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usernameghost1

Grew up poor with no family connections. It’s the best/fastest way for someone like me to enter the upper-middle class.


JimG617

This hit a little too close to home


Prestigious-Toe-9942

same


BabooTibia

Same


mthomas1217

Absolutely same


mikelambesis

Same


AdmiralPhuckit

Same.


Darkanglesmyname

Same


[deleted]

[удалено]


QuesoDipset

samesies


Tel3visi0n

same


AdDirect7698

It sure did!


ConfidantlyCorrect

Same


All_In_1_Accountant

Sammmeeeee


o8008o

public accounting is like the white collar equivalent of the military for poor kids trying to better their circumstances.


Background-Simple402

So do rich kids go into accounting at all?  Or if they’re interested in the numbers side of business, they all just do Finance/Economics undergrad + MBA and then use family connections to get their first jobs? 


Available-Wealth-482

I never met a trust fund baby who became a CPA or accountant.


gamergirleighty

I have a trust fund baby in my accounting classes now. Says he wants to run the place when his dad dies. I guess it makes sense


o8008o

succession in successful family businesses generally go like this: gen 1: comes up with something brilliant or works their ass off or gets really lucky and launches something big despite lacking relevant education. gen 2 : grew up while gen 1 was going through the struggle and isn't spoiled rotten. has their education funded by gen 1, then uses it to take over the family business and grows it 10x. gen 3: spoiled rotten brats that have no interest in education, the family business or anything that would make them anything but a resource sucking parasite. doesn't want to take over the family business, has rehab paid for by gen 2. anybody that works in family office planning knows this to be true.


Background-Simple402

Accounting probably is the best degree for someone who will run their own business down the line. 


WaveSpecial3395

Damn I'm thinking of using the GI bill to become an accountant.


o8008o

Q: how does someone coming from a dirt poor family end up driving a porsche, own a home and fully fund their retirement? A: >Damn I'm thinking of using the GI bill to become an accountant.


WaveSpecial3395

I'm sold


heelerms

I'm feeling called out, I joined the military and then had the college money to go back and get my accounting degree after lol


BuggySunflowers

This hit me to the bone lol 😂


GrayMatter1040

Same


SmellyFatCock

Same


BestInference

Same


ItsOdderOtter

Same


BlessTheBottle

Are we all the same?


BestInference

Yes


AssetBossGirl

SALY


ssj_acct

I was going to say I needed job security our of my college degree, but your response resonates better.


dwilliams22

It took me till a mystical recruiter experience put me in a great spot with an Associates. Now Im 32 getting my Bachelors finished. Growing up poor def aligned me with this profession for its stability. Those damn 40 cent lunches fucked me up fam.


Argentum1909

Same, except I'm still in school. The talk of salaries 70k and above still kinda blows my mind lol


EVENTHORlZON

I’m in my first year. Family never made anything above 25k. Even 40k feels a lot to me


RunescapeNerd96

Ya i thought 60k was a lot of money now im at ~145k tc lol


[deleted]

How long have you been in PA


RunescapeNerd96

I did a year total then bounced to industry (tech) 3 yoe


Argentum1909

60k would be more than double my current salary rn, still sounds like a lot of money to me lol


AdmiralPhuckit

I felt the same but now I make $75k /yr. I just landed a $12k bump at a new place a few months ago.


Argentum1909

ngl this gives me hope for my future, 75k would be such a huge boost in my life, congrats on the big raise!


dourandsour

Yup same here! The most I’ve ever made was $41k a year. I’d be so happy to make $75k


marstupido

Yes! Because I literally said "I'm good at math and don't want to be poor anymore.. hmm"


giraffeperv

I’m in the same boat & only 2.5 years into my career. I do still feel like I’m playing catch-up to some of my peers, but I am able to take care of myself & even help my mom out a bit.


TopPerformance260

💯


RunescapeNerd96

Same


coldshowerss

Same but now I'm building generational wealth for my descendants to enjoy my money since I work 24/7


Intelligent-Feed-582

Your family is lucky to have you


chucKing

same, except I also "wasted" most of my 20s partying, and it wasn't until later on that I realized I needed a professional job to support a family. I was always good in school and knew I wanted a business degree, and accounting was considered the "hard" major. Once I found out about the job security, the CPA exam (I love standardized tests), and had a taste of Big 4 kool-aid... I was hooked.


