Time for changes
Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:29 pm
First note: This topic is for full discussion. Whatever comments, joking or not, will be accepted. No need for complete seriousness people. 
Second note: I'm not asking for advice, per say. I'm just bouncing these thoughts of you guys to hear your responses.
Third note: I have just had way to much caffeine and I'm bouncing off the walls.
OK. Now that I have that out of the way. This topic is like a "getting older" thread. Changing things up a little and really attempting to plan out my career and living situation/life.
I'll start off with what I'm doing now.
Education: I will be graduating in Fall 2009 with my Bachelors degree in Accounting.
Work: I am an assistant manager at a gym.
Plans post graduation.
This is where I have a few options.
Option A. The never moving on option.
Continue working at the gym. This option enables growth within the company. However this is not what I want to be doing in five years. I could work here for a time and then try and find a career. For me I see this option as a waste of time, education and money. A waste of time because as I said before I do not want this as my career, so I'm working my ass off for almost nothing. Waste of education, that is clear. Degree in Accounting as a gym manager. And the waste of money would be they money spent on my wasted education.
Option B. The career orientated option.
This option is more or less a NOW decision. Should I get an accounting internship now? I'm trying to research internships because I am not too familiar with how they work. I know there can be paid and unpaid internships. But would it really benefit me more to have an accounting internship on my resume? I think it would. The only problem I would have would be money. With the internship I know I would be making less than I am now and most likely traveling more. Which would not be a problem, but I will need a new car. The Neon is getting up there in miles and honestly I want something that it a little more comfortable and has a nicer interior. This option seems to make more sense in the long run.
Option C. The collaboration option.
Continue working at the gym until I finish my undergraduate degree. Then save a little money and try to find a decent job by the Graduate school I decide on. This option seems to make the most sense, however I see two BIG flaws. 1. By working at the gym I have no real work experience in accounting. That would mean I would be a complete fresh start for who ever hires me, that's kind of a big red flag. 2. While the gym is a fun decent job, at times I feel like I'm not being used like I could be.
[b/]What do I want to do?[/b]
Simply put. I want to move out of New Jersey and go north. I would like to get a job, possibly beginning career, that is relativity close to where i want to go to Graduate school. However, I also have to keep in mind job market. Example: Up State NY is the type of setting where I would like to move to, Mountains, big property, log cabin on the lake type of deal. But I am not too sure of the job market. I also have a draw to Maine. I have been looking into The University of Southern Maine for my MBA, but again is there even a job market out there? What is the average household income? ect ect....
I am open to options. The states I had in mind included; Maine, PA, NY, Vermont, NH, CO. But I have never been to these states and there is only so much information I can get online and through people who live there.
Car
As I said I'm going to need a car soon. Now if I didn't have to travel so much I would just get a V8 4WD Cherokee. But since I travel a lot I need something versatile, a gas saver (nothing crazy like the Prius), some what luxurious, and with luck AWD. With that said I was looking at the Saab 9-5, and Volvo S60. I would buy used and I am not looking to spend over $15,000. But I have also thought about the Camery, Charger, Audi's, and Acura's. Basically I want a car that will be safe and comfortable with some added style. Any one have any other cars that I'm not thinking of?
Investing
I really have wanted to get involved with investing since I was in high school, but I never had the money or the knowledge. Well now I'm starting to have the money but I'm still lacking the knowledge. I know resources like investopedia and fool.com are great, but I have no real person to talk about it with. Nor do I really know where or what to start with. Should I look into stocks or nighttime over seas' trading? I mean there are so many options. With the economy though, I should prob just take the money and bury it in the back yard. LOL!
Education
I want to get my MBA. But I also want to get my CPA certification. Should I try and get my CPA before or after Grad school? I was thinking that if I got my MBA and then got my CPA it would be the right idea. Then my boss asked if it would be better for me to try and get my CPA before grad school. I did not have an answer. I would guess that if I did pass my 14 hour CPA exam right after college it would be better, but that is a big IF. I would think that grad school would prepare me more for the exam.
Work
Well it's all wonderful that I'm getting my degree in accounting. Yet, I don't know how I'm going to apply that to what I want to do. I should say what I see my self doing. I want to be in a business setting, office type job helping the corporation with problems and transactions. I work well in group projects. I'm a born leader. I can bring out the best in people and I love problem solving. So I don't know what the position is called or if there even is one. Let me put it like this. In my head I know what I want to be doing, but I don't know what its called or how to really get there. Which scares the ever loving hell out of me. I can't to where I'm going if I don't know the way and have no directions.
That's for now. ALL COMMENTS/JOKES/FLAMING WELCOME. I know some of you guys have families and careers, so share you experiences. Lets keep the topic interesting!
