Did you have a major career change?

[BAJAvol]

I'm not sure what has come over me the last couple of months, but I think I may take the plunge into going back to school. I graduated college with a bachelor of science in accounting 2 years ago. Since then, I realize I hate this field. I currently work for a financial institution as an analyst and I get no fulfillment out of it whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in a slump? I make decent money at a young age and it's not a "terrible" company to work for. Although I can't stand the thought of getting up every morning, driving 30 minutes only to set in a cube and play with excel all day. The drama in my department has only escalated me into giving this deeper thought. So I've thought about going back to school to pursue my first passion....physical therapy. Pretty drastic change I know. My biggest hurdle is the debt that I would incur. Estimating around 100k because it would take me 3 years. A DPT program is expensive and I wouldn't be able to work much if any. I'm currently debt free other than my house and taking on that much debt turns my stomach. At the same time, I have 40+ years of work left in my lifetime. I want to enjoy what I do. DPT's rarely make 6 figure salaries. At least in the short term. So it's really hard to justify the financial impact. My question to volnation....do you have a similar experience? Am I just young and in a career rut? Should I just seem a new employer in the same field? A quick note as well; I would need to go back and do a year of pre reqs at a community college. Which I could do while employed and pay as I go. The DPT program I'm looking at is 2 years after that.

 

[FLVOL_79]

My advice...do whatever gets you more money. The "enjoying it" mantra is bullsh!t.

However..if you can find something you love..do it.

 

[BAJAvol]

My advice...do whatever gets you more money. The "enjoying it" mantra is bullsh!t.

However..if you can find something you love..do it.

I hear you. Becoming a PT would definitely be a pay bump but also an additional debt to offset for some time. Although I make decent money now, a 4 year degree in accounting is not going to mean much in the long run. Just my opinion. Everyone wants that CPA lable for the big bucks.

 

[Ace]

I changed professions by going back to school in another field. I was single with no debt and saved for school before returning to school. I was 27 and my parents helped by offering to let me move back home. I really did not want to move back but it really accelerated the savings. I worked part time while in school and fortunately I married during second year of three & my wife's income covered all our living expenses. We rented & lived on a barebones budget. It was a tough 6 years of saving and scrimping, but well worth it. I also worked part time for all three years of school and during first year of school I lived as a boarder.

 

[ajvol01]

I hear you. Becoming a PT would definitely be a pay bump but also an additional debt to offset for some time. Although I make decent money now, a 4 year degree in accounting is not going to mean much in the long run. Just my opinion. Everyone wants that CPA lable for the big bucks.

Do you have longer term career goals for using your degree?

Lots of supervisors, management and executives come from a business/accounting background.

You're only "stuck" being an accountant if you decide that is what you're going to do.

What do you think you would want to do with your degree if you ultimately decide not to go back to school?

 

[Ace]

Do not change unless you feel you have a passion for PT. You accounting degree can open doors in other areas of business. A friend of mine uses his account degree to work for a firm during tax season - corporate, then works in farming the rest of the year.

 

[BAJAvol]

Do you have longer term career goals for using your degree?

Lots of supervisors, management and executives come from a business/accounting background.

You're only "stuck" being an accountant if you decide that is what you're going to do.

What do you think you would want to do with your degree if you ultimately decide not to go back to school?

Not really sure. Every VP I work around just seems miserable. I honestly very rarely dip into the accounting side of things currently other than assisting in month end stuff. I may just be in a slump bit even being my boss right now seems soul sucking.

 

[n_huffhines]

Money isn't everything. Data shows happiness is unrelated to money as long as you make something like $60k per year between you and your spouse.

I didn't make a major career change, I just changed my career plan right before I finished college. I had been thinking I'd take my economics degree into the financial sector. Then I had no idea what I was going to do. After graduation, I stumbled onto SEO and I love what I do so much. **** a commute, working 70 hour weeks in a cubicle, and being on the phone. I wouldn't do that for double my salary. I work 40 hours from home and I'm on the phone like 2 hrs total all week.

