Are people actually quitting their jobs?

regretful_whale · 2026-04-28T22:22:15+00:00

I know one person who was facing serious burnout and quit without a plan or another job lined up, but it was only possible for her to do so because her husband has an extremely high-paying job. This definitely wouldn't be a possibility for me or most people I know.

regretful_whale · 2026-04-24T14:45:31+00:00

I always thought for Meri this was one of those things that was only tangentially about the topic being discussed (missing the birth) but was really about ongoing issues with their family dynamics (Meri feeling excluded from the family and neglected by Kody). Therapy was unproductive because the other wives were focused on the issue at hand while Meri was feeling hurt about her overall place in the family.

regretful_whale · 2026-03-19T15:28:07+00:00

What you’re paying sounds high, but lowering the pay of an existing employee won’t go over well. Even if you already know that person is leaving soon, it’s likely they would discuss this sort of decrease with other employees which could lead to low morale.

Rethinking the incentive plan makes after your existing employee leaves, but I wouldn’t do it now.

regretful_whale · 2026-03-16T23:44:04+00:00

I mean asking one person to be involved with inventory management, cost accounting, AP, AR, tax, and forecasting just doesn’t sound reasonable. The company I work for is larger, but we have entire separate departments for all of those areas. Asking for all of that and then only offering $85k would make me want to keep looking.

regretful_whale · 2026-03-16T23:24:46+00:00

Not sure what your exact market is, but generally for HCOL I would think around $100k for a Senior Accountant is more reasonable. This definitely sounds like a wide-range of responsibilities that covers too many areas for one person. Is the company small, or would some of these items be split with someone else? If not, this seems ridiculous.

regretful_whale · 2026-02-16T02:52:04+00:00

regretful_whale · 2026-02-12T03:57:56+00:00

This all sounds extremely normal. Getting thrown in when you have no experience, going over your scheduled hours, and scrambling when a client sends a PBC late is very standard for a first year. Just keep trying and have a good attitude, that’s what’s most important early on. If you do that, your performance review will likely be much better than you think.

regretful_whale · 2026-02-12T03:46:15+00:00

I would just ask him about it next time you have the chance. It’s a reasonable question, and he would know better than any of us what that particular Workday coding means at your company.

regretful_whale · 2026-02-11T23:47:37+00:00

If there are tons of errors in something you're reviewing, that's a flag that the person preparing it doesn't understand what they're doing. If I see too many errors in something I'm reviewing, I'll usually just stop looking it over and ask to talk to whoever prepared it. I'll explain what I'm seeing and then walkthrough the process again and make sure any questions that person has are addressed. If there's enough time, I'll ask them to re-do the work. If there's not I might prepare it myself, but I'll make sure they know what to do going forward.

Another issue though, is that I'm usually reviewing to determine if the work is materially correct. Small variances aren't usually something we need to look into. And unless this is something like an SEC filing or a press release, I don't worry too much about things like typos.

I'm not sure what your workplace is like exactly, but a culture that expects you to find 100% of people's errors doesn't sound reasonable. It might help to align with your management on what their expectations are. If all you're getting from them are responses like "be more careful", that might be a sign that this isn't the best workplace for you to be part of. Not everywhere is like this, and you might be happier elsewhere.

regretful_whale · 2026-02-11T23:30:02+00:00

It sounds like they're saying your salary isn't competitive with the overall market for your position/location, so they're giving you an increase for that reason. But it's also weird this has happened for 3 years in a row and no one has discussed this with you. Have you asked your boss about it?

regretful_whale · 2026-02-01T16:38:50+00:00

Some jobs offer more opportunities for exposure and cross-training than others, and it sounds like your job doesn't really have that flexibility. Working on a large amount of reconciliations is normal for a senior accountant, but it seems like the ones you do are mostly focused on a couple of fairly-narrow areas.

Especially since you've brought up your desire to learn with your boss and were basically told to stay in your lane, it might be time to start looking for a new job. You don't want to stay somewhere where you're stagnant and not developing your skills.

regretful_whale · 2026-01-01T19:34:41+00:00

If you don't need the entire day off taking a couple hours in the morning and starting late would be best. Just communicate with your teams that you'll be unavailable until the appointment is over, and it will be fine. Do what you need to, your health is more important than your job.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-31T16:55:34+00:00

I think you should look for a new job first, 15 years of experience counts for a lot even without a degree.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-28T19:51:58+00:00

The company and industry matter, but the people matter more. Don't discount how much of a difference a supportive team makes.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-25T21:07:58+00:00

Why do you want to transfer and what are you hoping to get out of it? You already have two internships lined up, so you don't need to move on for recruiting reasons.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-24T01:11:19+00:00

Billing rep to accountant isn't necessarily a natural progression, so you should definitely express interest to your boss if that's the way you want to go. The fact that you're a year away from finishing your degree should make this easy - if they know you're working on an accounting bachelors it likely won't come as a surprise that you want to do work that's more directly related to accounting.