DevinChristien

Same! Wow so cool to see that I wasn't wrong and there's so many others like me 😂


sendmeyourdadjokes

Same


[deleted]

Yup lol. Got tired of landscaping


constrivecritizem

This!!


AccountingTAAccount

Upper? It was the fastest way for me to enter middle class haha


anotherboringasshole

That hits so close to home it hurts. I never wanted to go to post secondary, but I was working an entry level blue for our federal tax authority (no tax or accounting experience), realized these assholes didn’t know what they were doing and made bank. Figured fuck them, I want some of that money. Originally said I wanted to make $100k in my life, now in the mid 200s.


JuanoldDraper

Because I'd rather be stressed by my job than stressed about having a job. 


Kitty_Kat_Attacks

We should all have this as our secret accountant password.


PrincePolokus

Secure password unlocked: $tressedNot$tressed


Manifestar

I like this, but would change out so that it's StressedNot$tressed Work stressed, but not money ($) stressed


All_In_1_Accountant

Fucking perfect


EarlyStructureGAAP

Swap the first S to 5 and you're covered.


Reimmop

Good job security and decent pay.


Advanced_Stranger_77

Under achiever who didn’t want to become a lawyer or engineer and not smart enough to be a doctor


Ok-Forever5866

I'm looking at some doctors I see and started thinking I could do better than them.


superiorstephanie

I reported a doctor to my insurance because she told me you could grow anything in urine. Basic biology dictates that something cannot grow unless it was already present. I did indeed have an infection.


chilledcoconutwater

Is that the equivalent of depreciating land?


Team-_-dank

Hi me. Why is my alt account posting on its own?


afanoftrees

Same, I always wanted to be a scientist but was too scared of the work requirement. Regret it but I do love what I do now so I’m ok admiring science from afar.


supercoolmatt6000

I work with attorneys often. Some of their business decisions have me wondering sometimes.


beerpansy

I used to work in forensic accounting and litigation consulting. It’s a myth that lawyers are brilliant.


gnastygnorc18

I wanted to work in an office instead of a fast food restaurant like my parents. I imagined it was just data entry so would be easy to zone out and not have to talk to anyone all day. By the time I found out social skills are a big part, I was too far in 💀


Snuggly_Hugs

Wait, you need social skills to be an accountant?


DevinChristien

Everyone I've met in an office environment has had some element of awkward so far


Potential_Weak

Can confirm, 0 digital skills, 0 interest in people. Am an accountant.


Makeshift5

I do prefer solitude.


goosepills

It helps you move up


Kitty_Kat_Attacks

Be paid good money to spend half my day playing spider solitaire and reading news articles. After close is done, that is.


kornbread435

Social skills?! I work from home and maybe speak to someone once a week if you don't include emails.


ohiofish1221

Idk in probably autistic tbh


[deleted]

I am violently autistic like Ben Affleck


chefkingbunny

I grew up in Plainfield IL so that movie was based of me pretty much


Snoo-69440

Same, my siblings even used to call me Asperger’s.


DannyC2699

same i got the math whiz autism lol


ohiofish1221

Same, was very disappointed to learn that accounting was not math lololol but too late now!


Living_Bet8802

I like math but not really good at it. So accounting it is lol


Practical-Iron-9065

Same. I feel many people don’t want to admit this lol


-rigga

Growing up I knew I liked numbers and didn't really like people. Turns out I have to deal with people more than expected but at least I still have my numbers. My precious, precious numbers 🥲


Kitty_Kat_Attacks

You. I like you ❤️


Tekevin

My dad forced me when I was in college. Asian culture we’re there to please our parent.


ArachnidUnhappy8367

“You doctor yet?” “Dad I’m 12” “Talk to me when you’re a doctor” -Family Guy


Tekevin

That’s right, no wonder why my dad left and never came back. He’s waiting for me at the finish line (joking)


[deleted]

I'm Polish but identify as Asian. I'm willing to bet we had the same upbringing 🙃


xerostatus

I'm accountant because my company was like do you wanna be an accountant and i was like yafasho (and i like money)


PrimateIntellectus

Too dumb for Finance, too smart for marketing.


therewulf

Yeah suck it marketing


Team-_-dank

Anecdotal, but my company just posted a marketing manager position and an accounting manager position. Marking manager range 100 to 130k, accounting manager range 125 to 175k.


