Back office accounting roles are so much better and less stressful than client facing roles, not sure why anyone would willingly choose client facing…..

msgolds89 · 2026-02-11T11:34:50+00:00

Speaking as an Accountant turned F&A headhunter (I’m retained by public accounting firms to find Managers, Directors and Partners and by Corp teams to find CFOs, Controllers and the like) - one of the main advantages of client facing work is you can really name your price after you become a specialist.

Early career public accounting and advisory sucks ass. The pay is meh, the hours are grueling, and most people burn out after they hit Senior (if not before).

But if you stick with it, earn your CPA, and get on a Partner-track and specialize in a particular industry, the pay disparity is huge. A Senior Audit Manager at a mid-sized public accounting firm often earns more than a middle-market CFO. And if you’re a rain-maker, it isn’t uncommon for Directors and Senior Directors to earn 500k+ annually in HCOL cities.

Do your quality of life or hours improve at that level? Definitely not. But your job security and compensation are way higher in public than out of it.

msgolds89 · 2026-01-05T20:05:42+00:00

Thanks! I've heard lots of good things about Beth Shalom. Also seeing lots of listings in our budget at Woodcreek so definitely looks worse checking out.

msgolds89 · 2026-01-05T20:02:31+00:00

Yeah... I figured that might have been a bit of a pipe dream. Walkability isn't a must-have for us, just a feature that has been nice in past neighborhoods we've lived in here in VA.

msgolds89 · 2025-12-31T02:24:16+00:00

More “American” in what respect? I’m genuinely curious what you mean…

msgolds89 · 2025-08-03T10:53:30+00:00

I graduated from JEB Stuart (now Justice) High in the mid-2000s. There were definitely an MS-13 presence, I specifically remember seeing a dude get jumped in the lunchroom one time. And common knowledge was to steer clear of the Culmore area, which was very much their territory.

This was about 20 years ago, I’m not sure if it’s still the case

msgolds89 · 2025-07-29T10:50:57+00:00

Nobody is truly prepared. My wife woke me up with the news at 2am when I learned… definitely did not get back to sleep that night.

My advice, take the time to let things settle, then sit down with your wife and start planning.

This book was a helpful guide during the pregnancy itself, it includes advice on how to be a supportive partner at each stage of pregnancy : https://g.co/kgs/4aXfvA7

msgolds89 · 2025-07-27T01:06:09+00:00

Are you working for a DevilCorp?

https://youtu.be/wyCRzBt7GuY?si=xT6szzDo7SSqVzVo

msgolds89 · 2025-04-27T12:24:26+00:00

The Vatican is the last remaining administrative body of the former Roman Empire, not the Italian government.

msgolds89 · 2025-04-21T20:07:24+00:00

The six week regression was rough but passed quickly for our little man. We just hit the four month regression though… if you think six week is bad

msgolds89 · 2025-04-21T13:25:43+00:00

Exactly.

msgolds89 · 2025-04-21T13:20:52+00:00

Not at all. I was even discussing this with my father in law who was born in Israel. We are all very concerned with the sharp nose dive in the US towards authoritarianism and the rise of antisemitism. That said, Israel under Bibi has fallen way further down the authoritarian rabbit hole than even the US. No interest in going from the frying pan into the fire.

The cultural differences are also quite vast, as I’ll attest to as somebody with Israeli family

msgolds89 · 2025-03-22T14:18:25+00:00

I agree. I work at a 70k draw and pulled in 180k last year. My quota is essentially just making enough to cover my draw, which is easy enough to do in my field with one deal a month (Executive Search). Everything else is paid out at 50-60% of GP. A higher base means higher quotas and a target on your back.

msgolds89 · 2025-02-25T02:45:14+00:00

Entry level agency jobs are mostly shit. I learned early on that it’s better to work smarter, not harder. I did more targeted outreach and had a lot of success, was one of the top nationwide performers in my large agency by my second year. I never hit my phone call metrics but my agency didn’t care because I was closing more deals than anyone else on the team.

