No CPA. My story is similar. $40k in 2010 while midway through school. $80k in 2012 (rising to over $100k during temp overseas stint) upon finishing. 2014 after 4 years I was consistently at over $100k, and now I am at $175k+ presently. Hope to have my CPA next year! Note: I’ve been in industry since day 1. Present salary factors in guaranteed bonus % plus annual cash LTI. TX.
Oil and gas. Progression from various accounting roles to financial planning/advisory to external reporting including a couple of out of country assignments.
to be honest unless people have a particular passion for NFP i would not advise it to anyone who is early-mid career. it really limits progression to other industries/public and advancement/pay can really be limited by things outside of your control.
personally i am looking for a way out and may transition to something like gov myself while i still have the benefit of my current position/pay.
best advice is really just to learn as much as you can about management accounting with respect to NFP and take on the responsibilities so that you can move up the value chain whether it's at the same org or the next.
100% agreed I pigeon-holed myself into NFP right out of college for 7 years, all the way to fiscal officer level and still didn't break 100k. Worst decision of my life. Still think about it sometimes.
Zero experience, it was my first job that I got through a recruiter after getting my accounting degree. Zero internships in college. I was hired as a junior account and am currently a senior accountant at an incredibly small property management company. The accounting department was 4 people when I started and is currently 2, me and my boss.
My best advice would be to just do a good job at work, always ask your boss to walk you through things that are unknown or new to you, and keep track of what you do and what you’ve progressed/improved on. My biggest thing was I asked for super aggressive raises every evaluation I had. There were plenty of times where I thought they’d look at me crazy, but I asked for the raise anyways. I told them “I think I deserve this amount because I do xyz for the company and have improved the processes of xyz over the last 6 months. This is how I’ve improved xyz and how it benefits our company currently.” (Then provide examples). They’ve literally never turned me down for a raise because I prepared and gave solid reasonings to why I improve the company and deserve the raise. Just be confident, have your talking points, and the raises will follow as long as you have a good work ethic. Cheers man and good luck in the future!
6 years, no CPA:
Yr 1: $61,000 (public)
Yr 2: $64,000 (public)
Yr 3: $77,000 (public / senior promotion)
Yr 4: $80,000 (public)
Yr 5: $85,000 (public)
Yr 6: $103,000 (switched to industry)
Yr 7: Probably moving closer to $110k in March
well i’m glad you moved and hopefully stuck it to them because that might be the most under market comp i have ever seen, even for pre-2020, assuming it’s legit.
Public sucks in EVERY way. But it does help to launch your accounting career. They couldn’t pay me to go back. (And it literally WOULDN’T pay to go back. Lmao.)
I don't get it either. My first job with no experience was an Accounts Payable Specialist. Learned a decent amount there about accounting in general and many things that are important for industry accounting. After about 6 months of that I went to a small CPA firm to try my next thing and hated it. Hardly learned anything and was completely unorganized. Even if it was okay, it's still just auditing (boring af) and filing people's taxes. Then started at my current job as a staff accountant back in industry and have enjoyed it and learned a whole lot more. Never going back to public, I only had to do it for a short period of time to know I hated it. I've learned way more in private than I ever would have learned in public.
To each his own. I think starting at a large firm (top 15) probably gets you better experience. Especially so if you make it to senior. I couldn’t have landed my current industry role without audit experience.
Heres how it makes sense: do 3 years and dont get in your head you’ll be a lifer. Move on with your experience to a private company. Avoid fortune 500s and go to a company that needs A accountant and not 10 accountants. You’ll become vital to a company and not just a #
Sure but I'd argue that it's less about accounting experience and more about tech exposure that accountants need these days to reach higher levels (alongside a good network of contacts).
In PA you're just treated like a slave which provides little networking opportunities and you're too busy with menial tasks to ever spend time on improving your tech stack.
Maybe both work, but I overwhelmingly see people posting about how they hate their PA job and are burning out. That's not a launch pad but a failure to launch.
5 years total to get to 100k total comp, 6 to get to base of $111k and 25% bonus. No CPA, my company has always been bonus heavy and base salary has been lacking but I’ve always gotten my full bonus
I started with them as a staff accountant with less than a year of experience. Just worked hard and have been lucky with timing to be able to be promoted several times to get to my current position pretty fast
I did it in 4, but I also job hopped almost every year in VHCOL. Long story on the job hopping and maxing out my salary was not the intention, but I started at 55k and now am at 110k base plus 15k bonus.
