Hate working in practice!!!

lucky2b5

I started working as a trainee accoutant in July in a medium firm and absolutely hate it, will be starting cap1 of aca very soon but dont know if I really want to see this through. I previously worked in as a supervisor in a supermarket chain and loved it, enjoyed the interaction with people, teamwork, the dynamics of the job itself, it was very target and team driven an area in which I thrived as I have good leadership and organisational skills.
Since taking this new role I am finding that every day is a struggle, nothing changes its just one set of accounts after another, everyone is working on their own file so there really is no teamwork or common goals, interaction between colleagues is not the best, so I find the job somewhat lonely and isolating as well as monotonous. I dont go home every day feeling that I have made a contribution or gained a sense of achievement.

So the question i am now asking myself is should I go now and return to what I was doing or should I stick at it. My heart is saying GO GO!! but my head is saying STAY!! , I know in the long run having an accounting qualification will open so many doors but jesus if i have to be this unhappy to get there I dont know if its worth it? If I go back to my supermarket role I could end up being there all my life and dont know if i like that fact either since I have a degree and really dont want to waste it. Any advice from anyone who has or hasnt been in the same situation would be very much appreciated.

davty10

My advice is to get out, you obviously arent suited to working in a dry office environment chained to a desk all day, get out now and do what you enjoy as you will progress further doing something you like as opposed to doing something that drains you. I am in a similiar position , instead I work in IT and it kills being staring into a computer screen all day!

Kinetic^

Get out. I hated it from day 1 and lasted 26 months. Just wasn't for me. Don't waste their time and most importantly, your own!

lucky2b5

lucky2b5 wrote: »

I started working as a trainee accoutant in July in a medium firm and absolutely hate it, will be starting cap1 of aca very soon but dont know if I really want to see this through. I previously worked in as a supervisor in a supermarket chain and loved it, enjoyed the interaction with people, teamwork, the dynamics of the job itself, it was very target and team driven an area in which I thrived as I have good leadership and organisational skills.
Since taking this new role I am finding that every day is a struggle, nothing changes its just one set of accounts after another, everyone is working on their own file so there really is no teamwork or common goals, interaction between colleagues is not the best, so I find the job somewhat lonely and isolating as well as monotonous. I dont go home every day feeling that I have made a contribution or gained a sense of achievement.

So the question i am now asking myself is should I go now and return to what I was doing or should I stick at it. My heart is saying GO GO!! but my head is saying STAY!! , I know in the long run having an accounting qualification will open so many doors but jesus if i have to be this unhappy to get there I dont know if its worth it? If I go back to my supermarket role I could end up being there all my life and dont know if i like that fact either since I have a degree and really dont want to waste it. Any advice from anyone who has or hasnt been in the same situation would be very much appreciated.

Just leave and come to the other side: http://boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=106

Life is too short!

lucky2b5

Yes leaving now might be the right thing to do but i feel if i throw the towel in now i will be wasting an opportunity i might never see again, its a very difficult decision especially in the current economic climate , accountancy is probably the safest and most recession proof industry there is. I also feel i will look stupid for failing so soon. As it is i count every minute of every hour when in work, its a drag and i feel i have nothing to look forward to when i get up out of bed in the morning. When i worked in the supermarket i was so snowed under and so busy that before i knew it it was 6 oclock.
Part of me is thinking that if i give myself time i will learn to like it and it will all work out for me. There really is 4 elements to this 1. The nature of the work itself is boring and monotonous 2. The atmosphere - not the most exciting of places to work, quite serious and no fun element 3. Another 3 years of study and weekend lectures having spent 4 years doing my degree and 4. I miss the work i did before.
Does anyone think i should stay and give it a proper chance or am i just in denial ?

mikeruurds

lucky2b5 wrote: »

Does anyone think i should stay and give it a proper chance or am i just in denial ?

I spent four years in practice and hated it. I used it as a stepping stone and have now worked in financial services, FMCG and service industries. If you believe that you can stick it out then I would recommend doing just that. Practice is not for everyone and it wasn't for me, but the exposure that you get to different businesses really sets you up for a future outside of practice.

Just my opinion.

Running Bing

I think it might be worth sticking for a while.

Basically your starting out. The work is going to be dry and monotonous. You main thing now is to pass cap 1 and get to the next level, you will get more responsibility the further you progress and in the grand scale of things lets say you stick it out for a year and still haaaate it and decide its not for you...big deal, one year, then you can go back to the supermarket safe in the knowledge that you tried.

If you do stick it out and get the qualification sure you can go back to the supermarket but now you know you will always have options. You dont have to work in practice once you have the qualification. I definitely think it is worth your while sticking it for a bit longer and not doing anything rash.

hockeygirl

+1 I agree with babybing

Give it a year complete your CAP1 and see how you get on.

I cam from a non accountancy background and Im finding it tough I wont lie. Its slow going for me at the mo but my boss is really supportive and although sometimes I feel like alot is expected of me which can be stressful, Im glad im being given a pile of work then none at all plus I know Im getting loads of experince because im in a practice.

Im determined to stick at it. I left an excellent salary behind. I know Im capable of doing it. It'll just take time to catch up.

I was under no illusion when I started that it would be difficult in fact my boss told me I will be working harder then anyone else starting as Im the only non biz/acc graduate. But he did say it will take ages before i get the hang of anything but then one day it'll just all become clear..... well.. thats what he said... we'll see what happens.