 

[BAJAvol]

Do not change unless you feel you have a passion for PT. You accounting degree can open doors in other areas of business. A friend of mine uses his account degree to work for a firm during tax season - corporate, then works in farming the rest of the year.

The doors it could possibly open is why I chose accounting. Its done me well so far, I just can't seem to shake the boring aspect of my desk job. I would absolutely love to work from home but no options that I have come upon yet. The medical field seems to be the only thing that truly fascinates me...primarily PT.

 

[BAJAvol]

Money isn't everything. Data shows happiness is unrelated to money as long as you make something like $60k per year between you and your spouse.

I didn't make a major career change, I just changed my career plan right before I finished college. I had been thinking I'd take my economics degree into the financial sector. Then I had no idea what I was going to do. After graduation, I stumbled onto SEO and I love what I do so much. **** a commute, working 70 hour weeks in a cubicle, and being on the phone. I wouldn't do that for double my salary. I work 40 hours from home and I'm on the phone like 2 hrs total all week.

This is interesting. What exactly is SEO? And what you said you didn't want to do is exactly where I'm headed
😧

 

[VolnJC]

I left a Fortune 500 company where I got to travel all over the country.. and had a great salary with 6 vacations a year to teach full time...I make about 30k less now...best decision I ever made!

 

[gcbvol]

My advice...do whatever gets you more money. The "enjoying it" mantra is bullsh!t.

However..if you can find something you love..do it.

I semi-agree. The risk with staying in a job you dislike is burnout. Even folks with strong worth ethics can fall prey eventually. That's the beautiful thing about those lucky folks who love what they do - low risk of burnout/higher chance of excelling.

If you truly hate what you're doing after only two years I don't think it's going to get better. If the office drama is playing a big part you might want to consider a different employer in the same field before a full redirect. If sitting at a desk on a pc all day is going to make you miserable, though, you probably should make a change.

 

[BAJAvol]

I left a Fortune 500 company where I got to travel all over the country.. and had a great salary with 6 vacations a year to teach full time...I make about 30k less now...best decision I ever made!

I hope I can make that statement one day.

 

[1972 Grad]

I'm not sure what has come over me the last couple of months, but I think I may take the plunge into going back to school. I graduated college with a bachelor of science in accounting 2 years ago. Since then, I realize I hate this field. I currently work for a financial institution as an analyst and I get no fulfillment out of it whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in a slump? I make decent money at a young age and it's not a "terrible" company to work for. Although I can't stand the thought of getting up every morning, driving 30 minutes only to set in a cube and play with excel all day. The drama in my department has only escalated me into giving this deeper thought. So I've thought about going back to school to pursue my first passion....physical therapy. Pretty drastic change I know. My biggest hurdle is the debt that I would incur. Estimating around 100k because it would take me 3 years. A DPT program is expensive and I wouldn't be able to work much if any. I'm currently debt free other than my house and taking on that much debt turns my stomach. At the same time, I have 40+ years of work left in my lifetime. I want to enjoy what I do. DPT's rarely make 6 figure salaries. At least in the short term. So it's really hard to justify the financial impact. My question to volnation....do you have a similar experience? Am I just young and in a career rut? Should I just seem a new employer in the same field? A quick note as well; I would need to go back and do a year of pre reqs at a community college. Which I could do while employed and pay as I go. The DPT program I'm looking at is 2 years after that.

Do what you love. It won't seem like work. Screw the money.

 

[n_huffhines]

This is interesting. What exactly is SEO? And what you said you didn't want to do is exactly where I'm headed
😧

Search engine optimization. Essentially what I do is I put the finishing touches on websites so that Google and Bing will show the websites in search results.

 

[BAJAvol]

Search engine optimization. Essentially what I do is I put the finishing touches on websites so that Google and Bing will show the websites in search results.

That sounds pretty cool. Companies don't require an IT degree?

 

[KSPVol36]

A wise man once told me, "Money doesn't make the world go round, but it damn sure greases the wheels." So, I believe you should make a decision that is both financially smart and that will make you happy--with an emphasis on happy. I think you're in a very good place in your life to make such a decision. You have ample earning years left in your life to endure such debt. Be brave and don't settle...

