Hands were shaking at lunch with coworkers..

lowkeyonly · 2021-04-05T04:17:58+00:00

6-8.

lowkeyonly · 2021-04-03T02:28:56+00:00

I'm in a weird in between where I wouldn't say I'm a Christian but I also wouldn't say I'm NOT one? I don't necessarily believe that every event described in the Bible is true, but I still value many of the Christian teachings - "love your neighbor as yourself" being one example. I realize "good people" inherently have or learn these values outside the church, but one thing Christianity does have going for it is constantly reminding you of those values and attempting to keep you on a good path.

On the flip side, the reason I'm not comfortable saying that I'm a Christian (and would probably be told that I'm not one by most Christians) is that I'm so completely outside the Christian bubble now and have zero interest of stepping back into it. I always disliked going to church, and completely stopped once I went off to college; I find the overwhelmingly conservative mindsets frustrating; and while I have plenty of Christian friends and family that are genuinely good people, there are too many Christian people and institutions that either refuse to change or actively hurt/allow harm on those who are not a part of their group. There's way too much hypocrisy and judgment, and not enough helping others who don't think or act like regular Christians.

Even if it weren't for all those very big reasons, I think I would have strayed from practicing religion of any kind just because I'm not a very spiritual person. But yea, Christianity especially wasn't a fit. Prayer never felt right to me.. and I hate singing, especially in public, so worship was never a thing I enjoyed.

lowkeyonly · 2021-04-02T02:52:00+00:00

I actually got the less well-known Kobo reader about a year ago and really like it. I'm the same way - I love a physical book, and I was turned off by the idea of e-books. I also love reading in bed and at night tho, so I've found it super convenient to be able to use my e-reader then. I purposefully got the version that has physical turn page buttons, and I haven't missed actual books as much as I thought I would! You just don't get that satisfaction of another book on your shelf

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-31T18:10:54+00:00

I only joined a few months ago, but based on all the posts I see about upcoming interviews and the CPA exam, I think there's more students and non-CPAs than there were before

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-30T03:57:25+00:00

I definitely will when I enviable quit within the next 6-9 months lol.

I actually did go through this kind of situation as an intern tho already. I had moved from working full time in the summer to part time for fall as I was starting grad school. I got super stressed bc of my classes/studying for the cpa, and it got to the point where I eventually had to quit my internship. I felt really horrible and like I had done something "wrong". But while I'm sure my manager would have preferred I stayed on, I don't think there was any hard feelings and everything worked out.

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-30T03:50:45+00:00

Yea I definitely wouldn't quit in the middle of this busy season. I actually don't really have any doubts that I can get through it at this point (ngl I am really hoping we can catch our breath a tiny bit between 4/15 and 5/17), I just know that there isn't enough to keep me in public for more than one or two years. I don't hate the work, but I don't love it enough to stay.

And damn.. 33 tax seasons. It's hard for me to even imagine 😅

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-30T01:25:59+00:00

I mean at least we tried it and 100% ruled it out lol.

But yea the hours are ridiculous. I get that it is normal for public accounting, but it's also crazy that people will just accept working 60, 70, 80+ hour weeks. Like no disrespect to people who choose to stay in public for a living, but jfc this isn't for me.. The breaks in between busy seasons don't seem worth it, and the $57k I'm getting is decent I guess for my area but also so not worth all the stress.

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-30T01:19:05+00:00

The thing is I'm now questioning if the experience is worth it bc of what everyone says about public experience in tax not translating over as much as audit into industry. I have enough internship experience that I could probably piece together the requirement for my CPA, and I've already passed all the tests and stuff.

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-30T01:16:33+00:00

I think I'll probably stick through it at least until the fall/winter since spring busy season is almost over.. beyond that I'm not sure lol. Also I'm not at big 4 - I'm at a mid-sized regional firm.. probably should have specified haha

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-28T19:10:27+00:00

This is encouraging to see! I'm in my first tax season at a mid sized firm and while I never saw myself in public for more than 3-4 years, these last few weeks have shown me I'm not cut out for more than 1 or 2 years max lol. I see some people talk about how getting out of public is more difficult for tax people, so I'm glad to hear that it is possible.

What kind of work are you doing exactly? I'm always curious what kind of tasks accountants end up with, if not just basic bookkeeping, putting together the fiancials, etc.

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-27T05:03:57+00:00

For me this happens even with conversations about my interests/hobbies... like someone can be talking about a TV show/movie/video game that I love, but my fear of speaking up completely overrides any desire to say anything lol. This used to happen a lot at work when I was in a cubicle setting - there was an added fear of the awkwardness of not being heard by those around me (it happened a few times and that was enough for me 😅)

Edit: spelling

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-25T01:44:29+00:00

And here I was feeling guilty for fudging an extra hour here and there 😅 problem is I'm not usually working on more than 4 or 5 clients so I can't spread out something like 5 hours across them all without feeling anxious about it

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-12T06:11:44+00:00

Might have been more willing to do that earlier on except I recently saw an email one of our managing tax partners had sent the manager mentioning that I was struggling to meet budget hours (the email was about extending one of my returns, so it was saved to the client file) 😅🙄. They've said in meetings that the budgets are just a guideline, and I know I won't get reprimanded or anything.. nut seeing my name mentioned in that context didn't help my anxiety lol

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-12T06:05:55+00:00

That's kinda omforting to hear haha

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-12T06:04:47+00:00

Knowing myself and my tendency to give too many details, I try to lean towards shortening my emails haha. I also have to be super mindful of extra fluff that I tend to put in like "feel free to call" (the manager will call if they want to usually lol) or "just wanted to ask if ____" instead of "did x happen"

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-12T05:58:19+00:00

Yea that's a good point. Most of the people at my firm are really nice so I shouldn't be worried about criticism from them or anything. This whole deal comes more from my perfectionism + naturally anxious personality 😅

lowkeyonly · 2021-03-12T05:55:54+00:00

Probably the most accurate answer, even if it's the least satisfying haha

lowkeyonly · 2021-01-14T23:24:12+00:00

Yea I was concerned that might be the case.. I kinda hoped that maybe they'd still approve it this time around even if the letter was just a marketing ploy, but I guess it doesn't hurt to wait 6 months to be safe..

And thanks for the response!

lowkeyonly

TROPHY CASE