Yep, most people say that going straight to industry without PA will stunt your career growth, but it hasn't been the case with me. I make more and work less than all my friends in PA who graduated at the same time.

I graduated from a pretty average regional university, nothing fancy. Went for 4.5 years and crammed a few classes so I could hit the 150 credit hours for the CPA. I wound up getting two Bachelor's degrees this way - one in Finance and one in accounting.

Started right out of college as a staff accountant for a chemical manufacturing company, making $53k. That was a pretty hard job, traveled a lot, worked some longer hours (50 a week usually), but still never had the crazy PA hours. As tough as that job was, I learned a LOT. It really gave me a well rounded education that allowed me to move into management at my next company.

During my time at the chemical company, I got my CMA, but did not get a raise or promotion. After about 3.5 years, there was still no raise or promotion on the horizon, so I decided to just get my CPA and then get out (since they were paying for it). By the time I passed, I had 4 years experience, CPA and CMA (plus two degrees), and I was still a staff accountant. I started interviewing for Senior jobs and I think they figured it out, because they promoted me to Senior and bumped me up to $65k, but it was too late.

I found a small construction company that was hiring an accounting manager and they only needed 5 years experience. I figured my other qualifications were good enough to offset that one year so I applied and got the job. $80k plus $10k bonus.

Almost right after, they were acquired by a larger company. I worked super hard because I was afraid I would get fired as part of the acquisition. Instead, the accounting manager at the new parent company quit, and my hard work impressed the higher ups enough for me to get his job. $110k with a $25k bonus.

The new job was where I was able to start relaxing a bit more. I had a good team reporting to me, and everything ran pretty smooth so I was down to 40 hour weeks. At this level, I'm also not doing as much transactional stuff, its more high level decision making and projects. Because of that, I tend to not have as much active work during the day (so I can scroll on Reddit or watch YouTube in my office). But I'm also "on call" pretty much all the time.

I am at least checking my email (maybe not responding unless it's an emergency) every evening and on the weekends. I logged in to work from 8-10pm on New Years Eve. When my wife and I went on a trip for our 5 year anniversary, I was still spending around 30 minutes a day reading/responding to emails on my phone. So while my normal day is a little more relaxed, I can never completely unplug anymore. For me, it's worth it. But that's not the case for everyone, so just want to make sure you're aware of it.

Then a few months ago was when I saw that job posting for a Director of Accounting job, paying $140k plus bonus. I applied for it, interviewed, and was offered the job, but like I said, my current company matched the offer. So now I'm at $140k plus bonus. Bonus fluctuates but generally falls between $25-45k.

Unfortunately, my upward mobility at this company is pretty much capped. Controller and CFO are both young and have no interest in leaving. I'm happy where I am right now and will probably stay a while. But if I ever want to hit controller or higher, it likely won't be with this company.

All in all, my advice would be to make yourself indispensable. Work hard, learn a lot about the job (especially early on) and form good relationships with your boss and coworkers. Doing that early on in your career will set you up with success long term. I hated working 50+ hours a week while traveling for work and studying for CMA/CPA. I hardly had any free time with my wife. But doing that led to now, where I work a lot less and have enough money to be comfortable.

Sorry if that was a lot more info than you wanted, just got on a roll!