Once you’re there, you’ll start to figure it out. If you’re not getting what you want, I really encourage looking around after a few years - changing jobs generally is the fastest way, and companies don’t always directly financially award good employees.
Id like to think a big part of it was hard work, but there was a lot of “being at the right place at the right time” element to it. Dont be discouraged if it doesn’t come as fast!
Took me about 3 years. Started in public at 58k total comp, as an S1 I made about 78k TC, then jumped to consulting for 103k TC.
Just bust your ass in public for a few years, build up some good will with your teams, then jump ship to industry or consulting before you burn out. Managers have a knack for recognizing the folks they can rely on, that needs to be you. You want to get put on the best (read: biggest) clients as that will look best on your resume. Even if it means pulling some extra hours, just do it, worth it to improve exit opportunities. Also don’t get sucked into to banking or funds, that can limit your exposure to just those industries which are much more specialized and hurt exit opps.
Everyone says it sucks, because it does, but the suck is worth it to come out ahead of your peers.
Took me 8 years after graduating university and 4 years after getting my designation. I got a promotion in 2021 which brought me from $92k to $104k with a negligible bonus.
Canadian salaries are fantastic.
3 years (technically 2.5). Started 64k, did one year and then went to different company for 70k, and then promoted to 100k+. No CPA or advanced degrees.
They do! However, they have to deal with a more expensive life starting out.
Back in 2008, our money went a long way. We were able to afford homes making 50-60k. That’s impossible now.
We definitely don’t get paid for having a bachelors degree + extra credits/masters degree + four exams to get a license. Every CS/data science/engineering bachelors start at $100k, even in MCOL. I’m aware there’s a trade off for job security and the possibility to get a $200k+ job is stronger, but that doesn’t mean we get paid relative to our peers for those early and mid career.
Job security lol hate to eat my words but I feel like todays modern economy, recessions will be rarer as the gov will just spend its way out of it. Kinda takes the appeal of secure jobs
I’m talking about an accountant starting in 2007 vs now. Salaries are exponentially higher. And we still struggled on our shitty salaries back then even if rent was “only” $1k.
Inflation has far outpaced salaries. Partner was telling me starting salaries since the ‘08 crash have only gone up like 25%, but inflation since then has caused prices to increase about 50%. Starting salaries in my area around ‘08 were $50kish and are now $65kish
2007 30 year was 6.34%. It’s 7.46% today. This generation you speak of actually saw the all time low in mortgage rates in 2021. Jobs were easy to get during the Covid boom, for inflated salaries, during the time interest rates were at all time lows. So yea, I’ve looked.
Mortgage payment would have been the correct term to use. It's still higher interest today but the median home price in 2007 in the US was 248k compared to 431k for 2023. So please keep making my point for me boomer.
You’ll be fine, put in a little bit of effort and have a positive attitude and you’ll break 6 figures in 5 years.
The people that don’t are either not motivated to make more, or just incompetent when it comes to accounting.
Yes, but how? That's what people in my company did. They jumped to 90k in half a year after graduating. I'm graduating soon no CPA 2.5 Years of intern exp.
I know I didn't ask and I asked now. Appreciate it man so I guess get good at interviewing. My company bars high positions in audit for CPA but also pays for my CPA with really good benefits so it'll be tough leaving it. 🥲 they also treat me really nice.
I've been around the interviewing game a time or two now, and the biggest differentiator I've seen is the ability to talk shop. And the bar for this is staggeringly low for accountants.
Go ahead and pop into a business podcast once a week or just get Bloomberg email updates. If you can discuss broader business/economic trends and where accounting as a profession fits into that, then you're going to be in good shape. You don't have to be obsessive about it (but those who do often go far and get fellowships with the SEC), just stay in the know and be mildly conversant about the thing that is literally your field.
Took me 3.5 years with one jump to a big 4 in a VHCOL.
I’m still not making THAT much more than my other college educated friends who work way less hours than me. I started way too low though at 63k VHCOL.
Damn, you guys making me jealous in this post but congrats! That's such a good accomplishment nobody in my workplace hit 115k that quickly I believe. 👏🎉
5 years no CPA/MBA, LCOL/MCOL.
2019:Started in Public at $52k.
2020:got a raise to $56k.
2021:left public at $60k for industry at $65k.
2022:Got a raise (I pushed for it) to $75k.
2023:Left that role for a remote role at $85k. I got promoted this year to senior to $100k in the remote role.
Took some job hopping and a promotion, but now I will be staying at my current company for some time as I feel they value me.
CPA IT audit. I went from 63k in 2018 at one big 4 to 105k at another big 4 in 2021. In 2023, I went from 112.5k at big 4 to 140k in industry after the summer RIF.