Second note: I'm not asking for advice, per say. I'm just bouncing these thoughts of you guys to hear your responses.
Third note: I have just had way to much caffeine and I'm bouncing off the walls.
OK. Now that I have that out of the way. This topic is like a "getting older" thread. Changing things up a little and really attempting to plan out my career and living situation/life.
I'll start off with what I'm doing now.
Education: I will be graduating in Fall 2009 with my Bachelors degree in Accounting.
Work: I am an assistant manager at a gym.
Plans post graduation.
This is where I have a few options.
Option A. The never moving on option.
Continue working at the gym. This option enables growth within the company. However this is not what I want to be doing in five years. I could work here for a time and then try and find a career. For me I see this option as a waste of time, education and money. A waste of time because as I said before I do not want this as my career, so I'm working my ass off for almost nothing. Waste of education, that is clear. Degree in Accounting as a gym manager. And the waste of money would be they money spent on my wasted education.
Option B. The career orientated option.
This option is more or less a NOW decision. Should I get an accounting internship now? I'm trying to research internships because I am not too familiar with how they work. I know there can be paid and unpaid internships. But would it really benefit me more to have an accounting internship on my resume? I think it would. The only problem I would have would be money. With the internship I know I would be making less than I am now and most likely traveling more. Which would not be a problem, but I will need a new car. The Neon is getting up there in miles and honestly I want something that it a little more comfortable and has a nicer interior. This option seems to make more sense in the long run.
Option C. The collaboration option.
Continue working at the gym until I finish my undergraduate degree. Then save a little money and try to find a decent job by the Graduate school I decide on. This option seems to make the most sense, however I see two BIG flaws. 1. By working at the gym I have no real work experience in accounting. That would mean I would be a complete fresh start for who ever hires me, that's kind of a big red flag. 2. While the gym is a fun decent job, at times I feel like I'm not being used like I could be.
[b/]What do I want to do?[/b]
Simply put. I want to move out of New Jersey and go north. I would like to get a job, possibly beginning career, that is relativity close to where i want to go to Graduate school. However, I also have to keep in mind job market. Example: Up State NY is the type of setting where I would like to move to, Mountains, big property, log cabin on the lake type of deal. But I am not too sure of the job market. I also have a draw to Maine. I have been looking into The University of Southern Maine for my MBA, but again is there even a job market out there? What is the average household income? ect ect....
I am open to options. The states I had in mind included; Maine, PA, NY, Vermont, NH, CO. But I have never been to these states and there is only so much information I can get online and through people who live there.
Car
As I said I'm going to need a car soon. Now if I didn't have to travel so much I would just get a V8 4WD Cherokee. But since I travel a lot I need something versatile, a gas saver (nothing crazy like the Prius), some what luxurious, and with luck AWD. With that said I was looking at the Saab 9-5, and Volvo S60. I would buy used and I am not looking to spend over $15,000. But I have also thought about the Camery, Charger, Audi's, and Acura's. Basically I want a car that will be safe and comfortable with some added style. Any one have any other cars that I'm not thinking of?
Investing
I really have wanted to get involved with investing since I was in high school, but I never had the money or the knowledge. Well now I'm starting to have the money but I'm still lacking the knowledge. I know resources like investopedia and fool.com are great, but I have no real person to talk about it with. Nor do I really know where or what to start with. Should I look into stocks or nighttime over seas' trading? I mean there are so many options. With the economy though, I should prob just take the money and bury it in the back yard. LOL!
Education
I want to get my MBA. But I also want to get my CPA certification. Should I try and get my CPA before or after Grad school? I was thinking that if I got my MBA and then got my CPA it would be the right idea. Then my boss asked if it would be better for me to try and get my CPA before grad school. I did not have an answer. I would guess that if I did pass my 14 hour CPA exam right after college it would be better, but that is a big IF. I would think that grad school would prepare me more for the exam.
Work
Well it's all wonderful that I'm getting my degree in accounting. Yet, I don't know how I'm going to apply that to what I want to do. I should say what I see my self doing. I want to be in a business setting, office type job helping the corporation with problems and transactions. I work well in group projects. I'm a born leader. I can bring out the best in people and I love problem solving. So I don't know what the position is called or if there even is one. Let me put it like this. In my head I know what I want to be doing, but I don't know what its called or how to really get there. Which scares the ever loving hell out of me. I can't to where I'm going if I don't know the way and have no directions.
That's for now. ALL COMMENTS/JOKES/FLAMING WELCOME. I know some of you guys have families and careers, so share you experiences. Lets keep the topic interesting!