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HugoBlack
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Jul 27, 2005
Posts: 57
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 Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:30 am Post subject: The perfect degree for Aspies: Accounting |
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| I noticed that a lot of people here have trouble finding and holding jobs. Often they don't have degrees or don't have relevant degrees. If you want to get the perfect degree for one of us, look at accounting. I just turned 24, and have aspergers, tourettes, and OCD, so I know what it is like for everyone. But I finished a masters degree in accounting and am a corporate accountant. You don't need to get a masters degree to do accounting, but it is always a good idea. I am going to get my CPA as well. Actually I think accounting is the best possible field for people like us. It is technical, objective, black and white, problem solving oriented and analytical, requires little people interaction and allows a lot of time by yourself. It also has one major benefit over most other areas people with AS and a college degree gravitate to like IT or programming: there is an enormous amount of demand. There are far more permanent, professional level jobs in accounting out there than there are people to fill them. The job security is so good it is insane. Outsourcing isn't any problem in accounting. One of my friends (I am finally starting to make friends) is 30 and use to work as a programmer. He doesn't have AS, but is getting a masters degree in accounting because he said there is no security in programming. He spent most of the last 2 years unemployed (again, he is a NT) because he couldn't find anything besides a couple of short term contract positions. He has 10 years of IT experience. IT is not a good area, and knowledge of this is why I choose accounting and not computers. My current company paid the headhunter $10,000 just for finding me. A second company was prepared to pay the same amount to another headhunter before I turned the job down. The upward mobility and advancement potential is unlimited in accounting. You can literally make it to the very top of the business world, regardless of what school you go to. You will never be without a job in the world of accounting. If you ever are laid off (it is a risk with any job in any area), you will have no trouble finding a new job. Even with no work experience, I was only on the job market for 5 weeks, with the last 3 of those weeks involving heavy interviewing (about 25 interviews in those 3 weeks) and I was offered 3 corporate accounting jobs. All 3 were at fortune 500 companies, all paid $40,000 per year and all came with full benefits. It is a good feeling listening to someone on the phone offer a $40,000 per year job and having to say no thanks. It really helps your self esteem. All 3 jobs I was offered were all permanent jobs and it didn't matter that I had just graduated and had little experience. I would recommend accounting to anyone with AS. You simply cannot beat it. |
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danlo
Phoenix
Joined: Mar 12, 2005
Posts: 1069
Location: Western Australia
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| You know, I always liked and did well in accounting at High School. The problem is when you have to explain terminology or show your understanding in words compared with simply balancing the balance sheet, or filling out general ledgers etc. The actual working side of the accounting is fine. But a lot of the degree and sh**, is explaining and showing that you understand various things. And mate, that'd be an absolute killer. |
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duncvis
Stroppy Get
Joined: Sep 11, 2004
Posts: 2286
Location: the dark side of the net
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:21 am Post subject: |
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I have a business degree which focused heavily on accounting, so I am a part qualified accountant. The problem I found after graduation in working in accounts is the time pressure you are under, working in a business you need to produce data yesterday - and be prepared to work overtime to get it done if necessary. There can also be a lot of contact with other managers, which can be stressful when people *won't* get on with stuff. If you can handle that I agree it's great - if you can make yourself fit in. I'm half tempted to give it another go because I enjoyed the work itself very much, and was bloody good at it.  |
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Noetic
Phoenix
Joined: Jan 19, 2005
Posts: 726
Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:46 am Post subject: |
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| I have trouble with numbers and with swapping columns and rows in tables, so that'd not be a great idea for me. I'm much better at programming! |
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BeeBee
Phoenix
Joined: Apr 01, 2005
Posts: 2257
Location: Upper Midwest, USA
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 10:27 am Post subject: |
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I have my CPA certificate and license. I was fired from my first public accounting job because in public accountanting, at least after the first few years, one is expected to regularly bring in new clients by networking at chamber of commecer clubs and the like. It was a very poor fit.
Now I have been in industry for 18 years and its a much better fit. At the lower levels is it very black and white. Even at a manager level it fits because its all about logical. One does, however, have to learn how to discuss sometimes very technical matters in laymens terms. Some people are good at this, some are not.
There is a good degree of job security. I very much agree with that.
BeeBee |
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techstepgenr8tion
that chatty American
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Age: 30
Posts: 7167
Location: The fine world of insomnia and coffee
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:37 am Post subject: |
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| BeeBee wrote: | I have my CPA certificate and license. I was fired from my first public accounting job because in public accountanting, at least after the first few years, one is expected to regularly bring in new clients by networking at chamber of commecer clubs and the like. It was a very poor fit.
