Time for a new job? Leave public accounting to work for the federal government?
I'm a CPA with over a decade of experience in public accounting. I generally like my firm, but I've hit a ceiling at my firm due to my niches and promotions/pay will slow down from here. I'm also starting to get bored with the work itself and the interpersonal dynamics in my office as we continue to grow. A lot of co-workers who were close friends have moved on to other companies so that killed a lot of the fun of going into the office. Finally, I can't take the stress of busy season anymore. I can tell I'm getting miserable around the April and October deadlines and it's not healthy physically or mentally.
These factors pushed me to start looking around at what other careers are out there. I stumbled upon some Federal jobs that like my accounting background. These jobs are categorized as 1811 (federal code for law enforcement positions) and if you want this position you need to start before your 37th birthday. Once you're in, you can transfer to other agencies (HSI, FBI, IRS, DEA, etc.) after the age of 37, but you just need to be in the door by the age of 37 if you want an 1811 job. I'm a few years shy of that age cut off so it's time to **** or get off the pot.
Currently making around $150k in a MCOL area. My expenses are low and I have little debt. I have a good chunk of money saved up and I'm ahead on my retirement savings.
I currently have a tentative offer with a federal law enforcement agency. I'd start around $75k, but would be up to ~$140k in about 5 years with regular promotions. As I stated above I'm in a good financial position so the temporary pay cut won't be too much of a hurdle. As it's a federal job the health insurance is great, I'll have a pension and other retirement vehicles, get a government car, etc.
The only thing holding me back is I do not meet the uncorrected vision requirements for this agency. I was informed that the only way to proceed was with vision correction surgery. I'm scheduled for SMILE surgery (similar to LASIK) soon and it finally hit me, "holy smokes this is getting real. I'm paying $4k to have vision correction done so I can take a ~$75k paycut." I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about it. Once the surgery is done and signed off on by the surgeon/optometrist I'm cleared to start.
This forum is filled with some pretty sharp people so I wanted your opinion on what I should do. I'm leaning towards taking the offer for a few years and if it's not what I envisioned I could try to find another agency or just go back to the private sector. Worst case, I can say I tried it and I'm slightly behind on retirement savings if I leave after a few years. The pressure is on to move quickly before Trump takes office again, so I need to think fast.
Pros
- More action oriented work - fits my personality better.
- Potentially higher job satisfaction (variety of work, more interesting daily work, making a difference, etc.)
- Opens the door to other opportunities within the government if this particular job doesn't work out.
- Based on discussions with agents in this role I get the feeling it's less stressful and you do not have the pressures of busy season. You will grind out hours preparing for a case though.
Cons
- Large paycut to start. It will take roughly 5 years to get back where I am currently. On the upside, agencies typically match your pay if you're coming from another agency.
- Need to train in Georgia for 6 months before I begin duty.
- Will still be at a desk for a good portion of the day
- 50 hour weeks on average - 3 hours per week can be used for exercise and going to the shooting range.
- Need to have vision correction surgery to proceed with this agency. Very few agencies will accept my uncorrected vision.