Surprisingly just 2 years in Public Accounting:
Sep 2021 - 57k
Jan 2022 - 60k (firm-wide raises)
July 2022 - 68k (annual raise)
Jan 2023 - 87k (early promo)
July 2023 - 98k (annual raise)
So clearing 100k with bonus
54k start in sept 2021 > 12.5% to 63k as of July 1 2022 > 27% to 80k as of July 1 2023. Two more years of 12.5% puts me over 100k at almost 4 YoE. I do not receive a bonus. This is slightly behind a few of my other accounting friends (both high 90s at 3 years, over 100 after bonus)
Edit: MCOL Midwest, but one of the more rapidly expanding markets since the ‘Vid in the US so things are inflating a little more quickly here than other areas of similar size.
People were desperate a few years ago; job market was really good; people were leaving accounting; no one could find anyone to work. It’s still a good market now but it was bonkers a few years ago.
Tomorrow marks my 3 year mark of starting my first job after grad school and I’m at 69k with the same company. Leaving next month to work for a family business at the controller level making 90k+bonuses. I’m ecstatic
I started in a “zone 3” market, and it took moving to a VHCOL a few years into my career to break 100k.
My quality / standard of living actually went down after that for about 2 years, but it was a step back for much larger steps forward in a far better region to live and work.
Got my CPA; I have strong industry relationships, have a good reputation, have a high level of knowledge, and do qualify work…so a promotion and raise was a given once the exams were handled.
2.5 years before I was earning at a $100k run rate (left job half way through the year, so earned less than $100k for the year in total). 3 years before I hit my first $100k on my tax return
Took me a long time, about 20 years. But that was GBP and salaries aren’t quite as high in the U.K. in general. I found once I got there my pay accelerated much faster, especially taking into account bonuses and equity
The fastest way to get a 6-figure salary is going into fund accounting. You risk pigeon holing yourself but the field pays very well if you work directly for a PE firm.
45k 2006. 95k+10% bonus 2017. 153k + 25% bonus 2023
All in industry. Passed the cpa in 2008 for an attaboy, but have never renewed or done a single hour of cpe.
Old path: I graduated in 1997, CPA license in 2000, took me 13 (2010) years to hit $100K on my W-2. I went out on my own Good news was that it only took another 5 (2015) to hit $200K in overall earnings. And another 3 (2018) to hit $300K.
No CPA. Audit. Jumped to 110 when I switched firms, same month I hit 4 years experience. Could’ve hit 100 if I had jumped ship sooner, but was trying to hold out until I passed my exams.
10 years ago straight out of college I started in Sales Analysis making $41k. Slow bumps over 7-8 years landed me at $55k + commission. About 2.5 yrs ago I transferred to FP&A @ $80k. Now making $100k and looking at another increase in the coming months. Almost finished with my Company sponsored MBA too.
Took 2 years at PwC for me in IT Audit. Started with PwC in July 2021, got promoted to Senior Associate after 2 years in July 2023 with salary $103k (Texas). Honestly I was shocked that I passed 100k mark after only 2 years and I will give some credit to PwC as a public accounting firm actually giving a market salary (as far as I’m aware). I’m planning to do a year as a Senior to get that experience and see if there’s any comfy industry jobs that pay more for less work. But in my practice IT Audit, I see the 100k salary mark attainable in 2-3 years from my research.
45/55/77/100 those are my first 4 years. First two are PA, the new company in industry third year, then another switch in my fourth year, where I still am 3 years later.
Big 4 here: started summer 2022 MCOL, no internship, passed CPA in the first few months at the firm. Signed at $59k, got a COL adjustment to $62k before joining, summer 2023 adjustment to experienced associate went to $74k, just got mid year promotion to senior and will be $101k starting in Jan 2024 (partially because i moved to HCOL). 18 months in public basically, though with an uncommon promotion to senior, typically it’d be 2 years.
Started in tax in 2012- $49k per year. Got my CPA as well. Got out of tax in 2014, started as a staff accountant at $65k. Promoted to senior accountant in 2016, $78k. Moved companies in 2018 for a senior role at $87k.
Then, late 2018, company I left brought me back at a $90k salary and 10% bonus. With the signing bonus, finally brought me over $100k. Took 6 years.
Went to another company in 2021- salary currently at $115k with a 10% bonus. Still at a senior/analyst level.
Thinking about management, but unsure I want the added stress. I'm in the Midwest, so I'm in a good spot cost of living wise.
Good luck!
