna that introduced her to the group

We were laughing saying it would be like saying to a doctor, ‘well you didn’t do great at school did you?’ As if....

🤯🤯

Yeah, Debbie's horrid and Anna's nice. I had a friend whose son wanted to be a writer - my friend had wanted to be a writer too, but had a family instead. When I said hooray for her son what a lovely ambition she told me she'd much rather he became an accountant!

She sounds jealous- has she got something going on in her life that she's worried about it upset about? She might need a friend rather than isolating as some pp suggest?

Debbies a class A jealous bitch!

Tell her to wind her neck in or cut her out!

Chartered accountancy is an excellent career choice that can lead to very interesting roles. My aunt started off that way and is now a forensic accountant and works on cases from minor tax fraud to organised crime related cases! She loves it!

She makes a good living at it but mainly she loves that it's interesting work.

"Debbie actually works at a local luxury car dealership as a salesperson. She probably offends more people than she secured sales in"

Also means she likes works on a commission basis - I'd be tempted to have Anna in a few months drop into conversation said son is looking for a Ferrari or whatever...but won't be giving Debbie his custom because of what she said!!

But yes honestly ditch the bitch!

Debbie sounds like an absolute horror.
One of my friends bought her second house recently. We were just about to buy before Covid and now we’re not financially able to. It’s double the size of her last house and is absolutely beautiful. When I visited it I told her “Oh it’s stunning! I’m jealous to death but I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more”
And I meant it because she’s my friend.

I have a friend like this, she hasn't always been like it, but after a nasty divorce she changed a bit and makes barbed comments if anything 'impressive' happens in my life.

It's a shame, as she is normally lovely, but I take these comments as a sign that she thinks I have done well but the green eyed monster has its claws in.

The issue is hers.

Debbie's a dick.

Does Debbie understand what a chartered accountant does? more seriously I'd distance myself from her if that's regular behaviour.

I'm struggling to think of what normal jobs there are with better career prospects that Debbie thinks relegates chartered accountants to the bottom of the pile.
There aren't that many of them where the average salary will beat it.

Doctor sure.
Lawyer probably a bit more financially lucrative but that's going to vary greatly depending on your area.
I'd set successful lawyers do better on the whole than successful accountants but the average person in each profession are going to be on a par.

Basically I'm wondering where are the huge number of other options that make a career where he'll most likely be earning somewhere in the 80-100k mark by hi early thirties, and infinitely more if he's in one of the big five with the prospect of making partner, a job to be disappointed with?

Glad you have supported Anna.

Debbie sounds vile. Drop her from your circle of friends !

Ditch Debbie!

Have a word with Debbie on her own. Mention that you've noticed that she always does this - everybody has noticed - and is she jealous? Be reassuring and kind and patient. She may examine her own behaviour and address it and be a nicer person after.