Having said that, I'm in a much different place in life and I'm about change careers for the 3rd time. I started out in the US Army (7 years), got out to seek a degree and then PA School but ended up with a CJUS degree and a 20+ year career in law enforcement. Now, I'm retiring from law enforcement and going to law school. I retire on Aug 1 and Week 1L starts Aug 14.

I say again, be brave and do not settle. Don't ever settle...

 

[n_huffhines]

That sounds pretty cool. Companies don't require an IT degree?

It's not usually that technical and when I was in school they didn't teach much that would translate to SEO. I started at a web services company and learned on the fly. Most clients had smaller websites and thus small problems. After a couple years i took a job in-house with an ecommerce company. Millions of pages on one site and tens of thousands on the other and thus potentially big problems and much more technical.

 

[BAJAvol]

It's not usually that technical and when I was in school they didn't teach much that would translate to SEO. I started at a web services company and learned on the fly. Most clients had smaller websites and thus small problems. After a couple years i took a job in-house with an ecommerce company. Millions of pages on one site and tens of thousands on the other and thus potentially big problems and much more technical.

I appreciate the info! I've considered looking into ecommerce as a side gig. Didn't know it could lead to something cool like that.

 

[BAJAvol]

A wise man once told me, "Money doesn't make the world go round, but it damn sure greases the wheels." So, I believe you should make a decision that is both financially smart and that will make you happy--with an emphasis on happy. I think you're in a very good place in your life to make such a decision. You have ample earning years left in your life to endure such debt. Be brave and don't settle...

Having said that, I'm in a much different place in life and I'm about change careers for the 3rd time. I started out in the US Army (7 years), got out to seek a degree and then PA School but ended up with a CJUS degree and a 20+ year career in law enforcement. Now, I'm retiring from law enforcement and going to law school. I retire on Aug 1 and Week 1L starts Aug 14.

I say again, be brave and do not settle. Don't ever settle...

This is really encouraging! Especially aside from the typical "be thankful you even have a job" folk ive talked to in person. I think I'm going to start writing out my options. Maybe shadow a few people as well before diving in. Good luck with law school!

 

[ptclaus98]

I'm not sure what has come over me the last couple of months, but I think I may take the plunge into going back to school. I graduated college with a bachelor of science in accounting 2 years ago. Since then, I realize I hate this field. I currently work for a financial institution as an analyst and I get no fulfillment out of it whatsoever. Maybe I'm just in a slump? I make decent money at a young age and it's not a "terrible" company to work for. Although I can't stand the thought of getting up every morning, driving 30 minutes only to set in a cube and play with excel all day. The drama in my department has only escalated me into giving this deeper thought. So I've thought about going back to school to pursue my first passion....physical therapy. Pretty drastic change I know. My biggest hurdle is the debt that I would incur. Estimating around 100k because it would take me 3 years. A DPT program is expensive and I wouldn't be able to work much if any. I'm currently debt free other than my house and taking on that much debt turns my stomach. At the same time, I have 40+ years of work left in my lifetime. I want to enjoy what I do. DPT's rarely make 6 figure salaries. At least in the short term. So it's really hard to justify the financial impact. My question to volnation....do you have a similar experience? Am I just young and in a career rut? Should I just seem a new employer in the same field? A quick note as well; I would need to go back and do a year of pre reqs at a community college. Which I could do while employed and pay as I go. The DPT program I'm looking at is 2 years after that.

A 30 minute drive to a 9-5 spent in a cubicle doing Excel sheets for good money is the pinnacle of jobs to me.

 

[KSPVol36]

This is really encouraging! Especially aside from the typical "be thankful you even have a job" folk ive talked to in person. I think I'm going to start writing out my options. Maybe shadow a few people as well before diving in. Good luck with law school!

Thanks!! Best of luck to you on your journey!!

 

[Biopsyman]

Make money so that one day you can say FU and walk away on your terms

 

[salutethehill]

Amway dude. lambourghinis, mansion on the lake...and all that jazz.

 

[kiddiedoc]

Enjoying your job is one of the greatest luxuries in life. Remember that you will spend approximately half of your numbered, waking hours at work.