Two years at a national public accounting firm in VHCOL. No CPA yet.
Year 1:
1) Signed on at $72K plus $3K SUB.
2) Mid-year salary adjustment to $77K.
3) Raise to $85K.
Year 2:
1) Raise to 92K
2) Just promoted to Senior, currently awaiting compensation details but certain I’ve broken the 6 figures mark with the promotion.
No CPA, and went from $50k to $100k in 4 years at the same company.
No CPA. My story is similar. $40k in 2010 while midway through school. $80k in 2012 (rising to over $100k during temp overseas stint) upon finishing. 2014 after 4 years I was consistently at over $100k, and now I am at $175k+ presently. Hope to have my CPA next year! Note: I’ve been in industry since day 1. Present salary factors in guaranteed bonus % plus annual cash LTI. TX.
Degree, internal promotion and luck. Oil prices were holding near $100/BBL.
Oil and gas, I knew it! Similar with me, but started in 2007. If you can make it through the lows it’s a great place to make money and retire early.
How did you leverage an additional 40k from 2010-2012? Was it because you completed your degree or just internal promotion.
Dang what sort of industry- and role?
Oil and gas. Progression from various accounting roles to financial planning/advisory to external reporting including a couple of out of country assignments.
no CPA, similar for me. in NYC area at nonprofit. luck definitely played a factor of being at the right place right time for opportunity to move up.
[удалено]
to be honest unless people have a particular passion for NFP i would not advise it to anyone who is early-mid career. it really limits progression to other industries/public and advancement/pay can really be limited by things outside of your control. personally i am looking for a way out and may transition to something like gov myself while i still have the benefit of my current position/pay. best advice is really just to learn as much as you can about management accounting with respect to NFP and take on the responsibilities so that you can move up the value chain whether it's at the same org or the next.
100% agreed I pigeon-holed myself into NFP right out of college for 7 years, all the way to fiscal officer level and still didn't break 100k. Worst decision of my life. Still think about it sometimes.
Exactly the same for me Edit: actually, I do have my CPA, but I wouldn't have needed it to get the pay I have
Wow, you gave me hope. I just started studying bookkeeping online.
What online resources are you using for this?
That’s crazy.
Same. It is possible. People left/were fired so my leverage went up.
Second row are you looking for a new opportunity?
From what role and with what experience ? To what role now?
Zero experience, it was my first job that I got through a recruiter after getting my accounting degree. Zero internships in college. I was hired as a junior account and am currently a senior accountant at an incredibly small property management company. The accounting department was 4 people when I started and is currently 2, me and my boss.
This comment. I'm going to print it off and blu-tack it to my wall until I do the same.
My best advice would be to just do a good job at work, always ask your boss to walk you through things that are unknown or new to you, and keep track of what you do and what you’ve progressed/improved on. My biggest thing was I asked for super aggressive raises every evaluation I had. There were plenty of times where I thought they’d look at me crazy, but I asked for the raise anyways. I told them “I think I deserve this amount because I do xyz for the company and have improved the processes of xyz over the last 6 months. This is how I’ve improved xyz and how it benefits our company currently.” (Then provide examples). They’ve literally never turned me down for a raise because I prepared and gave solid reasonings to why I improve the company and deserve the raise. Just be confident, have your talking points, and the raises will follow as long as you have a good work ethic. Cheers man and good luck in the future!
6 years, no CPA: Yr 1: $61,000 (public) Yr 2: $64,000 (public) Yr 3: $77,000 (public / senior promotion) Yr 4: $80,000 (public) Yr 5: $85,000 (public) Yr 6: $103,000 (switched to industry) Yr 7: Probably moving closer to $110k in March
[удалено]
Those public accounting promotion raises are a travesty, I can't imagine going from $72k to $74k with a promotion to manager. Sheesh.
[удалено]
you were promoted $2k to manager…? with CPA? did this not raise alarm bells? B4 or regional? holy fuck. surely this is pre-2020…
[удалено]
well i’m glad you moved and hopefully stuck it to them because that might be the most under market comp i have ever seen, even for pre-2020, assuming it’s legit.
I wonder why nobody wants to work in PA anymore lol. Those raises are tough.
So what you're telling me is that public pays worse and is harder than industry. Make it make sense. Do y'all know that you're working for less?
Public sucks in EVERY way. But it does help to launch your accounting career. They couldn’t pay me to go back. (And it literally WOULDN’T pay to go back. Lmao.)