Now I have been in industry for 18 years and its a much better fit. At the lower levels is it very black and white. Even at a manager level it fits because its all about logical. One does, however, have to learn how to discuss sometimes very technical matters in laymens terms. Some people are good at this, some are not.
There is a good degree of job security. I very much agree with that.
BeeBee |
Yeah, I've been steering away from public firms in my interviews just because I can't stand the idea of working under that kind of pressure to shmooze with people.
Let me ask you though, with industry are you still doing auditing or is it more or less AR/AP/Procurement related? I ask because the job I'm really hoping I can get is Office of Inspector General (auditing Naval bases) and my dad is still really pushing me toward Controller of the Currency where I'd be auditing banks arround the area I'm guessing. My personal intuition is since these are both single industry it wouldn't take me becomming a specialist in like 5 or 6 different industries like public accounting would, which would make life easier on anyone technically, but something else too is the fact that government's just a different atmosphere, different pace, and to top it off its free healthcare and the odds are much better than with anyone else that your pension fund won't get sold off or bankrupted (well, short of Revolution). Any thoughts on that? |
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sandra3
Deinonychus
Joined: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 348
Location: california
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| im totally better with office work than anything else but i like to work independently. |
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HugoBlack
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Jul 27, 2005
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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| danlo wrote: | | You know, I always liked and did well in accounting at High School. The problem is when you have to explain terminology or show your understanding in words compared with simply balancing the balance sheet, or filling out general ledgers etc. The actual working side of the accounting is fine. But a lot of the degree and sh**, is explaining and showing that you understand various things. And mate, that'd be an absolute killer. |
The good thing about accounting is that it is very easy. If you are going to get a degree, you are going to have to slog through the subject matter one way or the other. But the concepts in accounting are all as simple as possible and often common sense based. Even the math isn't that bad, as it is all only adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying. |
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HugoBlack
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker
Joined: Jul 27, 2005
Posts: 57
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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| duncvis wrote: | | I have a business degree which focused heavily on accounting, so I am a part qualified accountant. The problem I found after graduation in working in accounts is the time pressure you are under, working in a business you need to produce data yesterday - and be prepared to work overtime to get it done if necessary. There can also be a lot of contact with other managers, which can be stressful when people *won't* get on with stuff. If you can handle that I agree it's great - if you can make yourself fit in. I'm half tempted to give it another go because I enjoyed the work itself very much, and was bloody good at it. |
Did you last in accounting? What are you doing now? |
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duncvis
Stroppy Get
Joined: Sep 11, 2004
Posts: 2286
Location: the dark side of the net
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:08 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't last, sadly, for the reasons I mentioned; I was unable to fit into the team environment, or willing to sacrifice all my waking hours for work. There was also some degree of interpersonal stress between myself and the Financial Director, which frustrated both of us - at that point I did not know I was autistic but we both knew something was not quite right. It is a shame, as we may have been able to make it work if we had known what the issues were for me and how to solve them.
I went back to call centre work looking for easier money with less stress - but it didnt really work out that way, so I'm on disability now, looking at training in computer repair/maintenance and web design with a view to being self employed eventually. I am tempted to give accounting another go though. |
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techstepgenr8tion
that chatty American
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Age: 30
Posts: 7167
Location: The fine world of insomnia and coffee
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:10 pm Post subject: Re: The perfect degree for Aspies: Accounting |
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| HugoBlack wrote: | | I noticed that a lot of people here have trouble finding and holding jobs. Often they don't have degrees or don't have relevant degrees. If you want to get the perfect degree for one of us, look at accounting. I just turned 24, and have aspergers, tourettes, and OCD, so I know what it is like for everyone. But I finished a masters degree in accounting and am a corporate accountant. You don't need to get a masters degree to do accounting, but it is always a good idea. I am going to get my CPA as well. Actually I think accounting is the best possible field for people like us. It is technical, objective, black and white, problem solving oriented and analytical, requires little people interaction and allows a lot of time by yourself. It also has one major benefit over most other areas people with AS and a college degree gravitate to like IT or programming: there is an enormous amount of demand. There are far more permanent, professional level jobs in accounting out there than there are people to fill them. The job security is so good it is insane. Outsourcing isn't any problem in accounting. One of my friends (I am finally starting to make friends) is 30 and use to work as a