The baby boom generation has served well the world of accounting for three or four decades. If you, dear reader, belong to it, do you remember what it was like starting out? Even if you do (which is doubtful), be assured that it isn’t like that any more.
As I recall, major life decisions in college revolved around getting a date and deciding which adult beverage to serve with it (still find it difficult to believe that what was eaten, drunk and inhaled didn’t kill us). For life after college, decisions still revolved around getting a date and deciding which adult beverages to serve. Any decisions pertaining to building a future were, for me at least, pretty much left to TEDAIT (take each day as it comes).
Accounting majors back then had it easy. Take classes (but not too seriously), take a job with an accounting firm, plan on switching to corporate after a few years. We didn’t graduate with much, if any, school debt. My tuition as a freshman was less than $100 per semester. Everything else was TEDAIT.
If you, dear reader, are a college student or new professional, you know it isn’t like that any more. Life is complicated.
Today’s accounting majors have it rough in college. Many find financial pressures to be distracting and depressing. Tuition is expensive (so are the costs of living), forcing students to work and borrow incredible amounts of money. Classes are demanding, requiring more time and alertness than I ever had to apply. And today’s crushing flood of information from technology means that students are made aware of much more. Back in my day, friends numbered in the dozens. Today, college students number their Facebook friends by the hundreds and thousands. A laptop, smart phone and wifi connection are as essential as shampoo and toilet paper.
Life after college requires planning, now. Bob Jensen at AECM passed along a link to a clever roadmap for life after college. The basis for the map is Jenny Blake’s book, Life After College. The map has been prepare with the assistance of companies Mint and Quicken. Yes, the map is designed to sell a service (and a book). But it’s still a good reminder of everything which a young person must be aware. I’ve not read the book, but the roadmap is cute.
The first part of the roadmap deals with necessities:
The second part deals with major life issues.
Again, the entire map can be viewed at Roadmap for Life After College
The images are copyrighted, I assume, by Mint. Used by permission.
Debit and credit – - David Albrecht
As a senior in college I found myself with tons of college bills, credit card bills to cover living expenses, working two part time jobs, and finding little time to do things I enjoyed. That fall I decided to take a job out of college with a manufacturing company working as a general accountant. To me the guarantee of a job, money, and stability were important as that was the time of high unemployment. The rest of my senior year was like a breeze as it felt like such a huge weight had been taken off of my shoulders. I recently went back to my college to speak to an accounting group about the kind of job I have, the opportunities college students have and answered questions about what they could experience in my line of profession. At the end of the presentation, I was called out by the staff member of the group about having a CPA. I have been out of college only 2 1/2 yrs and have already moved for a promotion with my company. As a result, I have yet to get my MBA and sit for the CPA. He came up to me afterward to explain that he wanted to use me as an example to his students that they had made the right choice by staying the extra year in college and getting their Masters in Accountancy so they could sit for the CPA. I personally felt very offended by the comment. The previous spring I had been to the college to recruit for my company and there were multiple people who had stayed for their masters and now could not find a job. My concern is that there are people in the education system who may route students down a path that may not be best for them without talking to them about all of their options.
You hit the nail on the head David! As a recent grad you definitely struck a chord! I just posted about this! Check it out: http://55knots.blogspot.com/