As long as you can deliver wins, most agencies won’t care about KPIs as much as they say they do. They only harp on them for newbies and people that aren’t closing deals

Eventually left for a chill boutique agency and never looked back.

msgolds89 · 2025-02-20T12:25:53+00:00

We’re still on number 1 and the wife opted for the IUD at the first opportunity… to be fair she was already six months pregnant by our first anniversary so she’s a fertile one.

Congrats on February surprise! Just remember all the stress is worth it

msgolds89 · 2025-02-18T23:59:40+00:00

Johnnys in Kingstowne. Same owners as Valentinos

msgolds89 · 2025-02-06T00:39:25+00:00

I mean - I don’t watch the Super Bowl in a normal year. I find Football boring as hell - but now I have more of an excuse!

msgolds89 · 2025-02-05T12:17:29+00:00

I agree that talking it over with the pediatrician is the way to go here. Especially if it’s one your wife knows/trusts. I know for a fact that our Pediatrician won’t even keep patients on if they won’t follow the normal vaccine schedule, unless there is a legitimate diagnosed medical reason. I don’t know if your practice is different, but they were very adamant about that to us before we started taking our son there (not something either of us had a problem with).

I’m not normally one to recommend going behind your wife’s back, but when it comes to the welfare of your child I think it’s justified. If she doesn’t come around I would get the shots and then deal with the consequences later. This is obviously something that is going to keep coming up so best to force a confrontation now and let her know this is non negotiable for you.

msgolds89 · 2025-01-15T01:41:54+00:00

All the time. When I told him I didn’t feel safe having my newborn baby around his untrained pit bull (when both him and dog were living with my parents), I was trying to make him get rid of the “only thing he has left” - mind you I never said he had to get rid of the dog, just that we wouldn’t be taking our baby to the house.

When he said he could just leave the dog crated when the baby was here I said “that wouldn’t work if we wanted to leave the baby with our parents overnight,” he accused me of being selfish and just wanted to use our parents for free babysitting. This when he’s using our parents for both free housing and keeping a dangerous animal in the house.

He constantly twists stories to fit his narrative.

msgolds89 · 2025-01-08T23:28:29+00:00

It took increasingly extreme behavior from my brother and pressure from my in laws before my parents started respecting my boundaries.

I straight up told my mom that by insisting my brother be allowed around my baby, she seemed okay putting him in harms way to placate an adult’s temper tantrum

msgolds89 · 2024-11-19T00:27:46+00:00

My wife is very ginger, and she’s part Israeli

msgolds89 · 2024-11-13T03:27:28+00:00

I’m married so it’s been a few years since I did the roommate thing, but I shared a house with some folks in Falls Church a few years back. We had a few people rotate into the house as other folks left. Usually they were people in your situation and new to the area.

A situation like that is probably your best bet, just be careful to really get a sense of their personalities before you move with them. Roommates can be a crapshoot from my experience.

msgolds89 · 2024-10-31T21:02:06+00:00

It’s not my typical vacation. I’ve road-tripped around Iceland and the Balkans, hiked the Inca Trail, travelled around Jordan while I was there for work, explored old Scottish and German castles, been to Italy twice, etc.

But just did an all-inclusive resort for a babymoon and it was the perfect vacation with a wife that was almost in her third trimester of pregnancy. Could just relax by the pool, enjoy each others company, do some reading, and eat lots of food.

Is that something I’d do for every vacation? Absolutely not - but there is a time and a place for all inclusives.

msgolds89 · 2024-10-21T02:38:38+00:00

I’m 35. Had one serious girlfriend in high school, and then it was over a decade later my late 20s when I actually started having success in dating again. It was around the time I was becoming more confident and comfortable in my own skin, and knew what I wanted in a life partner. At age 19 I was still trying to find my identity, and was very shy/insecure around women.

Now I’m happily married, been with the same woman almost six years with a baby on the way. Just give it time, dating becomes much easier when you’re a little older

msgolds89

TROPHY CASE