programmer. He doesn't have AS, but is getting a masters degree in accounting because he said there is no security in programming. He spent most of the last 2 years unemployed (again, he is a NT) because he couldn't find anything besides a couple of short term contract positions. He has 10 years of IT experience. IT is not a good area, and knowledge of this is why I choose accounting and not computers. My current company paid the headhunter $10,000 just for finding me. A second company was prepared to pay the same amount to another headhunter before I turned the job down. The upward mobility and advancement potential is unlimited in accounting. You can literally make it to the very top of the business world, regardless of what school you go to. You will never be without a job in the world of accounting. If you ever are laid off (it is a risk with any job in any area), you will have no trouble finding a new job. Even with no work experience, I was only on the job market for 5 weeks, with the last 3 of those weeks involving heavy interviewing (about 25 interviews in those 3 weeks) and I was offered 3 corporate accounting jobs. All 3 were at fortune 500 companies, all paid $40,000 per year and all came with full benefits. It is a good feeling listening to someone on the phone offer a $40,000 per year job and having to say no thanks. It really helps your self esteem. All 3 jobs I was offered were all permanent jobs and it didn't matter that I had just graduated and had little experience. I would recommend accounting to anyone with AS. You simply cannot beat it. |
The only thing I'm hearing that may be a little bit of trouble for some people is that the ammount of jobs in the accounting field available where people can just work in the office and scorekeep are going down bit by bit. Being a tax accountant may work at that rate but if I were a tax accountant right now I'd be a little worried about my future (with all the new IRS overhauls planned and what not - I don't know if these extend to corporate taxes but they may be saying good bye to the old 1040's one of these days).
I've gotta ask you though, being that your going for your masters, is the stuff your learning right now just a second run of the undergrad? I keep hearing from everyone I'm in school with right now that the MBA classes are all the same as the undergrad, some MBA students have been in some of my classes (I had a girl in my information systems class who took it as a 500's level and the only difference was she had to give a presentation). Yeah, people need 150 credits to take the CPA exam in my state and most people who do go for their MBA do it for that reason; I however already have an extra 24 credits above my 129 as dead transfer credits from a community college - as far as I know those should still work providing that I have indeed taken enough accounting electives. |
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NeantHumain
Phoenix
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Joined: Jun 25, 2004
Posts: 4057
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:58 pm Post subject: |
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For me at least, accounting isn't the best career option. I dislike doing calculations, and I tend to make small mistakes occasionally when I do. I do agree, though, that at least many aspects of an accountant's job duties are probably more suited for people who have Asperger's syndrome than many other jobs are.
Some other common choices people with Asperger's syndrome make are these:
- Computer programmer
- Software engineer
- Systems analyst
- Database administrator/analyst
- Network/server administrator
- Physicist
- Astronomer
- Chemist
- Professor at a university
- Industrial engineer
- Civil engineer
- Mathematician
- Philosopher
- Carpenter
- Sculptor
- Painter
Actually, there is a surprising diversity of career paths people with AS have successfully chosen. If people with Asperger's learn their talents and limitations, they can work to compensate for what they lack and cut the path that fits them, even if it may be more challenging than it would be for a NeuroTypical (NT). |
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techstepgenr8tion
that chatty American
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Age: 30
Posts: 7167
Location: The fine world of insomnia and coffee
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 1:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Neant, those are all pretty good. With me though I found that while I liked those things I really wasn't good at em, had this wierd kind of visual intelligence, and I was really wondering if my 130 IQ was just some form of junk intelligence that had no marketability. I mention this because if someone is right for accounting they probably aren't going to know it for a long time just because at least arround here unless you have someone in your family who's in that profession you probably won't know the first thing about it (I know I didn't). Being quick with basic math but so-so average with calculus, being very visual, having good numeric and spacial reasoning, people who tried chemistry but did horrible in upper-levels and bombed lab, that was pretty much my story... |
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chamoisee
Phoenix
Joined: Aug 28, 2004
Age: 37
Posts: 1063
Location: Idaho
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:00 pm Post subject: |
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I've actually considered accounting. Don't you have to have really good math skils? I have tried for years to comprehend algebra, unsuccessfully.  |
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techstepgenr8tion
that chatty American
Joined: Feb 07, 2005
Age: 30
Posts: 7167
Location: The fine world of insomnia and coffee
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:03 pm Post subject: |
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| chamoisee wrote: | | I've actually considered accounting. Don't you have to have really good math skils? I have tried for years to comprehend algebra, unsuccessfully. |
Depends. What you need is good numeric reasoning, good basic math, and you have to understand a lot of the basic finance equasions at least well enough (ie. mostly business-math). |
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