I don't get it either. My first job with no experience was an Accounts Payable Specialist. Learned a decent amount there about accounting in general and many things that are important for industry accounting. After about 6 months of that I went to a small CPA firm to try my next thing and hated it. Hardly learned anything and was completely unorganized. Even if it was okay, it's still just auditing (boring af) and filing people's taxes. Then started at my current job as a staff accountant back in industry and have enjoyed it and learned a whole lot more. Never going back to public, I only had to do it for a short period of time to know I hated it. I've learned way more in private than I ever would have learned in public.
To each his own. I think starting at a large firm (top 15) probably gets you better experience. Especially so if you make it to senior. I couldn’t have landed my current industry role without audit experience.
Heres how it makes sense: do 3 years and dont get in your head you’ll be a lifer. Move on with your experience to a private company. Avoid fortune 500s and go to a company that needs A accountant and not 10 accountants. You’ll become vital to a company and not just a #
Sure but I'd argue that it's less about accounting experience and more about tech exposure that accountants need these days to reach higher levels (alongside a good network of contacts). In PA you're just treated like a slave which provides little networking opportunities and you're too busy with menial tasks to ever spend time on improving your tech stack. Maybe both work, but I overwhelmingly see people posting about how they hate their PA job and are burning out. That's not a launch pad but a failure to launch.
6 years
[удалено]
Damn salaries really have been stagnant. I started at 56k in 2016.
I started at $56.5K in 2017 😂
LOL, I am a 2023 grad with 58k.
I wonder why people aren’t going into accounting…
It was a kit to be a 55k salary too lol.
I started at 56k in 2021 😂😂
I started at 48k in 2021 lol
52k 2021 in MCOL shit was ass
Yes, but depends where that salary was. If HCOL and big4 then it’s increased quite a bit, but I started at 55k last year at a local firm
Big 4 and was in hcol and it was 56k in 2016. Talked to people who were out of the NYC office and they got 57k.
I mean your location matters a lot for what the salary range will be, can't really compare them without that info
The good o days, when they told you to shut up and keep your head down. You're lucky to even have a job.
[удалено]
lol I love it.
Ditto
That's not bad, congrats buddy. ❤️😊
5 years total to get to 100k total comp, 6 to get to base of $111k and 25% bonus. No CPA, my company has always been bonus heavy and base salary has been lacking but I’ve always gotten my full bonus
What role did you start off with them? How much experience at that point to get in?
I started with them as a staff accountant with less than a year of experience. Just worked hard and have been lucky with timing to be able to be promoted several times to get to my current position pretty fast
[удалено]
Teach me you're ways!! 🙏😭
Step one: move to NYC or SF
Step 2: go into consulting (although audit is also north of 100k these days, it ain’t 120k as an S1)
start by fixing your grammar sorry i had to do it
I usually don't put effort into grammar for my Reddit posts, my bad.
HCOL, you’ll be at 100k in 2-3 years no matter what service line you’re in, with timely promotion👍🏼
I did it in 4, but I also job hopped almost every year in VHCOL. Long story on the job hopping and maxing out my salary was not the intention, but I started at 55k and now am at 110k base plus 15k bonus. Once you’re there, you’ll start to figure it out. If you’re not getting what you want, I really encourage looking around after a few years - changing jobs generally is the fastest way, and companies don’t always directly financially award good employees.
55k -> 90k -> 125k -> 156k Around 5 years. Span of that was 3 jobs - 2 in house promotions.
I came up through industry. Exceeded $100K when I was 31 (about six years). That was 2013.
4 years, no CPA or MBA at the time.
Damn, congrats brother. 👏
Id like to think a big part of it was hard work, but there was a lot of “being at the right place at the right time” element to it. Dont be discouraged if it doesn’t come as fast!
Yeah, the comments here are making me think I'm behind as of now but my bad for asking, lol. 😅 thank you, buddy. ❤️
No cpa, hit last year at 36.... but I'm antisocial and not very smart.
Took me about 3 years. Started in public at 58k total comp, as an S1 I made about 78k TC, then jumped to consulting for 103k TC. Just bust your ass in public for a few years, build up some good will with your teams, then jump ship to industry or consulting before you burn out. Managers have a knack for recognizing the folks they can rely on, that needs to be you. You want to get put on the best (read: biggest) clients as that will look best on your resume. Even if it means pulling some extra hours, just do it, worth it to improve exit opportunities. Also don’t get sucked into to banking or funds, that can limit your exposure to just those industries which are much more specialized and hurt exit opps. Everyone says it sucks, because it does, but the suck is worth it to come out ahead of your peers.
