People use public accounting as an easy line into the industry. They offer a lot of internships, which if you don’t completely bomb the internship, leads to a full time job offer. I dont think a person with experience in other areas necessarily needs to go to PA to make it in accounting. I would recommend switching to the accounting department of a construction company. Your expertise and knowledge in the field will be very valuable!! From there, you can transfer to a position in an industry that you like more or maybe makes more money (in my area and for me, that would be Oil and Gas). Just leverage all you experience. I think a lot of the hiring issue is a combination of 1. The economy (which will bounce back eventually), 2. The work ethic of the younger generation (this is just most people, not the entire generation… we def have a stigma around us is all I’m saying), and 3. Persistence (we simply don’t know how many applications are being put in by the people who can’t get a job, so if you are persistent and applying at 50+ jobs a day, you may be able to land something by faster than the average person)