OT: Any ED's Accountants or MS Finance?

[Ralph]

I'm considering a career change (mixed b2b sales and physical commodity trading experience) which for me meant 200+ nights/yr in hotels and the airports etc isn't as "fun" as it was in my twenties and early thirties. I'm seeking almost no travel and less social and entertainment requirements. I've had a small biz and did accounting and have lot of practical finance experience with big companies ($11b+) as a commodity trader.

Have a marketing degree but strongly considering accounting undergrad plus a MS in finance. Anybody with either or both of these have any insight of what day-to-day work is like, and potential industries to potentially specialize in for these degrees? Thanks.

[Martianlander]

My degree from State is in General Business with an emphasis on accounting, finance and statistics. I have worked for larger companies but have always taken jobs so travel would be limited. I could have probably made more with a 200+ nights per year travel job, but I wanted to be home to watch my kids grow up. It's a trade off.
With the larger companies, after I worked my way up, my main job was supervising and supporting the supervisors who reported to me. You'll have to have knowledge of what they do, but it boils down to management, which comes from experience and is hard to put a tag on.
I work for a smaller company now and do more nuts and bolts but the management is still important.
I don't know if this helps but if you've got some specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

[Ralph]

What's considered nuts & bolts? Preparing p&l's and taxes and month end reporting? I'm not expecting to make what I did when I traveled and starting a family soon so sort of same boat. Smaller companies is what I'm seeking. Any specific industry or particular position, # of employees for a smaller company etc. Would you consider your job high stress? Looking for less stress so don't want to commit to a career that's going to burn me out

[Martianlander]

What's considered nuts & bolts? Preparing p&l's and taxes and month end reporting? I'm not expecting to make what I did when I traveled and starting a family soon so sort of same boat. Smaller companies is what I'm seeking. Any specific industry or particular position, # of employees for a smaller company etc. Would you consider your job high stress? Looking for less stress so don't want to commit to a career that's going to burn me out

Yes, I do a lot of the reports myself, such as costing and profitability. I function as the Manager of a small manufacturing company with 18 employees, not counting salesmen which are 1099 employees, that supplies the furniture industry in Northeast Mississippi. I don't consider it high stress at all. I've never been one to bring a lot of work or worry home with me, but the politics of a smaller company is a lot better than with a big company, so at this point in my life I'm very satisfied and very happy where I am.
Don't know what area of the state or region you are looking at, but if you can find a company that has found a small niche and is consistently showing a profit I think you would be happy. The one thing I would caution you on is to set up your own retirement fund, such as an IRA, if they do not have a 401K.
The more different things you can do, such as purchasing, accounting, HR, etc., the more valuable you will be especially to a small company.

[Ralph]

That's exactly what I'm looking for and sounds ideal. Did you have to get any of the certifications? Cpa or cma?

[Martianlander]

No-I didn't get any certifications, although some big companies may prefer them. Just a lot of years of experience.

[Oxdawg]

I'm considering a career change (mixed b2b sales and physical commodity trading experience) which for me meant 200+ nights/yr in hotels and the airports etc isn't as "fun" as it was in my twenties and early thirties. I'm seeking almost no travel and less social and entertainment requirements. I've had a small biz and did accounting and have lot of practical finance experience with big companies ($11b+) as a commodity trader.

Have a marketing degree but strongly considering accounting undergrad plus a MS in finance. Anybody with either or both of these have any insight of what day-to-day work is like, and potential industries to potentially specialize in for these degrees? Thanks.

I have an accounting degree from MSU as well and worked in public accounting as well as very large companies. With a degree and CPA you will be able to get a job anywhere. Most accountants don't travel a lot unless you are in public accounting.

[Maroonthirteen]

My 2 cents, accounting work is boring as......its like doing homework everyday. At least it was for me. I worked at a small company as a gl account and as supervisor over a small acct. dept for the last year. I was bored. So I got into a different field.

But you may enjoy it. Because, if you want to sit at a desk everyday, 8-5, accounting is it. You will read every thread on here everyday.

[Ralph]

Deleted

[Ralph]

This is my main concern. While traveling got very old it was rarely boring. What field did you get into out of curiosity?

[Dawgface]

My 2 cents, accounting work is boring as......its like doing homework everyday. At least it was for me. I worked at a small company as a gl account and as supervisor over a small acct. dept for the last year. I was bored. So I got into a different field.

But you may enjoy it. Because, if you want to sit at a desk everyday, 8-5, accounting is it. You will read every thread on here everyday.

Ditto. I graduated with an accounting degree in the mid 70's and worked for a large corporation(25k employees) my first 2 years. Then took a job with a 200 emp company. Stuck with it my entire career, but the accounting work became boring. Having to deal with auditors at year end was a PITA. BUT, working for a small company enabled me to eventually become one of the owners and I made some life long friends there. So that balanced out the boring detail work. I was also able to retire in my early 50's so I can't complain with my choices. FWIW, I never pursued any certifications but a CPA shingle would certainly open some doors for you.

[Johnson85]

I'm considering a career change (mixed b2b sales and physical commodity trading experience) which for me meant 200+ nights/yr in hotels and the airports etc isn't as "fun" as it was in my twenties and early thirties. I'm seeking almost no travel and less social and entertainment requirements. I've had a small biz and did accounting and have lot of practical finance experience with big companies ($11b+) as a commodity trader.

Have a marketing degree but strongly considering accounting undergrad plus a MS in finance. Anybody with either or both of these have any insight of what day-to-day work is like, and potential industries to potentially specialize in for these degrees? Thanks.

I don't have any specific advice, but I would be surprised if getting an undergrad in accounting was helpful. Sounds like you've got too much experience for another undergrad degree to help you, and it's not like you're looking to go into something completely different. Take it with a shaker of salt since I'm not hiring for accounting positions, but I would think taking just enough courses to sit for the CPA and then passing the CPA would give you basically as many options as an undergrad accounting and CPA would.

[Tbonewannabe]

You have to have certain classes to sit for the CPA but it only requires you to have a total of 150 hours. I have to take it but I went back and got a MBA in Accounting after I got my Business Administration degree in Management and Finance.

Getting a MBA is probably the best choice to get the hours but you would still need the specific classes to be able to sit for the CPA.