Help me plan a job change

[Shouldibuythishouse]

I retrained in my late 30’s did an accountancy degree, then did a big 4 grad scheme and am now a chartered accountant, still at a low grade in a big 4 firm.

I got a first in my degree and passed all chartered exams first time, it was hard bloody work, especially with 2 children who were 7 and 9 when I went to uni.

I feel like I made a massive mistake retraining for this career, I absolutely hate a lot of it, feel completely out of my depth and can barely cope with the stress and anxiety I feel on a daily basis.

I left one big 4 firm last year and went to work in industry but didn’t like that either, so left and joined another big 4. Still don’t like the job and now have no plan.

I’m going to be working for another 20 years at least and would really like a job I enjoy and feel good at. I just don’t know what to aim for anymore or how to approach figuring it out.

Any ideas would be welcome.

Bump

Work for a charity?

What do you like and dislike?
Big 4 is ultimately a client driven job.
Many qualified accountants leave Big 4 for industry, an in house accountancy or tax role for example?

Sorry i realised you said you didn't like industry. But there's other things aside from the usual financial controller/reporting type roles.
E.g. equity research, risk, governance, internal audit
And within Big 4 you could move to other lines, e.g. consultancy or technical research

My training route was pretty similar to yours OP and I ended up in a similar position.

Degree alongside early motherhood, training while battling the school run and then questioning my own decisions when I got there. i still remember the day my ‘Letters’ arrived, sitting questioning why I had followed this route.

That was exacerbated through a number of roles, ending up as FD of a FTSE 250. I hated every minute of it.

In the end I sat down and challenged myself as to which elements of Accountancy I did really like (client contact, problem solving, helping businesses in trouble to restore viability, helping individuals to develop early business ideas etc. etc.).

I then set up my own Consultancy and to support myself in the early stages took on a couple of Contractor roles focused on the elements of Accountancy I did like.

It took several years, but over time I developed a good customer base and was able to really pick and choose the roles I would undertake. By the time my DD had left home I was frequently working in Europe / Scandinavia and had the flexibility to take extended breaks to facilitate personal travel.

Over the course of my career I am sure I earned less than I would have done had I taken the Big 4 route, but I am equally sure I had a much better work life balance and more personal satisfaction from the roles I undertook.

Your qualification is of enormous value in terms of the experiences you have had through your training and early roles. Try cherry picking the best bits and make it work for you !!

What about Management accountancy?

Have you heard of this guy?

www.porot.com/about

There are some free self-assessment tools on his website and I think he is amazing at helping people figure out what they really want to do. I've attended a few of his webinars, and he has some really good practical advice. I don't work for him or anything, just think he's got some really smart ideas!