You should ask your manager to send you on the introduction courses run by the ICAI. I went to one there a week ago and Im due to go on another one on mon/tues. The woman doing the course is excellent and it really helped me. The first was bring basic accounts to trial balance and P&L and Balance sheet. the next course (mon/tues) covers the same thing plus depreciation provisions etc.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do. If you stick at it... see ya at the CAP1 exams!

lassykk

Two years ago I had basically the exact same dilemma that you have now

I was just after leaving a supermarket I'd worked in for seven years whilst in school/college and I started in practice. I absolutely hated it when I started. Compared to the shop there was no craic, always busy and very monotonous. I was totally convinced I should quit and go back and try get a managerial role in the supermarket I'd worked in.

I stuck it out though as I knew the accounting qualification would stand to me in the long run and after the first 9 months or so I actually came around to finding it OK. I'm just after finishing my finals now and plan to stick it out at least until the end of the contract and probably longer.

But if you really think its not for you though there's no point wasting your time and being unhappy. I just would give it a proper chance before you give up

lucky2b5

Hey guys, im still very unsure as to what to do ive never had to make such a difficult decision in my life. Basically I dont think im going to grow to like this job, I would have began to like it by now if I was to, I am seriously considering returning to the supermarket where there is management opportunities coming up, but im wondering is this an unsafe bet in this ecomonic climate, my head says be an accoutant my heart says no, in theory this is the best chance I will ever have in my life and im on the verge of throwing it away, getting some very mixed views from OP's as to what to do. Im so afraid of looking stupid if I throw it in now, any other opinions??????

Dan Chipowski

I work in practice, just finished the finals.

You and me are a lot different i suspect with our outlook on life, i despise work of any sort, and i shuddered when i read your opening post about finding work challenging/interesting. Amazing there are people like that. But anyways.......

If you are not suited to it, then 3/4 years is a hell of a long time of misery. If you are absolutely 100% certain giving it more time won't change your outlook on the job then i say leave now. Why give a year to something you dont want? If you do gut it out for the year, get the first set of exams....and still aint enjoying it..it will be a whole lot harder to leave, even if you are still miserable.

Don't worry about what people think either, being comfortable is all that matters. If you can wake up looking forward to your day at work (god i just shuddered again) then fair play to you.

When it boils down to it, you will know in your heart of hearts what you want and what makes you happiest. Try to balance the two and make a reasoned decision.

Good Luck

shewasoctober

The main questions are: What do you want to do as a career? Will the qualification help you acheive your goal career? Can you stick it out for the greater good?

I just started this year. I'm lucky though. I'm in a Big 4 and it's great craic. Even though you may get a little bored from time to time with little responsibility, time usually manages to fly because of the people and the atmosphere.

I know I'm not cut out to stay in practice, even at a Big 4. However, I'm interested in business, financial services (I'm currently in FS Audit), what is takes to make a business successful, and so on. My plan is to take advantage of learning as much as I can while working towards my qualification. I may change my mind and decide to stay on for at least a few years if I have the opportunity, but I really want to go into project management, consulting, just anywhere in business really. I'm looking at the prospects it will bring me in the future. A professional accountancy qualification is really a passport to the world.

You really need to evaluate your career goals to decided whether the next 3.5 years are worth it. However, I would suggest trying to stick it out for a year and see how it goes. If you aren't happy and feel it isn't worth it, then leave. You can also switch firms, and even the accountancy body if necessary.

Unfortunatley, no one can make this decision for you.

Best of luck!

Keano

I am new to Finance and find it tough going. I do not have a Finance degree so I know I have to try harder than orders. I hope to get my CIMA or ACCA in time and use my IT background and Finance knowledge in the future to move on to something that will allow me to use both.

Badboy21

Hi There I work in the big form firm. I’m not going to say which cause of identity issues. I work in audit and work in many different industries. To be honest I hated it at first, I didn’t do accounting in college or for my leaving cert so basically I was terrible at accounting. It was so montonous, so stressful and just so damn confusing. I didn’t have a clue why I was doing stuff, it was crap.

Anyway 12 months later I still don’t love its ok... if u like to be challenged as u said then i reall ythink audit is for you. As for the crack on the jobs we are assigned different jobs about every three weeks. The craic or banter depends on the team you have, if u have a few funny people on the team its great banter, and time flies. You actually enjoy work, not cause the work is interesting but because urn enjoying the company. Did u ever go away with someone u didn’t like that much to see the colseum, its properly not that good fun, but if u went away with the lads u would have loved it.

Anyway back to my point, sometimes you get good people on your team, other times u work with ball breakers and id rather sit with a sandwich at my desk than face the awkward 1 hr silence at lunch times.

I feel that on an audit there is a lot of teamwork since everyone on the team is allocated different sections of the audit file, the latest joiner would be doing fixed assets, bank and cash, and perhaps payroll. While in yr 2 u might do some trickery aspects of the audit such as debtors, creditors, prepayments, and VAT. If you like a challenge these things are quite challenging to audit, as each company is different in terms of how you audit it.

You mentioned that it was mutinous, but i disagree, i think its very varied in terms of the different sections u are allocated, its a very steep learning curve and it seems like after you mastered certain areas of the audit u are given more challenging areas to look after.

IN summary I would say, if things are boring try and create the fun yourself, to get rid of the motony ask for more challenging areas of the audit. As regards lectures the cap 1 are very tough exams in 2008 this yr only 55 % of people passed all five exams first time around, I would say stick at it for a year, but do ask your firm what would happen if you leave. Some firms require you to pay back course fees and study leave that was given to you.

Anyway hope things are clearer, don’t be afraid to reply directly to me, I can answer any other questions you have.

crazzzzy

hi, is there anyone at work u r friendly with? can u talk to one of the senior staff? if d atmosphere really bad, then theres prob other people feeling d same as u.

its awful being n job u don't like & worse when u knw its a great job. unfortunately no1 can make this decision for u but id advise u 2 think bout it a bit longer.

why did u decide 2 do accounting? don't worry bout what other people think coz its ur life. try decide what will make you happy coz no point having a CA qual & being miserable.