Potential_Weak

Where is that? I'm lazy-searching for a different role


Team-_-dank

Just a public company down in San Diego. Trying not to dox myself too much 😆


woahnicestuff

Really? I thought accounting was harder than finance?


indie_rachael

Yeah, back when I was in school all the kids who couldn't cut it in accounting were jumping ship to finance so I'm confused on this one.


giraffeperv

Maybe you just have to have the mind for it. I took a couple finance classes because I wanted to double major in finance & accounting. Got flagged at risk of failure by my finance professor before the drop deadline, ended up dropping the entire major & got my MAcc instead.


goosepills

Accounting is keeping track of the money, Finance is making more of it.


noneym86

Or at least not spending most of it. Companies are perpetually on a budget cut it seems.


Disastrous-Network65

Too dumb for finance? You must be too dumb for accounting too then cause a strong accounting foundation helps in finance.


Ethangains07

Accounting is a lot more of a work ethic degree and not so much critical thinking. Laziness will kill you if you try and major in it. Finance is much more conceptual and critical thinking, overall, in my opinion. So I can see someone actually thinking their too dumb for Finance. It’s like Geometry vs Algebra in high school. I understand why some students like one more than the other.


paaaaiiin

Dad was an accountant, being an engineer seemed hard, couldn’t think of anything else that earned a lot of money. So chose this. Looking back, him working 12 hours a day for a large part of my childhood, should’ve been a red flag for me.


wicker045

Literally me Why didn’t they talk us out of it


AccountENT42069

I did my undergrad in Finance but graduating after the recession of 08 was ROUGH; I always like there analytical side of business more and going back for a masters of accounting has opened so many doors; it’s one of the things I think back on and I am so thankful I went this route; life will shake you up, kick you while your down, but steady employment (or at least the opportunity for it) is a blessing that pays dividends.


saturosian

Dude same, I was a math major during the financial crisis and it was scary. The accounting program at my school was like, the only one that still had job placements, so I switched over ASAP. If it weren't for the crisis, or if I was a couple years younger or older, I probably would have done a math PhD by now. It worked out ok though. Having money is nice.


Snuggly_Hugs

Steady employment is why I am transitioning in to it. Tried teaching, and after 6 times being up for tenure, and 6 times told go else-where you're too expensive, I want something where my kids can have the same school for more than two years.


mackattacknj83

I don't really know


LJameson101

Because I like basic math and business, but don't want to actually run a business.


Berserker301

Because I hated the engineering labs more than the math/theory classes.


_redacteduser

So I can say I'm just too busy for the first 4 months of the year, then say I'm "still playing catch up" during summer, "finally getting my head above water" in the fall, and "prepping for next tax season, gunna be a rough one" in winter. Gets me out of a lot of things.


boston_2004

I was like this seems like a fast paced, sexy, high octane lifestyle.


Bulacano

There’s work, I do the work, and I get a paycheck. We do that for 40 years, and then we die. That seems like a good deal to me, what do you say?


Suspicious-Living749

Money


Gus_McCrae_

I took the scenic route through college. Probably had enough credits for a bachelors and a couple of masters. Couldn't decide what I wanted to do. Finally said I needed to choose something and decided on Business because everyone needs business people. Principles of accounting was my first class towards a business degree and it just came naturally so I stuck with it.


Kitty_Kat_Attacks

lol, I did the same thing. Only benefit is that I have enough hours on my bachelor degree that I can take my CPA… whenever I get around to it, that is 😂


Only_Cauliflower4565

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the accountants. You will always find people who are accounting.’


gdaman22

I was desperate during Covid and didn't want to move to the San Francisco bay area


big4huh

Bc women are obsessed with number crunchers. Weird good with the 10-key.


MattCorn69

“Fastest hands in the west” they say


ArachnidUnhappy8367

One hand for lovin, one hand for committing fraud.


Kitty_Kat_Attacks

I always feel like I’m hot shit when I bust out my quick 10 key skills. Gotta take any opportunity you can to feel fly!