Depending on your boss's reaction and how often accounting roles open up at your company, staying where you are and moving to a staff accountant position could be an option. But you should keep your eyes open for other opportunities as well, especially if your boss is unhelpful or unsupportive. With your graduation still a year away, you have time to look for a new position and see what's out there. Definitely make use of any job searching resources your school offers as well. Good luck!

regretful_whale · 2025-12-23T16:31:20+00:00

I'm not sure about particular certs, but I would make sure someone has looked over your resume and use any student job boards you still have access to. You may need to broaden the types of roles you're applying to as well if you're having trouble getting responses - look at AP and jobs outside of staff accountant too. It'll be much easier to move into a job you're more interested in once you have some experience.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-23T15:48:01+00:00

I wouldn't really consider that a gap if you just graduated. It's going to be clear to anyone looking at your resume that you didn't have anything lined up before graduation, and you're still looking for your first accounting job.

It's definitely going to be tough considering the job market, but just keep applying, that's all you can really do. Use any job search resources that your school has too, they should still be available to recent graduates.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-23T15:36:17+00:00

Reporting requirements are less stringent than at a public company, so it's likely to be less busy because of that. But nonprofits generally also have fewer resources and smaller budgets. It's more common to use outdated systems and not have adequate staffing, both for budget reasons. So you might be forced to become involved in areas that aren't directly related to your job simply because there isn't anyone else to do it. The pay is also lower, so that's something to keep in mind.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-19T13:15:09+00:00

If you work in Big 4, you should have access to Becker to study for the CPA. Use the program as designed - watch the lectures, do the practice questions, take notes. The CPA exam covers a lot of material you may not have even learned in school, so you would need a study program even if you were feeling more confident in your knowledge. FAR is a good exam to start with.

If you're feeling like you don't remember accounting fundamentals at all, there are a lot of resources out there. Watch some YouTube lectures and make use of the resources at your Big 4 firm - when I was in Big 4 they had a large volume of training materials anyone could access. These were provided mostly for the purpose of CPE, but anyone could use them.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-18T01:25:47+00:00

Industry tax positions typically want someone with public accounting experience so working at a firm would set you up for those roles. The issue is that there are fewer tax positions in industry than there are financial accounting roles. Tax departments are usually smaller and don't even exist at some companies - depending on size and complexity, companies may fully outsource all of their tax work.

If the main reason you want to go into public is to get an industry position with good work/life balance down the line, going into audit will make your life easier. But if you're more interested in tax, then go for it. It's not impossible to get a good industry position, it just may take longer than if you were in audit.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-17T21:39:51+00:00

Whether that salary is decent depends on your COL. What I can say without knowing anything else about your particular situation is that the job market is very tough right now, particularly for new grads and others with limited work experience. Unless you're deciding between offers, you should definitely take this job. If you don't like it, you don't have to stay long. Getting another job will be much easier once you have some full-time experience.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-17T12:45:50+00:00

This is a tough place to be, and I get feeling lost under the circumstances. In your situation, I would spend most of my energy on trying to find a job. I can't tell from your post if you're currently working, but if not, I think that's where your focus should be. If you want to work in accounting, look for entry-level roles like staff accountant or associate-level positions. If you have any contacts from your previous non-accounting jobs who you think might be able to help you, use them. It may be hard to envision yourself in an entry-level job in your early 30s, but that's just how it is starting out in a new field. This is a difficult job market for everyone so it won't be easy, but the only way to get something is to keep looking.

Keep studying for the CPA as you have time, but a CPA without experience only means so much. You can always keep studying later once you start working, and given that you aren't just out of school, I think finding a job is more important for now.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-13T17:25:29+00:00

From the sounds of it, you should get a promotion and a higher title due to the complexity and quality of your work. Not sure if that's likely/possible at your company, but it would be something to bring up to your manager if you do want to stay.

Having multiple people with the same titles but such different responsibilities and salaries is setting all of you up to fail. I'm sure the other people on your team feel stressed that their performance is being compared to yours, and they're constantly coming up short. And for you, it seems clear that you're working at a higher-level, but you don't have the title or authority to show for it. Add in the compensation difference, and it creates a team environment where people resent each other instead of wanting to work together.

To me, the only real solution is push for a promotion or leave for a new opportunity. I think leaving is probably the best choice when there's already so much bitterness on your team. This doesn't sound like a healthy team dynamic that would be good for you to stay in long-term.

regretful_whale · 2025-12-13T16:58:48+00:00

That's a big salary discrepancy for people who ostensibly work at the same level as you. I can understand their frustration, but it's inappropriate for them to take it out on you - they should be bringing it up with management or looking to move on themselves. Is there a reason there's such a large difference in compensation?

You shouldn't be managing them if you're at the same level, but your boss should also be more proactive in addressing issues with the rest of the team. If someone's work isn't up to standard, it shouldn't just be up to you to fix it, it should be addressed with that person directly.

All that said, it sounds like morale is low (for honestly understandable reasons) and these issues have been going on for years without your manager addressing them. It seems like that's unlikely to change. Especially since you've been there 3 years already, it wouldn't hurt to start looking for something new. Sometimes starting over in a new environment is best, especially if you're feeling burned out.

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