Hi, i would really appreciate some advice as im going through the motions at the moment. I have been at a regional firm (top 30) for a year now and i'm finding the job and work environment very difficult to cope with. I have been working the tax department doing both private client and corporate work. I'm struggling to find interest in the work and find it isnt challenging me nor utilising my strengths. Having completed a law degree (opted for a non-law careers) i would appreciate suggestions about anything in the accounting realm that would be suitable for someone with a legal skillset. As i only have tax experience, im worried im already pigeonholed and already anxious about not being able to escape it. The workplace environment really isnt helpimg either, being an extroverted individual im finding the almost silent office rather draining. I'm at my best working in a group sharing ideas with one another and working together. I dont feel like i've been trained properly which is making me feel incompetent. All in all i'm struggling to cope with the work environment and its having a massive impact of my mental health. I dont know where to go from here... is it the nature of the work or the workplace? move firm? leave tax altogether? full-scale career change? are all questions i've asked myseld. Please help... close to calling it quits. Thank you!
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Hi. Not to appear rude but have you considered your skills in English? I am qualified at level 5 TEFL (teaching English as a Foreign Language). Without the correct English skills nobody would promote you.
I have let slip my background recently. I hated working for Spicer and Pegler. I was well sought after in Bristol through my father's connections. My father found me crying in the small room after a fortnight and asked me what the matter was. I said I didn't do a degree to be treated like this. He said up front you are useless until you have any skills.
If you would like help with English, please PM me.
Tax departments are very dry. If you are a people person have you thought about recruitment? For careers in tax so your year wasn’t wasted. There are plenty of tax recruiters who started this way.
Your experience in the first year depends as much on where you are and what the people are like as it does on your own abilities and personality. The size of the office could also be a factor- Top 30 tells us roughly the size of the firm, not the office you work in.
That's probably all true at every stage of your career, but it's all a bit 'sharper' when you're fresh.
Are you not on a training contract? If you are, how do you find the study side of tax?
Office wise I would say there are around 25 people all at different levels of seniority. I'm on a training contract pursuing the ATT/CTA route. I'm actually finding the study a real struggle, the content is very dry but I don't think my work situation is helping as it's hard to get motivated about it all.
Office wise I would say there are around 25 people all at different levels of seniority. I'm on a training contract pursuing the ATT/CTA route. I'm actually finding the study a real struggle, the content is very dry but I don't think my work situation is helping as it's hard to get motivated about it all.
Are you the only tax trainee in the office? Having a bunch of you would help. Obviously there'll be quite a few others in a firm that size - but the office sounds quite small.
2 other trainees in my office but they're onto CTA now so only myself doing ATT. So pretty much doing it on my own.
Just a personal opinion but going straight into tax without mainstream accounting experience / qualification is putting the cart before the horse.
I'm struggling to find interest in the work and find it isnt challenging me nor utilising my strengths. Having completed a law degree ……..suitable for someone with a legal skillset.
May be change firm, or within the firm, and join the tax litigation team.
Are you working towards a qualification - if so how is that going?
Working and studying is hard - and can feel like it goes on forever, even more so if straight after a degree.
I've always loved accountancy (I work in industry, and have an accounting degree), even if, at times, my employer of the day was not my favourite.
Remember most people's careers only make sense when viewed backwards.
If the money is OK, and you are working towards an exam, try to stick with it. Don't spend too much time comparing to compatriots - especially on social media when they will only show the best bits..
Yes im working towards the ATT/CTA qualification, I have my first written paper in November! Im struggling to engage with the content, I find it a little dry but my lack of enjoyment at work is making it hard to find the value in studying particulalry when feeling drained after a days work.
I've worked in tax at various places and would do (largely) the same job wherever I go. To me, this means that the environment I am in and the people I work with make all the difference. I have started jobs at firms thinking the grass would be greener on the other side but only began thinking so having joined my recent firm.
I personally think smaller firms are better to work for when establishing your career path, as it is too easy to get pigeon-holed into doing the same things day in/day out in a larger firm.
Surprised at your comment about the Tax Dept being a bit “dry” for you.I have only worked up to medium sized firm level;but always found that the Dept had quite a repartee going and a reliance on team work,particularly around the peak SA season.
That said it is a highly pressurised challenging environment,and if you can’t take the heat then maybe tax is not the career for you.
As for your final point, it's merely an assumption and not reflective of my experience. If anything the lack of challenge in my work is creating no pressure whatsoever.
I started articles in an accountancy firm in August 1980 and spent the first six months hating it. The work was boring and badly paid, you were treated like a servant, getting coffee for partners' meetings etc. It's quite a shock going from university to an entry level job.
Slowly you begin to make a name for yourself as reliable, hard working etc and looking back you realise that being highly educated at a top university in modern history was never going to bring in fees to the firm, you had to obtain the skills to do that.
I then moved into tax which is even more highly skilled and takes years to even get to a basic level of understanding that can be marketed to clients.
Talking to contemporaries, every job after university was the same: banking, stockbroking, industry. You were no use to the employer until you got into it further.
I would also add that if a law based area is where you want to be, tax is the best place to be, though you might need to move to a larger firm once you have the basic training done.
Your first point is very relatable, the adjustment to post graduate life is something I'm finding difficult but your post is a great read and gives me some hope so thank you for sharing your experience! I would very much like to move firms now but im unsure of how achievable this is particular part way through my training contract. Do you know anything about this?
In education, you are used to a "change" happening every year. Indeed at the start of one's working life you may change jobs relatively frequently.
However, I would reconsider changing jobs "mid" anything.
See if you can finish ATT first etc.
You have a law background, so should be quite suited to the study work - I would have thought?
I always struggled with the law stuff, tbh. I'm 50 odd now, and tried CTA about ten years ago. But, as I worked in industry and not practice, I was too far from what I was used to.
I was very pleased to be able to complete ATT instead.
You don't want to "rush" into something, only to have to explain a blip on your CV for your next 10 years or so of job moves..
Real working life is not always so linear - don't panic and give yourself time.
Yes I agree it would be good for me to get ATT first! The study side isn't much of a problem, as you adhere to, a law degree has given me the right tools to get through these exams. I just wish the content wasn't so dry haha. I've thought about applying for legal training contracts and becoming a tax lawyer too
Go into teaching? Endless banter. But get your ATT first. If work is a doddle as you indicate, surely getting the ATT would be an easy pass. CTA, not so much.
At least you have given it a whole year in this current situation. It does sound as though you feel a bit trapped at the moment and you need to decide whether to stick it out or move on.
Have you thought about maybe switching to another career instead, but one that could combine your law and tax skills? Banking is one that springs to mind; they have their own legal departments but also other roles involving stuff like client liaison that may suit an outgoing personality.
Yes I've looked into my transferrable skills but I could only come up with being a tax lawyer. Banking might be a good option mind, although im not sure how you go about looking for these roles... I can't say ive seen many entry level banking jobs when job searching. Are you familiar with any specific roles?
Extroverts and accountancy don't normally mix :)
Perhaps you should be looking at boutique tax firms coming up with tax plannning 'schemes' if such firms still exist!
Extroverts and accountancy don't normally mix :)
Perhaps you should be looking at boutique tax firms coming up with tax plannning 'schemes' if such firms still exist!
I don't agree with this at all and not sure it's a particularly helpful stereotype.
There is a huge element of interaction with clients and colleagues required for accountants, we are not all one man band loners. Perhaps audit might be a good route, get the chance to experience different work environments and meet new people, it can be quite social as long as you're not at a large firm just plugging numbers into a computer.