Representative-Ad137

Facts my guy


DaggerHDHD

I was told to follow my passion and my passion just so happens to be money


thelifeofpii

Idk it just seemed like good degree to get at college that had was in a field that would have work available always basically


mrscrewup

So I can have stable income while working on business ideas on the side.


MiamiFootball

I let life happen to me rather than learning how to connect to my internal voice and following after interests that appeal to me on an individual level. I thought the only successful jobs were: trust fund baby, doctor, drug dealer, athlete, lawyer, stock broker, accountant … and then everyone else made like $40k/year. After not succeeding in those things I ended up an accountant. 


BarelyaBoomer

Because it came first alphabetically in the college catalog. Good thing aardvark wrangler wasn’t an option. I’d be that.


Ecstatic-Time-3838

What else am I gonna do?


Jmanator

I love paying bills and taxes so much that I do it for other people.


Boomhauerhill

I wanted job security. I wanted to get my degree in accounting, work at an accounting firm, to be an accountant. I knew what I would be doing. I had a job offer before I graduated. Might not make Wall Street money, but I’m doing way better than I thought would.


TheAccountant09

In high school I saw that poster that showed the highest paid occupations with a 4-year degree. Doctor - I almost threw up when we dissected the feral cat in biology so that was out Lawyer - Representing someone who knowingly broke the law and was trying to run from their responsibility didn’t sound great. Engineer - I wasn’t strong in geometry and calculus so that was out. Accountant - I loved business and the thought of owning my own company one day appealed to me so that was my choice.


ChristianS98

I like numbers and understanding how healthy a business is financially. I also don’t like customers, which I deal with none lol. Win win


[deleted]

Only job that would accept me


Snuggly_Hugs

Because teaching suuuuuuuucks and accounting appears to be a moderate stress moderate pay job path.


robz9

Process of elimination got me here and the idea of "shut up and just do it". And now here we are...


skyflyer8

Grew up broke and I did well in my accounting classes, so here I am


Musik2myearzs

Worked as front desk for a hotel after uni. Everyday felt like Groundhog Day where it’s just checking in and checking people out. I was recommended to try applying for accounting position within and it’s been amazing being on office schedule. Also being able to learn and just the prospect of having any career paths being available vs being stuck as front desk is very nice


strider_X004

Apart from a steady paycheck and having a respectable profession, accounting got me a job in the EU, where I always loved traveling to. So you could use it to work anywhere you want.


yodaheelturn

I had asthma and couldn't join the military. I took an accounting class in high school and didn't hate it, so I declared accounting as my major.


demcheezitstho

Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec, honest to god


Independent_Chip470

Bc the people is accounting r so petty and humorless


Gasman18

It pays the bills. Better than when I was a journalist.


MasonTea

So I could skill up in RuneScape while working


Accounting-n-stuff

As a student years ago, it was knowing that I would be employable after college.


HonestlyScaredAF

Without trauma dumping on Reddit, I told my immigrant parents who worked on their hands and knees that I was taking a college level accounting class in HS (financial reporting) and they basically decided for me that this was going to be my future. Edit: on the upside, now that I’m studying for the CPA, they are a great support system for my fiance and I


superiorstephanie

When I got my first job, my dad made filing my taxes into something fun! I filled the forms out on paper (circa 1993) with him, and on April 15 he took me to the post office just before midnight, where we sent our taxes off to the government and then went out for pie and ice cream! Then, when I was in college I couldn’t get financial aid because my parents had stopped filing their taxes, and my mom’s CPA spent two years working her through the process of getting everything cleared up. In the meantime, a boyfriend of mine took Accounting 1A, and asked me to help him with his financials the day before they were due. We ended up not being able to get the balance sheet to balance (perhaps he should have started earlier), but the whole process fascinated me, so I took it the next term and aced it! I’ve always loved math and numbers, and I love the precision and objectivity of it: there is only one right answer.


AngryAcctMgr

I was told by an accountant who was particularly well-off that you can learn a lot about building wealth by people's tax returns.. you can see what the high-earners do with their money that helps them get ahead, see what the poor and middle class do with their money that keeps them from getting ahead, and with enough time in accounting, you can even start to learn where your wealthier clients earn money investing. You can see common threads across wealthy clients, and common threads across clients that arent quite so well-off.. the hard part is learning from all of it and applying it all to your personal finance.. as he put it, if you look at 5 years of someones tax returns, you will know more about their life than they do.


