The following are some of the few reasons why accounting may not be right for you. Consider these cons as you consider pursuing an accounting degree or career.
Reason #1: You Don’t Like Working At A Desk.
Hopefully this does not come as a surprise to anyone, but accountants sit A LOT! The work of an accountant normally includes tracking or analyzing data either in a computer, or via paper documents. Therefore, 99% of accounting work revolves desk work. If you are someone who likes to be on the move, then please, please do not become an accountant.
I did an internship during my college years with another young man who had quite the hard time with siting and focusing on the work he was given to do. It is definitely not for everyone. If you are considering an accounting job, please ask yourself, am I ok with a desk job?
Reason #2: Do Not Become An Accountant If You Don’t Want Excel Spreadsheets To Become Your Best Friend.
During college I took a job as an office clerk at a public accounting firm. During my time there doing administrative and other cleaning tasks at the office, I was somewhat surprised to see all of the accountants behind their desks, staring at spreadsheets all day. Not that it seemed strange, but I don’t think I really understood what a day in the life of an accountant looked like.
Most accountants use excel for all different types of task, integrated with other accounting software. If you don’t like using excel, or don’t like the idea of using it all day long, then accounting might not be the job for you.
Reason #3: Accounting Can Sometimes Be Boring.
Now, I don’t mean to say that accounting is boring as a whole, but it definitely doesn’t sound sexy to tell people that you have an accounting job if you know what I mean? Accounting can be quite interesting if you like solving puzzles, and or like learning about the inner workings of how businesses operate. However, it can also be quite dule.
Accounting is quite repetitive work. If you work in industry, then you have the month end cycle that you must work through, including doing many of the same task each month over and over again. If you work in Public Accounting, then this process is similar, but your cycle might be weekly, monthly, or even yearly depending on the type of clients that you are working with.
Also, you typically are working with mostly numbers, graphs, and spreadsheets, which isn’t always exciting to most people. It’s also not a job that you can often give lots of details to your friends and family. Meaning, accountants have to have some confidentiality with the companies that they work with, so they won’t be able to talk intimate details about what they are looking at without giving away sensitive financial information. Therefore, it’s harder to get other people interested in your work.
Reason #4: Social Interaction Is Limited.
Hopefully the stigma of accountants in plaid shirts, glasses, and calculators is long gone. Along with the “socially awkward accountant”. Accountants regularly must communicate with clients, or company management in order to share financial information. So accountants surely talk to many people and communication skills are important. However, much of the actual work of an accountant is done alone.
This is something that I’ve struggled with a bit myself as an accounting professional. As humans, there is a lot of science to back up the fact that we need social interaction with others in order to thrive. Some of us need more than others. If you are extraverted and tend to get a lot of your energy by being around other people, then this may not be the best job for you. You will work with others, but a majority of your work will be done solo. In many places, you can easily go the whole day working, without ever talking to a single sole. If this doesn’t sound desirable, maybe it is time to consider a different career path.
Reason #5: Deadlines! Deadlines! Deadlines!
Accountants work on preparing reports, tracking transactions, or completing audits and tax returns. With all of these things often come important deadlines on monthly, quarterly, and yearly schedules. Often, there is quite a lot of pressure put to meet certain deadlines, and this could result in working long, stressful hours during certain times of the year.
If you are not one that likes to be put in situations where time is limited, and there are others putting a lot of pressure on you to meet certain expectations, then accounting may not be the best career path for you. Deadlines are a big driver in the work that accountants do.
Carefully Consider Your Options
There are many advantages and positive aspects to accounting, however, it is important to recognize the negatives as well. I might add that all jobs have their positives and negatives, and even if one of these reasons may be challenging to you, I would consider weighing the benefits and costs of such decisions, and also recognizing your own personality traits and desires when making this decision. Not everyone is fit to become an accountant.
Is accounting right for you?