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.
I'm leaning towards taking the offer for a few years and if it's not what I envisioned
I thought the surgery was supposed to help with your envisioning.
I feel like there's a lot I could add here but just keep coming back to the fact that you sound burnt out and miserable with your current role and need a change.
I might otherwise be hesitant to take a federal job given the incoming administration and their stated desire to cut a bunch of stuff, but I wouldn't be nearly as concerned about law enforcement and adjacent jobs.
Burnout is real and it won't get better in your current job. If you think this is something you might enjoy, do it.
I could use my illusion.
I feel like there's a lot I could add here but just keep coming back to the fact that you sound burnt out and miserable with your current role and need a change.
Feel free to add it.
I might otherwise be hesitant to take a federal job given the incoming administration and their stated desire to cut a bunch of stuff, but I wouldn't be nearly as concerned about law enforcement and adjacent jobs.
Burnout is real and it won't get better in your current job. If you think this is something you might enjoy, do it.
The special agent in charge of my office did mention that I should hurry. It would be wise to have my butt in the door before January 20, 2025.
Do you have a spouse and/or kids?
The couple grand I spent for Lasik was the best money I ever spent.
But, if you have ambition, not sure working for the government is a great idea. I think government jobs are where ambition goes to die.
You're 35 with some level of education and presumably a good work history, with no kids and the financial means to open all kinds of new doors for yourself.
A lot of people at least in my circle have changed careers, myself and my wife included, and generally always for the better. Sure I know some folks who went to school to be say a structural engineer and are happily doing that all these years later, but they might be the exception.
Plus far as the money, beyond a certain income threshold it can be kind of BS anyway. There were years where both my wife and I worked like absolute dogs to maximize earnings but most of what it got us was more expensive versions of things we could already buy, and had way less time and energy to appreciate.
Beyond that you could look into going on your own. Two of my friends left their fields to do this, one is a solo bankruptcy attorney now and the other does runs a car detailing/ceramic coating place which is way different than where they started. My wife runs commercial construction projects and when I met her she was a law student. Clearly you're intelligent and seem willing to work so I'm sure with a little more thought you can find a path that makes sense for the rest of your work years.
As to government work, my old man worked at the municipal level for 40 years. It's okay but no question he left a lot of opportunities on the table in exchange for a relatively comfortable and secure career. Recessions and things like that never touched him a bit and that's a nice perk among many perks, but there was always just an air of complacency with it I couldn't relate to. But then again that might be just your speed if the grind isn't for you either, he didn't ever have to worry about his mortgage payment or how he would retire and liked what he did well enough.
I recall my wife was offered something like $65k for a Federal job many years ago that wasn't really competitive for the market at all, and it took something like 8 months to get to that point. My own experience was mostly 30 years ago after the service, there were a pair of entry-level GS2 opportunities for me then but I'm glad I didn't take them, in one case my would-be manager flat out told me if I was his son he'd advice me to finish my degree and aim higher, or at least build private experience and then look for a position.
I echo sentiments that a government job could be a bit soul-sucking and where ambitions go to die.
Even though you get hired before Trump gets sworn in you may still not be safe from budget cuts and layoffs. There is the classic saying, "Last Hired, First Gone".
Do you have any passions in life that you can shift a career path towards, or look to monetize? Everyone know the old adage that if you do what you love then you never work a day in your life.
I wish you the best in navigating your future career path.
I echo sentiments that a government job could be a bit soul-sucking and where ambitions go to die.
Even though you get hired before Trump gets sworn in you may still not be safe from budget cuts and layoffs. There is the classic saying, "Last Hired, First Gone".
Do you have any passions in life that you can shift a career path towards, or look to monetize? Everyone know the old adage that if you do what you love then you never work a day in your life.
I wish you the best in navigating your future
Not sure what my passion is. I love politics, history, and music. I don’t have a dream job or career at this moment. I like trying new things and learning. I really like digging into things and poking around so I always figured investigative work would be up my alley.
Honestly, I’m just proud I found the courage to get my mouth off this teat of comfort and actually look for a new line of work. 10 years at one place is a long time and you start to get comfortable. It’s scary having to radically change your life.
I grew up very poor so making $150k is like hitting the lottery, so giving it up was difficult.
oh the saying is "Last Hired, First Fired".
As to government work, my old man worked at the municipal level for 40 years. It's okay but no question he left a lot of opportunities on the table in exchange for a relatively comfortable and secure career. Recessions and things like that never touched him a bit and that's a nice perk among many perks, but there was always just an air of complacency with it I couldn't relate to. But then again that might be just your speed if the grind isn't for you either, he didn't ever have to worry about hi
I meant to reply to this, but missed it.
I do have some fear I’m not aiming my sights high enough beyond just the pay cut. I think the driving push for this is I find the career interesting and the fact that in a few years I will NOT be able to get in if I don’t do it now. I think I’m really going to regret being 42 and knowing I didn’t give it a shot when I was under the age of 37 and will never get another chance.
Sounds like you’ve made up your mind.
this.
hes in a mental rut and something new might hepl him. If he has worth ethic, which seems like he does, he will be fine no matter what.
I think he should stay though. why do I think that? while hes capable of starting over, he makes enough, hes in a 99% secure safe spot and seems to be still excelling at his job even in a rut.
the 40% paycut seems a little rough too
Ambition in civil service? Depends on the area. If you're in DC there's plenty of ambition and backstabbing at work. Same with many areas of the military. CIA? FBI? NSA? Not boring.
No, not necessarily. I figured people have been going through tough career choices throughout history and can offer perspective I'm not aware of. My current job is my first out of college, big boy job. It's all I know and it's a bit scary to make the leap. While I'm leaning towards it, I also have doubts that I may be a dumbass and incorrectly thinking the grass is greener on the other side.
maybe just take a year off instead, or try to negotiate some quality of life improvements in your current field?
the $75K pay cut will become a $100K+ pay cut 10 years down the line when you're maxed out at GS-14 or something
with the coming administration, I'd expect a lot of particularly big cases to go nowhere
hard to get work satisfaction out of spending countless hours on preparing the case only to get it stalled indefinitely
maybe just take a year off instead, or try to negotiate some quality of life improvements in your current field?
the $75K pay cut will become a $100K+ pay cut 10 years down the line when you're maxed out at GS-14 or something
with the coming administration, I'd expect a lot of particularly big cases to go nowhere
hard to get work satisfaction out of spending countless hours on preparing the case only to get it stalled indefinitely
Good points. I will say some of my eagerness to get into this field dissipated when Trump won. Adds a bunch of murkiness and like you said, juicy cases might get snuffed out.
Hard to say what will happen regarding pay. I’m probably not going to see large raises going forward at my current company. I have a niche and I’m starting to cap out on compensation. I’m most likely looking at COLA raises going forward unless I drastically change my role at the firm, which I’m not very eager to do. If I stay with my current firm I got 3-5 years left in me max. Not sure I can keep going after that. If I stay I need to absolutely find something I’m more passionate about and grind it in my off time.
Regarding federal pay, don’t forget that federal LEO’s get LEAP pay which is a 25% premium over the figures reported on the GS scale. That said, I think non-management agents cap out at $180,000 per year.
Don't turn your nose up at COLA raises. A LOT of people don't get them on a regular basis.
This job sounds like it's in the DOJ? If Matt Gaetz gets in as AG, he's going to clean house there. If he doesn't, Elon and Vivek will. Without a solid track record, you may be one of the first to go. And if you have anti-Trump social media out there...