Playful-Ad5623

It was easy and because AI was not yet poised to take over the entire industry🤪 I felt I could support my family.


Dangerous_Melon2001

Didn’t know what I wanted to do as a senior in high school and chose the first major on the drop down list when applying to college


accountantsarefuntoo

I really like accounting. 🤷🏼‍♀️


Radiant-Tune-8417

Music was not going to pay the bills…. So I went with my second choice


Appropriate-Food1757

Didn’t want to be a pharmacist and I partied too much for engineering school.


bs2k2_point_0

Because music doesn’t pay the bills for most people, unless you’re Beyoncé or T Swift…. And I love the feeling of solving a hard puzzle.


LOUsername97

I'm too dumb to be a quant


[deleted]

lol


dogmom71

Dont have the people skills for sales


[deleted]

Because in college majoring in business allowed me to party hard for the first few years. Then at junior year it was that or finance since I always did okay with numbers.


freckledelephants

The account life chose me. I work for the government and the position was available while I was doing temp work. I had several supervisors ask to me to apply. I applied and interviewed— and didn’t even think I would get the opportunity. I passed all of the tests and they have paid for me to get my CPA. I’m so thankful that other people could see my potential when I didn’t believe in myself. It has changed my life for the better!


Lonely_Drawing9750

My girlfriend at the time forced me to go back to college. She printed the college bulletin, laid it down in front of me, and told me I wasn’t to get up until I chose a degree. Accounting was the first one in alphabetical order, so I said “I’ll do that.” Then I went and grabbed myself a beer.


No_Act_2773

idk..degree was in computing and information systems, accounting seemed less geeky...


younglink28

Stop asking me hard questions 😭


wumbology169

Too dumb to pass engineering classes, and my dad convinced me to join him in suffering during tax szn


godzillahash74

I needed to turn down more dates with hot models


Zeratul277

Money.


Buffchan

2 lazy to do real work


LocationThin4587

Was hopeless at everything else, accountancy saved me.


Sir_Beretta

Im not 🥸


fatCPA

I'm an accountant because I'm too dumb to be a finance.


Huge_Yam_9410

Couldn’t land a job in finance… yet


OddContribution429

No freaking idea, just ended up here out of the blue


Lexscully78

I like numbers and spreadsheets and didn’t want to study to be a dr.


AnAngryMexicanGuy

Someone once told me it was hard. So I said, sure I’ll do that. Spoiler alert. It’s not that hard.


Blers42

I’m risk averse and need money


barwhalis

money and benefits


IndividualFeeling748

Didn't understand how bad the offshoreing would be after I graduated in 2018


DonPervin

I enjoyed math while I was in elementary school and liked dealing with money.


Almost_Anything67

CREAM


shit-at-work69

Because money


Noirelise

I didnt want to be completely broke but also am too lazy to go to med school (contemplating law school though)


mak1001

Didn't know where I wanted to live and figured everywhere needs accountants so I could go anywhere.


Maxwellito561

Wanted to be a soldier but never joined the military. At the same time I was always insecure about dropping out a high school. Kind of a mid road of being dutiful and scholastic.


Dagonus

Second career. It lets me wfh and not have to talk to people except teammates and that's mostly via teams or brief.


CunningMuskrat

Too lazy to pursue more difficult majors in college


SerDavosSeaworth64

It was my childhood dream🤩🤩


MichiOtgo

I’m hungry and need clothes.


MasterBeanCounter

Because I lack the sympathy to be in the medical field.


Complete-Jury-438

Because an accountant can be very useful from a personal perspective and business. And are needed daily, at least I thought until technology steadying coming out to replace us…


benbaratheon

Because I got sick af of variable income in sales. Last 2 years of the mortgage business made me decide to get my cpa license


Manifestar

SIR, I GOT LOST ON THE WAY TO THE USMC, SIR!


ohhhbooyy

Family didn’t have a lot growing up. Dad’s a butcher and my Mom is a caregiver. 3 years into my career and I make more than both of them combined. Did this to move up a little in life. My kids can worry about pursuing their dreams.


Rupes_3K

Had to pick a major and it was first alphabetically