Occupation Not Paying Enough Dollar

Mentallysick on 18/11/2020 - 17:03
Last edited 11/12/2020 - 11:13

Hi all,

I would like to know what i am doing wrong. I am an accountant by work but not happy as my salary is below 50K. I am CPA. I thought after getting a degree, I would get a good job but I have been struggling to get a good job that pays me well. I have been CPA for a year now. I have changed 2 jobs since then but they all want to pay the same.

I would love hear a feedback from accountants. After a serious suggestions.

Thank you

UPDATE: Got a new job and getting paid 80K. Been there for a week now. So far so good.
Thank you

Education & Work

Comments

  • tsunamisurfer on 18/11/2020 - 17:20
    +5

    What do you consider is enough Dollar?

    What is your current role?

    As a starting point, CPA does not guarantee any salary level.

  • popcornready on 18/11/2020 - 17:21

    Where do you currently work? (What type of company)

    What is your experience pre - CPA?

  • Nalar on 18/11/2020 - 17:24
    +4

    2 job changes in a year?

    • mskeggs on 18/11/2020 - 22:24

      1 year of experience.

  • pantsparty on 18/11/2020 - 17:26
    +2

    I am also an accountant so somewhat understand the market. I think it’s time for you to find a new role which will come with a pay rise. I agree that under $50k sounds extremely low for a CPA - you must be going for very low level roles.

    The career path of many accountants is through a Chartered firm where you start as a grad on around $50k. After a few years you are expected to have finished you CA and will be earning around $75k.

    I am guessing you took a difference path. What do you do? How long have you been an accountant?

    I work with some accountants who honestly do very little and make around $90k.

  • Realsteel on 18/11/2020 - 17:27
    +1

    How many years of experience do you have? Also what sort of roles have these been? If you could provide some more detail around your experience? That would help us to point you in the right direction.

    • stirlo on 18/11/2020 - 17:47
      +7

      Considering he said he became a CPA a year ago and has changed jobs twice since then I don't think he has the right kind of experience…

      When someone see's on a resume that they worked 6 months then left their 2 previous employers why would they offer them a good position or pay?

      Every employer is going to want to trial them at entry level first and it seems in the last 2 jobs the OP did not pass those trials…

  • askme69 on 18/11/2020 - 17:35
    +3

    The gov has let in too mamy Accountants.

  • tsunamisurfer on 18/11/2020 - 17:36
    +7

    I'm guessing he changed from Uber to OLA to Didi.

  • Miami Mall Alien on 18/11/2020 - 17:43
    +7

    I thought after getting a degree, I would get a good job but I have been struggling to get a good job that pays me well.

    … said every graduate in the past 30 years after entering the workforce.

    Uni and the industry lied to you. There are no "dream", high-paying, entry-level jobs, they're all just paid internships where you'll be doing sh*tkicker work until you prove yourself useful. Even then, you're likely going to have to jump ship or threaten to jump ship in order to get a pay rise because wages have remained glacially stagnant for a very long time now and switching jobs and/or roles is really the only meaningful avenue for career progression and salary growth in most industries.

    • 1st-Amendment on 19/11/2020 - 14:33

      Uni and the industry lied to you

      I wish I had more than one vote for this. University no longer makes economic sense for most people, it costs a LOT and most degrees are useless (some are still useful).

  • Ocker on 18/11/2020 - 18:44
    +5

    Sadly accountancy degree graduates seem to be a dime a dozen

  • GoldenDragon888 on 18/11/2020 - 18:48

    1st year teachers get $70k in NSW.

  • yellowfever on 18/11/2020 - 19:18
    +1

    Aldi Assistant Store Manager $72K to $90K
    How much brains do you need?!
    https://www.aldicareers.com.au/Jobs

  • spackbace on 18/11/2020 - 19:47
    +7

    Jees, admitting that sort of income after multiple loan/lease/expensive purchase threads

    rolls eyes

    • kanmen on 18/11/2020 - 21:04
      +1

      lol buying a car that's worth your whole yearly income

      • bobbified on 18/11/2020 - 22:28
        +5

        I was just reading the post about the novated lease too!
        The problem is, in that post, OP has said "Income is $80k a year" and that was a year ago.
        In the current post, he's mentioned that he's been CPA for a year now on "less than $50K" and although changed jobs twice, income has been the same.

        So.. I'm not sure what's going on here.

        • spackbace on 18/11/2020 - 22:30
          +2

          Honesty kicked in?

        • brad1-8tsi on 19/11/2020 - 10:54

          BS artist. Maybe quoting before and after tax salaries. Probably a really crap accountant if he's paying that much tax.

      • yellowfever on 18/11/2020 - 23:26
        +2

        If OP can't even work out what is the best way to pay for a $50K car that is also equal to the yearly salary, the one year CPA is worthless. Wonder why other companies are "paying the same"

    • SBOB on 18/11/2020 - 21:11
      +4

      Plus some of those questions don't fill me with confidence on accounting abilities…

    • brendanm on 18/11/2020 - 21:22
      +1

      Wow some people have wild ideas of what an acceptable income/car price ratio is.

