Qualified accountant, well paid and my job is destroying me, pleas help

[Lollysuns]

I can't take it anymore. I want to do something with my life that's meaningful. I'm only qualified in accountancy and have no money to re train.

I can't face more of this. Is there a way out?

[sixteenclumsyandshy]

For me Lolly I tried and considered every sideways step mentioned here, from school bursarship to tutoring to working in industry to any kind of "strategy consultancy". The point was, I did not want to be anywhere near accoutancy. I was to figures what vegans were to the meat industry. I was like a vegan that trained as butcher and people told me to go into meatpacking or chicken sandwich making, but none of them worked for me. I just wanted out. There is a PhD waiting to be written somewhere about the pressure on graduates to "achieve" and "persist" in the kinds of jobs which psychologically kill you. Anyway, Xmas over I am DM able if you want

[Bumbleclat]

Could you become a school bursar?
My DH is trapped in a career that bores him to death and it saddens me to see him using up his life like this- could you make a drastic change and trust that it will all work out?

[Joysmum]

I second the others, think about whether it's your job you are unsatisfied with rather than other aspects of your life.

If it's the job, is it the role or the firm? No matter what your job is, the environment and people is the key to whether it is for you. You may need to just change employer but stay in the same role.

You can look to set up in practice for yourself, speak to your professional body for help on that. You could also look to move to a different specialist aspect of accounting.

I too would recommend voluntary work for charities. You could even shift to the charity sector in employment as this is fulfilling in itself.

[RandomMess]

I never qualified in the end happier pooling along in project support or management accounts. Life is too short to stop in a career that you loathe. All the best in finding "you"

[FantasticFestiveBeasts]

Or even too late , I am watching HP for the 99th time drinking and shopping to get me through it.

[FantasticFestiveBeasts]

Definitely never two late, I had two chartered qualifications (not accountancy) and then did CIPFA, started at 40, then the ICSA Charity Law and Governance Cert. I have a really interesting and varied family friendly and very flexible job that I feel like I could do happily for as long as I have to work.

[SandyY2K]

I don't hate my job, but over the last 3 years or so, I realised I couldn't stay in that line of work for ever and am currently studying towards a new career.

My current role is in HR as it happens and I know a lot about people being unsatisfied in their jobs. I just hate the part where people are made redundant and blame HR.

I still have passion for some areas of work, but I realise it's the areas that are similar to my new career choice.

I'm in my 40s, so it's never too late.

[lizzytee]

Hi OP another accountant here - you don't say what context you're working in but second what others have said about transferable skills. I trained in big 4 audit and totally didn't fancy the career path it offered at the time, so transferred into another specialised area on a friends advice....and it suited me down to the ground. So if you're in practice think not only about changing firm but changing specialism - often you don't have to retrain or if you specialise the firm pays for you.

I'd also recommend volunteering - I've done charity, community and PTA volunteering for the last 9 years and TBH it has kept me going in years when I was working part time and my kids were tiny and the company I was working for was in a bit of a doldrum.

Do consider using your professional organisation - it's part of what they're there for.

Have you thought about doing a part-time diploma in something that inspires you - either in your own time or by reducing your working hours a little? Not easy I know but if you've done professional exams you clearly know how to be disciplined and self starting.

Oh and as for image - screw that. I used to get that, mostly from guys who were a bit threatened by the idea of a woman who could do hard sums and earned as much as they did. Or from people who had literally no idea what many "accountants" do.

Me, I always refer them to Christopher Ecclestone's character in Shallow Grave.

[PuellaEstCornelia]

Have a look on Good Moves.com. it's a recruitment website for third sector/ charitable organisations band they are oft e n looking for financial skills. Maybeusing your skills and qualifications in a different field might help

[FantasticFestiveBeasts]

I second teaching at FE colleges, I did it for two institutes in the past. I really enjoyed it but gave it up after DD was born.

[BananaFrittersForTea]

My husband works for a fair sized regional accountancy firm. They pride themselves in fostering a very different culture from the big 4- more supportive, plenty of opportunity to progress at your own pace that kind of thing.

They have quite a few big 4 refugees at various levels, who usually stay for a long time and make no secret of how they prefer a different culture,

So maybe have a look who your local regional players are, they might offer a better environment.

[SeasideRock]

30 - not 40!! Not quite there yet!

[SomeonesRealName]

Yes or at a further education college - you wouldn't necessarily need any formal teaching qualifications to do it; they would train you. But do think about going in house or something as well - those sort of roles can grow organically into something quite different and if you choose a business that has positive values, you might find the fit is much better.

