Admin
Full set account.
HR.
Can learn lot things and involvement of management decision making. have a fundamental picture of how biz is going.
Too general, no any specility. too many small thing to concern and solve like statinonery... like a housewife.
I develop web portals for one of the biggest software companies in the world.
It is constantly challenging, the pay is great, and you are constantly surrounded by smart people. Using and developing the latest technologies, your work defines the technological future of the world. You get cool laptops and have a constant connection to the internet.
The job requires you to constantly learn new skills... which can be a pro and a con. You always have to keep in mind that the industry is changing, and your job may become obsolete or outsourced, so you need to make an effort to keep on top of your skills.
Also, sitting in front of the computer screen makes you lazy and fat. You have to make a conscious effort to take breaks and exercise.
Being an auditor working in a public accounting firm is not as boring as it sounds like. Trust me, we're not all geeky and nerdy looking as what most people stereotyped. We have fun doing what we're doing and getting paid fairly well. Depending on what industry you work for, auditing can mean a completely different things. As for myself, I work for a decent size accounting firm, and we work around 40-60 hours a week depending on the time of the year. I do audit for mostly public sector services, such as hospitals, colleges and universities, nursing homes, hospices, churches, etc. During the audit season, we travel a lot to clients' location - some fun places and some not-so-fun places. What's exciting about this job is that you will rarely get bored because you continuously learning something new, and working in new places, which means that sometime you'll get to see cool places for free. For those who like challenges and don't mind the traveling - this can be the dream job for you.
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Providing risk consulting services to companies. Looking at the effectiveness, efficiency of a process and also looking at the controls management has in place to properly manage it's process and achieve its objectives.
Great people to work with. Young, smart, and driven.
Travel to interesting international locations.
Getting to work with multiple clients. Keeps things interesting.
Long hours.
Too much travel.
Print letters, check accounts to see any paid, stuff and send certified letters, run a report to lien homeowners, send foreclosure packages to collection attornies for past due accounts, check and update any bankrupcy cases involving any properties, check and update any trustee's sales, update any information on accounts based on grant title deeds
My job has a little bit of every aspect involved. There's some customer service involved, as well as legal matters when it comes to homeowners association management. As far as HOA's are involved, I work with almost every legal aspect as far as monthly/quarterly assessments go, which makes the day go by quickly with never a dull moment.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of paperwork involved. I have to stuff letters for homeowners on a daily basis, which gets annoying and tiresome at times. Since all matters in my job has a legal issue in it, I have to be extra careful in everything I do.
but..overall, i like my job and the pros outweigh the cons by far. Additional Notes: I work for a Big 4 Accounting Firm.
during interviewing, you will never eat so well. when i interviewed for a week a 4 different firms went to every super nice and expensive steak or seafood place for lunch and dinner. all the recruits were wined and dined.
during the job: -during the work day i can go on instant messenger (aim/msn and our own internal work system) and chat with whoever i want.
-i have a nice laptop that i get to do all my work on.
-we have nice parties and get to get dressed up and fed if we want to attend them.
-we have intermural sports. i played on a cpa basketball league where you'd be surprised, the accountants are surprisingly atheltic.
-the client basically is at our mercy..we have to do a good job, but the client has to give us the things we need-it's too expensive not too. so we are kind of in a power position and thus...we have job security. unlike consulting, for public companies, especially large ones, since there are only 4 big four accounting firms who can handle fortune 500 (or 1000) companies, there's no other place a company can really go.
- we are fed. sure we have long hours from january thru march, but if i work past dinner time, our meals (dinner and sometimes lunch with breaks to starbucks) are expensed to the client.
-where else would a new hire get to talk to a controller of an international company or be in the mix of it all when a ceo/cfo "retires" (aka get's fired by their board of directors) and read about it the next day in the newspaper?
-i'm not stuck in a cubicle and get to go from client to client learning about many different businesses and industries so that when i eventually decide to leave (as long as i don't screw up royally) i'll be able to leave to a good job with lots of potential if i want.
-i can expense mileage and parking
-most people i work with are between 22-30. those that are older are senior managers and partners who are more youthful than most. and since you can't really get this job unless you have some sort of social skill because we are a client service business, the "geeky" accountant stereotype doesn't exist at my firm. most people are actually quite attractive and trendy with relatively well-rounded personalities.
-annual pay raises that are more diagonal than horizontal
-my firm is international: chances of out of state/country trainings, engagements, and transfers are very good if i choose.
-the firm paid for me to take cpa exam classes and for me to take the cpa test. saving me about $3000
-we work in relatively small teams (3-6) and get to know one another pretty well and people always seems eager to help each other.
-the commute, sometimes i have to drive 1 1/2 hours just to get to work.
-the clothes: initially it's fun to dress up to work, after a while it gets expensive and tedious to have to keep up with maintaining a nice wardrobe
-the hours part 1: i've worked one weekend "observing" a paint stores inventory from 7pm to 6 am after working a full day at a different client. thankfully those observations are only the 1 and 2 years at the firm
-the hours part 2: it's extremely difficult to make plans even for fridays and saturdays during busy season (january thur march). 55 hours weeks are normal and i've had friends who worked 90 hour weeks. it's kind of rough when i'm out the door by 7:30 to get to work at 8:30 and don't leave until 9:30 pm. only plus side is that i'm avoiding traffic on the way home.. i.e. there is no such thing as "drive at 5"
-finding someone who is not an accountant/auditor who understands what i do are few and far between.
-the work can be tedious as a first year. since i don't really know much compared to others a lot of the simple grunt work tasks are given to me, like formatting excel and inserting answers into a template for other people to actually do analytical work on.
-sometimes it feels like i'm under a microscope. while for the most part it's nice to have experiences people around me, it can also be a bit nerve-wracking because many times mistakes that i make are easily pointed out and there's no real way to hide them and fix them myself with out other people knowing.
-sometimes we are looked at as the enemy and a necessary evil. true people might be nice to your face, but i know they really would just wish we would be quick about our work and leave. and sometimes they aren't really that nice (i once had a controller tell me-joking, but not really "this is a stupid test, i dont' know why you're doing it")
-as a first year i don't get to make my own hours most of the time. i have to be at work when the 2nd year associate (or higher) tells me to be at work and can only leave when they tell me i can.
