I am an accounting major.
I am part of the College of Business Administration (COBA) at Clarion University.
All signs are "go" for a graduation in May of 2011.
And I do not plan on sitting the CPA exam.
There are a multitude of reasons behind this decision, but before I delve into the logistics, let me ask you: why am I judged disdainfully for this? I have paid for the same four years of classes as every other COBA student; I attend all the same lectures and study all the same material as my peers, many of whom DO plan on sitting the exam. So what, exactly, is it that makes my decision so inferior to theirs?
Allow me to dismiss the fringe advocates patting my head and saying "you're just scared, you should go for your CPA" by telling you up front: I do not want to be a public accountant. Is that clear enough, professors? Advisers? Peers? Can you step back from judgment on my mental capacity long enough to consent, "Hm, the girl has an opinion?" Because hey, guess what - I have an opinion! Woo! It's really very exciting, see, to have formed this opinion... I feel calmer than I have in ages. Let me run down a few things.
I've already addressed the issue that most look down on me as if I've wasted my time here, or that I'm lacking some mental capacity required that I'm choosing not to take the exam. Look... I don't want to be a public accountant. Have you ever seen tax law? I'm talking about anything tougher than a form 1040- now multiply by the hundreds, add in for big and small businesses, all the different rules and regulations. Tax law is heinously complex, constantly changing, with enough exceptions to make your head spin. Auditing and taxes make up the two biggest departments of any public accounting firm we've (as students) toured or had speakers from. These are very hands-on, customer-interacting, long-hours-and-months sort of jobs. Yes, their payoff may be a lighter summer load, sure. But you see...
Every speaker we've had, every facility we've toured, has had the distinct honor of disrespecting what I find to be rewarding labor. I'm talking, of course, about corporate culture. I believe our last speaker said he "was a mindless drone, [he] didn't know anything about the data he was inputting, stuck at a desk from nine to five." Sir, I'd like to respectfully disagree. Just as The Big Four differ from ParenteBeard which differs from Joe Schmoe, CPA, Tax Consultant, every company is different. I had a wonderful internship at a corporate office. I liked only having to associate with my coworkers. I liked not having to be "out in the field." I like data entry. I like working from x am to y pm - perhaps I like the routine. Whatever the case, I really enjoyed what I did. Desk work. Unlike every public accountant I've happened to meet, I do not enjoy the hustling, bustling, hub-bub and near-insanity of the public accounting field. I am not enamored with the crazy. And I certainly don't want to sit an exam for which I am mandated to spend time in a field which I openly dislike. Why waste anyone's time, including my own, when I can be happy elsewhere?
I could bitch about the changes to the exam, and how I could be grandfathered through on the old rules but it's nearly impossible, or how I could opt for an extra year of school to go through on the new ones, but none of it's relevant, since I'm not taking the exam. I will mention that for a college that spoon-feeds you the idea that you want your CPA or MBA, they suuuuure don't have a lot of information on it, in this year, these years that the rules are changing and every single person around my age is confused with the standards.
I guess the point is... I've finally made the first decision of my college career that brings me some peace of mind and doesn't leave me feeling vastly overwhelmed. I've been asked several times why I chose accounting as my major, and each time the answer varies. The truth is it was a variety of things. I heard it was a growing field. It sounded like desk work. They project decent wages. It sounded like something I could learn. (In a family with talents ranging from nurse to mechanic to painter to machinist, I feel a little lacking in the "inherent talent" and especially the "useful life skills" departments, I won't lie.) I chose it because honestly, I had already crossed out other options. English? History? Don't wanna teach, and what else can you do? Music? Theater? Don't wanna teach, and that's a struggling career field - I want it to be my fun retreat. I am not a risk-taker. I know the value of money too much to want to gamble a stable financial future.
So damnit, world, this is my decision. I'm holding myself accountable for what I want.
And it's not a CPA certification.
This is obviously not intended for everyone I know, because many of you are supportive and encouraging. It comes as cyber-frustration to a scholarly world where we (those of us - there are others - who don't want our CPAs! gasp!) are looked down upon as underachieving and lazy. Frustration to a society where wanting the 1950s stay at home wife role is undermining to women. If you've taken the time to read through this, it probably wasn't intended as a rant towards you - but thank you for sharing your time to take consideration of my thoughts. I really appreciate it. :)