[LellyMcKelly]

Hi Lolly, there are loads of great ideas here. You could also think about teaching accountancy at a university. At the one where I work, many of the accountancy lecturers have been accountants.

[UnicornPee]

Rather than accountancy itself is it the place you work?
Try moving accountancy firm? Different clients different routine?
Or move into a job associated with accountancy like payroll, financial planning/advice?

[smu06set]

Lolly I could have written exactly your post 2 years ago!! Even the no idea what my dream actually was!! I have actually registered for mumsnet just to reply!
I qualified big 4, couldnt stand the culture of stamping on each other for promotions and working til all hours just to show you could. Long story short I escaped and now work in finance for schools, so much more rewarding. There is light at the end of the tunnel i promise.

[SeasideRock]

Hi Lollysuns. Sorry you are feeling so low - this time of year isn't all it's cracked up to be sometimes...,
I totally concur with loads of the advice offered here. But I thought you might like to hear from the perspective of someone who did change career at 40. I did really corporate stuff on my 20's before retraining as a teacher just after my 30th birthday. Eight years down the road I'm head of a very challenging school and couldn't be happier. My friends and family thought I was mad when I changed direction all those years ago. I was quite generously funded to retrain, and now am pretty comfortable financially. It is possible - promise x

[Lollysuns]

Sixteen, thanks for your post!!! That's exactly how I feel, especially the parts about how my extended family and friends often see my job. You're right the mortgage is now also a factor. I feel a fake. I don't particularly like the people I work with - self serving, competitive in a nasty way and obsessed with status.

I will DM you shortly. Thanks so much. You're right life is too short, it's surprising what the status and so on can make you feel when you want to get out... im embarrassed that I want to, as i don't believe anyone would understand.

[sixteenclumsyandshy]

Lolly apart from being male I could have written all your posts 9 years ago. In a nutshell, here is my advice. In the name of God, get out. Get out. Out. You have but one life and there is no guarantee when it will end even if you are in good health. I went into big 4 audit aged 23 post university when more interesting careers seemed sewn up by rich well connected folk. It almost destroyed me psychologically. The very very very worst thing was the disconnect between extended family and others perceptions of my job (ooh sixteen is off to X country with work must be great) and the utter corrosive, sould-destroying tedium of it. There is something else at play. many accountants have frankly personality disorders and cannot ever ever ever imagine doing anything else. In other words you cannot discuss career changes with colleagues because they make you feel it is impossible. I sank into total depression by my late 20s and I swallowed all the crappy lines
"but it is a good job, will you get another one as well paid"
"it will all be worth it when you make partner(zero chance)/earn 6 figures/have a house/nice car"
and my personal favourite
"how will you be able at your age (a geriatric 29 in my case) to cope with the loss of status(yes I really love being depressed and hating my job)/savings/where will you live/are you sure you will get another job when you retrain/do you know how many people 10 years younger than you there are who are prepared to work for no money at all to get into whatever your latest career change"

At this point if you are still reading, I ask that you take a deep breath and imagine putting all your emotions and frustrations into the next crucial, psychological step. What all of these voices, including those which come from your own head, need to do, is to f**k off to the very farthest corner of the known universe. And believe me, they will. They will.

OK I have gone on. I think I may know exactly what you are going through. The house and presumably rent/mortgage is a crucial part of the jigsaw too. I don't want to take up too much space here, but if you want to know how I got out, DM me and I will reply. Life is not perfect now, but I have got to the same level of income I would have been at and yet am in far far better mental health. I was headed for alcoholism and an early death, probably at my own hands, had I stayed on the path you are now on. Much love and encouragement, sixteen.

[Lollysuns]

I can't believe how kind people have been. Thank you all so much for your support. Sorry I'm not being more responsive. I will come back later and re read. Thank you.

[Chippednailvarnishing]

I left working in private equity for the NHS and it really helped me refocus. But as you have said, this isn't just about the job.

[rollonthesummer]

What do you bring home vs your outgoings? Can you reduce your outgoings?

[georgethecat]

You. Can. Change. X

[peppatax]

Accountancy has lots of transferable skills Lolly, what area do you work in at the moment?

I do agree with PP that this is probably more to do with the break up and maybe not the best time to make a life changing decision.

[DeepAndCrispAndEvenTheWind]

Please take some time off if you can, this is broader than your job. Can you go away with a friend somewhere warm for a few days? Break the cycle?