      • spackbace on 18/11/2020 - 22:29
        +3

        I have been CPA for a year now.

        .

        Employer Not Paying Correct Super?
        Shelby17 on 16/08/2019 - 07:22
        Any Accountants in this forum?

        Lol yet would've been at the tail end of study, or even qualified at that stage…

        • bobbified on 18/11/2020 - 22:44
          +3

          Something about this OP is really off!

          There's more than just that thread that he's created looking for advice that any qualified accountant really should know - like this and, of course, that novated lease one.

    • SF3 on 18/11/2020 - 23:02
      +1

      they are called bean counters for a reason… unfortunately this further confirms the stereotype.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/11/2020 - 22:40
    +1

    Problem is you’re expendable - way too many young accountants who don’t speak English natively out there.

    You’re going to need to show you aren’t like everyone else - what are you studying that might be useful? Have you sat down with your manager and planned out career goals and what additional responsibilities you want to take on? Most times people above you unless you’re very lucky aren’t going to manage your career progression that’s your job.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/11/2020 - 00:09
    +2

    Go lay bricks, or become a lollypop wo/man.

  • pipboy on 19/11/2020 - 01:13
    +5

    Accountant here at management level

    Ask yourself - what makes you stand out? I’ll tell you it isn’t your degree and CPA, everyone has them as the bare minimum and they are not your ticket into a ‘good’ job. Some brief thoughts:

    *Build up your employment history and get some stability happening, broaden your technical skills and industry exposure.

    *Learn advanced Excel and office suite skills in your spare time.

    *Get involved in projects and process improvement so you can talk about what you achieved rather than what was expected of you.

    *Join a company with room to move upwards if you can prove yourself.

    *Focus on experience rather than money at your career stage

    *Improve your written and spoken English. Be an effective communicator.

    • brad1-8tsi on 19/11/2020 - 11:12
      +5

      So much good advice.

      I keep telling my kids that they can be average intelligence but will go far if they can get up in front of the CEO and tell the story in an understandable and interesting manner.

      I work with a lot of smart people that will be in the same job forever because they are shy, lack confidence or don't trust their english skills but they do nothing about it because they have a document from a university that certifies they've been trained in their field.

      I reckon in the first 20 years of working, if you don't feel like you are going to vomit or crap your pants at any moment then you probably aren't stretching yourself enough.

      • SBOB on 19/11/2020 - 12:00
        +1

        I reckon in the first 20 years of working, if you don't feel like you are going to vomit or crap your pants at any moment then you probably aren't stretching yourself enough.

        Thanks for condoning my strategy of turning up to work drunk or hungover as a growth opportunity ;)

        • brad1-8tsi on 19/11/2020 - 14:24

          No worries. I figure if it worked for Winston Churchill it will work for anyone

  • crashloaded on 19/11/2020 - 09:45
    +3

    Get a casual job stacking shelves at woolies and get paid more.

  • clannad356 on 20/11/2020 - 13:20

    As others queried before, which industry / role are you currently in? Under $50k is low regardless.

    Sounds like you might be caught in just a garden variety small firm doing family businesses and tax returns.

    There are accounting jobs out there which pay a bit of coin - generally working for a large commercial company is a good start with some industries paying a lot more (ie. quite easy to get over $130k in mining alone) however to get there, you need the right career path, skill set and experience.

    • Mentallysick on 20/11/2020 - 15:25

      Thank you all.

      Yes I work as a tax accountant in tax agent. I believe I have a tax knowledge but I want to get into corporate as commercial accountant.
      What would be the best way to get in as I hardly get any interview in those companies. Hence, I applied again in tax and got a job. I tbh do not want to start as AP/AR and go up the ladder as I have been in accounting industry for last 8 yrs. I used to earn more before. I thought I need to move on and get a better job and accepted the job though it pays me lower than what i used to earn.

      Looking for a job again as I cannot be bothered working for 50K.

      • clannad356 on 23/11/2020 - 15:22
        +2

        Definitely don't go into AR / AP - even if it gets you a foot in the door, it'd be a step backwards and won't be the sort of experience you are chasing after in the first place.

        The first question is whether in your current role, are you able to gain the necessary experience which would open up doors to a better role? Do you have large business clients which you can request to work on? Are you able to get tax jobs which are relevant to large corporate organisations (ie. transfer pricing, FIRB matters etc)? This would help boost your CV if you can get this experience.

        If you are unable to, then keep one eye open and look for new roles out there which will provide this opportunity. An option may be to get into a 2nd tier firm first and build yourself up from there then. I made the jump into corporate a few years back but had built myself up from 2nd tier to big 4 before making that transition.

        Don't expect to land your dream job overnight - each role is a stepping stone and you have to ensure you are growing and progressing with each one and not regressing.

  • Mentallysick on 11/12/2020 - 11:12

    Just an update on above. Got a new job and getting paid 80K now.
    Been there for a week. So far so good.
    Thank you haters.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join