Have had enough of Auditing

fawltyfire

I'm half way through my 3.5 year training contract and cant take any more of it. I've hated it for over a year now and it just gets worse and worse. Its sucking the life out of me and I have such little motivation left to try and improve. I never want to work in Accounting or Audit again so I dont see the benefit of finishing my contract. There is a good chance I will fail at least one of my CAP 2's (despite putting absolutely everything into it) and the new FAE course for next year looks horrific beyond belief that the chances of passing that first time around aren't the best. I didnt get a good review performance wise and am terrified at becoming a senior. I have no confidence in what I'm doing, am terrified at making mistakes and feel like I contantly have to bluff my way through the day. I find the work so boring and confusing and ultimately pointless as it doesnt benefit anyone it seems. I just cant see the benefit in continueing anymore.

The problem is my parents dont seem very supportive of when I give out about my job, telling me to stop complaining and be happy I have a job when others are losing theirs. So by leaving it feels like I would be dissappointing them hugely after they supporting me financially through school and college. But the job is making me feel miserable a lot of the time and I dread getting up in the morning.

I put so much work into my leaving cert and into college to get a first class honours and it seems like its for nothing as I'm doing something I just dont want to do and have no interest in but feel trapped in and compelled to do (especially with their being so little job alternatives with the poor economic climate)!

What should I do?

oq4v3ht0u76kf2

Don't make any rash decisions... but at the same time... if it's not for you, it's not for you. Don't mind your parents and there's no need to feel obligated to them for supporting you financially. It was either a loan or a gift. If it was a loan then you repay them, if it was a gift then there are no strings attached. That's the end of that aspect of things.

Now, as for what to do, well... regardless of what everyone else is doing, whether it be losing jobs, quitting jobs, growing daisies or interfering with goats... none of tha matters. What does matter is your own happiness and your fulfillment of any obligations you may have.

It doesn't sound like you have a partner or kids or anything like that so no need to worry there. The best thing for you to do is probably give it three months... focus on your job for three months. It's only 13 weeks and the focusing on the job serves a couple of purposes. Firstly, if you're really focusing on your work then you'll probably be able to save some money (more on that later) and it will also give you time and clarity to really, really decide if the job / industry is for you.

Perhaps you do enjoy accountancy but need to get out of audit? Or perhaps you need to be auditing different sectors? Like I said, focus on it and your professional studies for three months and see where you are.

So, three months down the line... it's the start of November and you still believe you need to get the hell out of dodge. Well, because we've been focusing on work and saving for three months you should have a bit of a financial cushion built up. At that point you need to make a couple of choices - do you quit the job and live off your savings until you find another? Or do you remain employed but begin aggressively looking for work somewhere else?

The first option has the advantage of the added incentive to get a job (because you're jobless) and you have more time to spent on preparing résumés and cover letters. The second option has the added safety net of still being paid but your performance in both work and in the jobsearch will be lessened and could lead to you getting a worse reference than necessary from work whilst also missing out on new jobs as you're not focused enough.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

damnyanks

If you are so close to getting your qualifications you'd be stupid to pack it in. There is a difference between not liking something and failing at something. When you goto find your next avenue of employment this will be obvious. No one likes a quiter.

semisleeping

I won't offer advice but I will tell you my own experience in this.

I started a 3.5 year contract with one of the big 4 firms about 4 years ago, I handed in my notice after 4 months and worked the rest of busy season because they asked me too.

I was the same as you, worked very hard in college, good degree, it seemed like the right step.

I have never regretted leaving for one minute, I was miserable. I found the work boring and the prospects of more work, hours and seniority even worse.

At this point, the newbies who started with me have all come out of their contracts, a lot got laid off, some are still there and dying to get out of it.

The way I see it, it is a boring job that pays well enough but is not worth the hours and all the crap that comes with it.

I still work in financial services but I am not pen pushing all day which I really believe is all accountancy/audit really is.

If you are only half way through and are miserable, I don't think things will get better. You only live once, is it worth another year or two feeling like this?

I have so many fully qualified accountant friends on the dole the past 6 months, it really doesn't seem worth it to me.