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I came across a thread a while back of people discussing whether one should go into accounting, and it dawned on me:
You *know* a field is a good fit for you when even the people who *hate* it make it sound good.
Paraphrased examples:
Person 1: "Oh god, it's *so* boring. You sit at an isolated little desk making debits and credits, and then *more* debits and *more* credits."
Me: That sounds peaceful. Cozy cubicle, lining up numbers neatly...
Person 2: "I'm at an entry-level accounting job, and one of my co-workers has been here for *twenty years*. They've never been promoted, never gotten a raise beyond cost-of-living!"
Me: So what you're saying is that accounting is *not* up-or-out. That--barring, perhaps, the particular kind of gruntwork you do getting automated away to nothing--you *can* stay a low-level grunt forever, if you want.
Dad complains about how after a decade or so at the company making specialised ebook readers (before generalised ebook readers were invented), they started pushing him to become a manager, even though he sucks at managing. And how he thinks a lot of the problem he's had finding another programming job is that hirers look at how old and experienced he is and go "you're overqualified for all the things you're actually good at, you're only worth considering for senior positions that you're terrible at". I would find it comforting to know that I'm not going to have that problem.
Person 3, in reply to Person 2: "Yeah, there's very little of climbing the accounting ladder *within* a company. The standard way to advance is by going and getting a higher-level job at a *different* company."
Me: So you rarely, if ever, have to have the dreaded pay-raise negotiation. You don't have to convince people they ought to be treating you better *than they already are*: you only have to convince new people to treat you well in the first place, and usually while you still have [the old job to go back to] and [other job listings to apply for] if the new one won't negotiate to your satisfaction.
(Also, this implies that "you can stay a low-level grunt forever if you want" generalises to all levels of the hierarchy: you can *also* choose to get one or two promotions and then stay a lower-mid-level accountant forever. Even better!)
Person 4: "Accounting is for people who want a steady income, and who in exchange are willing to give up following their passions. I'm not saying it's a *bad* choice, exactly, since we *do* have to live in this world and having a steady income *is* genuinely important, but...in a better world, I would be an artist like I wanted."
Me: That does suck for you, dude, and I'm sorry, but that being said: I get to eat my cake *and* have it?
You *know* a field is a good fit for you when even the people who *hate* it make it sound good.
Paraphrased examples:
Person 1: "Oh god, it's *so* boring. You sit at an isolated little desk making debits and credits, and then *more* debits and *more* credits."
Me: That sounds peaceful. Cozy cubicle, lining up numbers neatly...
Person 2: "I'm at an entry-level accounting job, and one of my co-workers has been here for *twenty years*. They've never been promoted, never gotten a raise beyond cost-of-living!"
Me: So what you're saying is that accounting is *not* up-or-out. That--barring, perhaps, the particular kind of gruntwork you do getting automated away to nothing--you *can* stay a low-level grunt forever, if you want.
Dad complains about how after a decade or so at the company making specialised ebook readers (before generalised ebook readers were invented), they started pushing him to become a manager, even though he sucks at managing. And how he thinks a lot of the problem he's had finding another programming job is that hirers look at how old and experienced he is and go "you're overqualified for all the things you're actually good at, you're only worth considering for senior positions that you're terrible at". I would find it comforting to know that I'm not going to have that problem.
Person 3, in reply to Person 2: "Yeah, there's very little of climbing the accounting ladder *within* a company. The standard way to advance is by going and getting a higher-level job at a *different* company."
Me: So you rarely, if ever, have to have the dreaded pay-raise negotiation. You don't have to convince people they ought to be treating you better *than they already are*: you only have to convince new people to treat you well in the first place, and usually while you still have [the old job to go back to] and [other job listings to apply for] if the new one won't negotiate to your satisfaction.
(Also, this implies that "you can stay a low-level grunt forever if you want" generalises to all levels of the hierarchy: you can *also* choose to get one or two promotions and then stay a lower-mid-level accountant forever. Even better!)
Person 4: "Accounting is for people who want a steady income, and who in exchange are willing to give up following their passions. I'm not saying it's a *bad* choice, exactly, since we *do* have to live in this world and having a steady income *is* genuinely important, but...in a better world, I would be an artist like I wanted."
Me: That does suck for you, dude, and I'm sorry, but that being said: I get to eat my cake *and* have it?