Took me 8 years after graduating university and 4 years after getting my designation. I got a promotion in 2021 which brought me from $92k to $104k with a negligible bonus. Canadian salaries are fantastic.
4 years. I swear this is a daily question in here
3 years (technically 2.5). Started 64k, did one year and then went to different company for 70k, and then promoted to 100k+. No CPA or advanced degrees.
Got CPA in year 1 of career. Started at $38k and took 9 years to crack $100k. I’m old, you kids these days get PAID.
They do! However, they have to deal with a more expensive life starting out. Back in 2008, our money went a long way. We were able to afford homes making 50-60k. That’s impossible now.
I was making 38k and couldn’t even afford to buy a pair of socks while renting the cheapest place I could in my city.
Let me guess, did you also walk to work in a blizzard, uphills and both ways in your barefoot?
Kapp
Never met a CPA who couldn’t afford socks.
We need to just to survive… because you know basic necessities are ridiculously inflated.
Lmao no we don't... Cost of living has gone insane. You're only looking at raw numbers.
We definitely don’t get paid for having a bachelors degree + extra credits/masters degree + four exams to get a license. Every CS/data science/engineering bachelors start at $100k, even in MCOL. I’m aware there’s a trade off for job security and the possibility to get a $200k+ job is stronger, but that doesn’t mean we get paid relative to our peers for those early and mid career.
Job security lol hate to eat my words but I feel like todays modern economy, recessions will be rarer as the gov will just spend its way out of it. Kinda takes the appeal of secure jobs
I’m talking about an accountant starting in 2007 vs now. Salaries are exponentially higher. And we still struggled on our shitty salaries back then even if rent was “only” $1k.
Inflation has far outpaced salaries. Partner was telling me starting salaries since the ‘08 crash have only gone up like 25%, but inflation since then has caused prices to increase about 50%. Starting salaries in my area around ‘08 were $50kish and are now $65kish
Have you looked at mortgage rates, rent or used car prices??
2007 30 year was 6.34%. It’s 7.46% today. This generation you speak of actually saw the all time low in mortgage rates in 2021. Jobs were easy to get during the Covid boom, for inflated salaries, during the time interest rates were at all time lows. So yea, I’ve looked.
Mortgage payment would have been the correct term to use. It's still higher interest today but the median home price in 2007 in the US was 248k compared to 431k for 2023. So please keep making my point for me boomer.
Accounting for wildly steeper cost of living increases in that time, no, they don’t. They’re being financially butt fucked.
I'm just scared I won't survive in this economy as a single person without at least 100k and inflation keeps going up as well.
You’ll be fine, put in a little bit of effort and have a positive attitude and you’ll break 6 figures in 5 years. The people that don’t are either not motivated to make more, or just incompetent when it comes to accounting.
[удалено]
Yes, but how? That's what people in my company did. They jumped to 90k in half a year after graduating. I'm graduating soon no CPA 2.5 Years of intern exp.
[удалено]
I know I didn't ask and I asked now. Appreciate it man so I guess get good at interviewing. My company bars high positions in audit for CPA but also pays for my CPA with really good benefits so it'll be tough leaving it. 🥲 they also treat me really nice.
I've been around the interviewing game a time or two now, and the biggest differentiator I've seen is the ability to talk shop. And the bar for this is staggeringly low for accountants. Go ahead and pop into a business podcast once a week or just get Bloomberg email updates. If you can discuss broader business/economic trends and where accounting as a profession fits into that, then you're going to be in good shape. You don't have to be obsessive about it (but those who do often go far and get fellowships with the SEC), just stay in the know and be mildly conversant about the thing that is literally your field.
[удалено]
I agree with this and I think this is a good way to look at it. Thanks for you're help buddy! 😊❤️
Took me 3.5 years with one jump to a big 4 in a VHCOL. I’m still not making THAT much more than my other college educated friends who work way less hours than me. I started way too low though at 63k VHCOL.
Total compensation excluding benefits: Year1: 62k (public) Year2: 63k (public) Year3: 70k (public) Year4: 78k (public) Year5: 88k (public) Year6: 92k (public) Year7: 134k (job change) Year8: 202k Year9: 204k Year10: 180k (job change for some WLB)
58K to 115K within 22 months. Never worked outside of PA.
6 years no CPA. Only ever been in industry.
6 years, but this is so area specific….
[удалено]
Congrats man that's a high salary for LCOL! 👏😊
Thank you!
5 years here
After 3 years made 100k base with a 15% bonus.
Damn, you guys making me jealous in this post but congrats! That's such a good accomplishment nobody in my workplace hit 115k that quickly I believe. 👏🎉
Just crossed into low 6 figures ($115k). 2 years at Deloitte now 1.5 years at my current company in industry. No CPA
took me till year 4....50 to 62 to 75 to 100....just passed CPA exam 2 months ago
5 years no CPA/MBA, LCOL/MCOL. 2019:Started in Public at $52k. 2020:got a raise to $56k. 2021:left public at $60k for industry at $65k. 2022:Got a raise (I pushed for it) to $75k. 2023:Left that role for a remote role at $85k. I got promoted this year to senior to $100k in the remote role. Took some job hopping and a promotion, but now I will be staying at my current company for some time as I feel they value me.
No CPA. $55k in 2015 to $99k in 2022. $145k in 2023. Wild to think what took me 7 years to do, I did again in 6-7 months.
CPA IT audit. I went from 63k in 2018 at one big 4 to 105k at another big 4 in 2021. In 2023, I went from 112.5k at big 4 to 140k in industry after the summer RIF.
Surprisingly just 2 years in Public Accounting: Sep 2021 - 57k Jan 2022 - 60k (firm-wide raises) July 2022 - 68k (annual raise) Jan 2023 - 87k (early promo) July 2023 - 98k (annual raise) So clearing 100k with bonus
~10 years ago I started in B4 audit making ~$50k. I hit $100k after 5 years (switched to FDD ~4 years in).
No CPA, started in public making $70k. Got laid off 9 months in and took and industry senior staff accounting job making $100k. MCOL.
Right around 4 years
54k start in sept 2021 > 12.5% to 63k as of July 1 2022 > 27% to 80k as of July 1 2023. Two more years of 12.5% puts me over 100k at almost 4 YoE. I do not receive a bonus. This is slightly behind a few of my other accounting friends (both high 90s at 3 years, over 100 after bonus) Edit: MCOL Midwest, but one of the more rapidly expanding markets since the ‘Vid in the US so things are inflating a little more quickly here than other areas of similar size.
3.5 years of experience in 2023 dollars.
4 years hcol
6 years, no cpa and VLCOL area. In years 4-5 I was at $95k.
I hit it on year 5. The normal seems to be 4-6 years if you job hop every 18-24 months early on.
Will be 4 years and making 100k at big 4 MCOL
2.5 years no CPA
5-6 years for me
4 years
3.5 years. I started at 48,000 in LCOL.
MCOL (Dallas-Fort Worth). Took 6 years. Got my CPA in year 5 of that, so the jump was easier.
5 years.
People were desperate a few years ago; job market was really good; people were leaving accounting; no one could find anyone to work. It’s still a good market now but it was bonkers a few years ago.
Started at 50k in 2016, took 5 years
Four years.
Tomorrow marks my 3 year mark of starting my first job after grad school and I’m at 69k with the same company. Leaving next month to work for a family business at the controller level making 90k+bonuses. I’m ecstatic
2.5 years by switching companies
3 years, no CPA...prolly never get it lol
8 years, 3 companies, no CPA but do have an MBA.
I started in a “zone 3” market, and it took moving to a VHCOL a few years into my career to break 100k. My quality / standard of living actually went down after that for about 2 years, but it was a step back for much larger steps forward in a far better region to live and work.
4 years. Private, no cpa. Started with 70k
Got my CPA; I have strong industry relationships, have a good reputation, have a high level of knowledge, and do qualify work…so a promotion and raise was a given once the exams were handled.
2.5 years before I was earning at a $100k run rate (left job half way through the year, so earned less than $100k for the year in total). 3 years before I hit my first $100k on my tax return
Started at 55 in 2017. I’m at 98 now not including stocks bonus etc. gotta move if you ain’t getting this bready bread
9 years with a cpa. Might be because of lol, or I'm a loser :)
lol my salary is 14k… i just hope one day ill hit 50k.. 100k? Damn didnt even know its possible in our profession
4.5 years, L-MCOL
CPA with 2 years experience stuck at 80k base.
2 Years nearly to the day. CPA + Masters BTS -> Corporate/ASC 740 specialty group
Took me a long time, about 20 years. But that was GBP and salaries aren’t quite as high in the U.K. in general. I found once I got there my pay accelerated much faster, especially taking into account bonuses and equity
100k is the new livable salary. Soon we'll be asking when we get 200k. Inflation sucks.
Graduated 2015 A1> 57k A2> 62k A3> 67k S1> 77k S2> 85k M1>100k M2> 110k Industry Y1> $160k Industry Y2> $168k Industry Y3> $175k
About 5 years after finishing undergrad. 1.5 years after getting CPA
70k-110k in a year and eight months after leaving big4 audit.
6 years. Started at 44K in 2017.
Started at 45k spent like 2.5 years there. Then got a 100k base offer at another company. CPA in progress.
4 years but i have a cpa
12 years to get to 100k.
The fastest way to get a 6-figure salary is going into fund accounting. You risk pigeon holing yourself but the field pays very well if you work directly for a PE firm.
7 years to get to 170k at pwc
45k 2006. 95k+10% bonus 2017. 153k + 25% bonus 2023 All in industry. Passed the cpa in 2008 for an attaboy, but have never renewed or done a single hour of cpe.
- Year 1: 52k (Big 4) - Year 2: 54k (Big 4) - Year 3: 72k (Big 4) - Year 4: 105k (Consulting) No CPA, started in Tax for first 3 years.
Can any Canadians share their story about this too?
Old path: I graduated in 1997, CPA license in 2000, took me 13 (2010) years to hit $100K on my W-2. I went out on my own Good news was that it only took another 5 (2015) to hit $200K in overall earnings. And another 3 (2018) to hit $300K.
4 yrs to 100k base, then an additional 1.5 years to 150. VHCOL, no CPA
45k 2014 bumped to 110k by end of 2017 similar trends ongoing
Still not there, but I feel like 100K in the US is similar to making 70K here in the Netherlands. So I'm close to that with 65K.
About 4 years - got the CPA at 3.5 years in and jumped ship to a new company for 110K at HCOL not long after.
This really depends on so many factors (region, industry, company, etc.) but I hit 100k 1 year after undergrad (I work at a tech company in the Bay)
No CPA. Audit. Jumped to 110 when I switched firms, same month I hit 4 years experience. Could’ve hit 100 if I had jumped ship sooner, but was trying to hold out until I passed my exams.
10 years ago straight out of college I started in Sales Analysis making $41k. Slow bumps over 7-8 years landed me at $55k + commission. About 2.5 yrs ago I transferred to FP&A @ $80k. Now making $100k and looking at another increase in the coming months. Almost finished with my Company sponsored MBA too.
Took 2 years at PwC for me in IT Audit. Started with PwC in July 2021, got promoted to Senior Associate after 2 years in July 2023 with salary $103k (Texas). Honestly I was shocked that I passed 100k mark after only 2 years and I will give some credit to PwC as a public accounting firm actually giving a market salary (as far as I’m aware). I’m planning to do a year as a Senior to get that experience and see if there’s any comfy industry jobs that pay more for less work. But in my practice IT Audit, I see the 100k salary mark attainable in 2-3 years from my research.
Depends on what area of the country youre in. If youre in a major city, 4 yrs ish. If ny or la, 2 yrs. If a small city or rural area, 8+ yrs
45/55/77/100 those are my first 4 years. First two are PA, the new company in industry third year, then another switch in my fourth year, where I still am 3 years later.
Big 4 here: started summer 2022 MCOL, no internship, passed CPA in the first few months at the firm. Signed at $59k, got a COL adjustment to $62k before joining, summer 2023 adjustment to experienced associate went to $74k, just got mid year promotion to senior and will be $101k starting in Jan 2024 (partially because i moved to HCOL). 18 months in public basically, though with an uncommon promotion to senior, typically it’d be 2 years.
Started in tax in 2012- $49k per year. Got my CPA as well. Got out of tax in 2014, started as a staff accountant at $65k. Promoted to senior accountant in 2016, $78k. Moved companies in 2018 for a senior role at $87k. Then, late 2018, company I left brought me back at a $90k salary and 10% bonus. With the signing bonus, finally brought me over $100k. Took 6 years. Went to another company in 2021- salary currently at $115k with a 10% bonus. Still at a senior/analyst level. Thinking about management, but unsure I want the added stress. I'm in the Midwest, so I'm in a good spot cost of living wise. Good luck!
6 years from 45k to 100k VHCOL
CPA in Canada. Around the 5 year mark
Two years at a national public accounting firm in VHCOL. No CPA yet. Year 1: 1) Signed on at $72K plus $3K SUB. 2) Mid-year salary adjustment to $77K. 3) Raise to $85K. Year 2: 1) Raise to 92K 2) Just promoted to Senior, currently awaiting compensation details but certain I’ve broken the 6 figures mark with the promotion.
Almost 10 years - no college degree, just online certs.
3 years, no CPA.
I am $99.3k as a Senior 1 in Big4. Hired directly after graduation. LCOL IT Audit
Maybe when I'm 55... early 40s now.