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Thank you so much! Yes, I did get a raise which is always nice. And no, right now we have team coordinators who work under our estimators and the collection emails/calls are their responsibility. And then I meet with the teams once per week to see which jobs we think we'll be able to collect on and file liens, send collection letters, process payments, etc. But we are currently working on finding a better process for our AR because it's very time consuming for the teams

@@rylieconstance congrats on the raise! Thanks for the detailed response. I'm crossing my fingers for you that you don't have to stay so late in the future anymore. One more question. Did you find this new job on indeed, LinkedIn, etc?

I believe it was Indeed 😊

Aww thank you so much!!

Thank you! And no you don't need to take business studies before accounting in my opinion. I had an accounting class in high school and that was my first business or accounting course. You can certainly jump right to accounting 😊

Haha yes it's been really busy! But I'm happy to be back :)

I don't have any plans currently. But it's something I will definitely think about in the future if it can help further my career

Natural ​blonde is rare species now-a-days. I assume you don't dye your eyebrows? ​@@rylieconstance

@@mathematicaleconomist4943 I do not. I get highlights but my hair is naturally strawberry blonde. Honestly it looks different depending on the lighting, sometimes red sometimes blonde lol

Thank you so much! And that's awesome about pursuing your degree 😊

How did you become an accounting clerk?

@@sharonjo7630 I got my Bachelor's degree in 2019 and I started as an auditor when I graduated. Over the last 5 years I gained experience in different departments such as fixed assets, accounts payable, accounts receivable and worked my way up to an assistant controller

That's awesome!! Congratulations! I just started a new job at the beginning of the year as an assistant controller and the first area I learned was our Accounts Receivable. That sounds like a great opportunity! Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions, you'll do great 😊

You do not! In terms of math, accounting is just addition and subtraction 😊

Depending on which branch of accounting you're talking about, you can end up using any of the following: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This is the bulk of accounting. Most people won't need more than this. For a college degree, you'll end up taking statistics in almost every school, so percentages, maybe a bit of algebra. Some schools want you to take introductory calculus like pre-calc and/or calculus 1. I just looked at the University of Minnesota and their program is just statistics so don't let the idea that calculus could be involved scare you away. That's really more applicable to finance oriented jobs rather than accounting. I'm 32. I've been using Kahn Academy to brush up on math topics I haven't touched since high school. It's free and covers a variety of topics, so you can study the areas you think you don't understand well, at your own pace, without any pressure. It's a great tool. I'd highly recommend it to anyone at any stage of life.

I graduated from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania

​@@rylieconstanceMuch colder than Florida?

@@mathematicaleconomist4943 just a little lol

@@rylieconstance Please. Copy/paste to Google the search "weather question of the day never below zero." It will take you to a 45-second news video that will SHOCK you (it's weather trivia that will SHOCK you!).

I'm so glad you found the video useful! And that sounds like a great idea. As long as you stay consistent and absorb as much info as you can, you'll do great!

Hahaha I actually love that

Thank you so much!! And that's awesome!! Congratulations!!

I actually studied for the CPA and passed 1 part of my exam a few years ago. But since I left public accounting I never pursued it any farther

Thanks so much!!!

I live in Florida but I'm originally from Pennsylvania

I don't know much about CMAs or the certification. But it sounds like a great way to advance your career and potentially earn a higher salary

@@rylieconstance thankyou so much for answering 💌

This is VERY serious. Are you able to tell me if there is a genuine accountant shortage (not just CPA's!)? I keep hearing about an accounting shortage and I find it hard to believe because I spent many long years not being able to find an accounting job to save my life.

I did! I majored in accounting and finance

Thank you! I'm 5 days a week in the office. But my prior job was the first few months in the office and then it went to a hybrid schedule, which I feel like is pretty typical

No, I do not. I worked in public accounting as an auditor for 1 year, but after leaving I didn't pursue my CPA.

Hi, too many Accountants like us pursue to become an Enrolled Agent as an additional certification, a CMA degree will take you far away, what an Accountant makes after 5 years as a CPA you can make it as an Accountant with a CMA Certificate after 1 year or 18’months in the worst case, hope might help you my advice, best!

Wow I'm sorry to hear that! That pay range is really low, at least in my experience. I would say the job market is a little tough in Florida as well. I think a big part of it is the fact that so many people have moved to Florida in the last several years (Cali might be the same way). But I will say I still feel like there are a lot of opportunities in accounting in Florida. And luckily it is a job where remote work is available for some companies so you can work for a company based out of a different state. But I do remember it being challenging as a new grad because a lot of companies want prior experience. That was frustrating for me too. But definitely don't give up!! It took me a few months to find my first job. I wish you the best of luck and your dream job is out there!!

@@rylieconstance Thank you for your kind words Rylie! Hope you the best too!

Is AR / AP clerk also hard to get in CA? Try applying to those roles if you haven't and just move up the corporate ladder one step at a time. A friend of mine started fr the bottom and work his way up from an AR clerk > Entry level Acct > Acct II > to now a Sr. Acct. He works for larger co. so there's more hierarchy. I think GPA only matters when applying for internships while in college.

@@mars2459 Hello, thanks for replying to my comment and giving advise. My answer for you question is no. I have been applying for AR AP and staff accountant positions that pay as low as $16 (which is relatively low here in CA) but no luck. I've met some rude recruiters that were straight up "yeah it's an entry level position, we still need people with at least 1 year of accounting experience since we need don't want waste time training" or "oh you don't have acct experience?" then pointed finger to the door and told me to leave. I've also got in a few scam job postings but luckily I didn't lose anything. Every place I went for an interview I always explain "although my previous employment is in the medicine production field but I have transferrable skills such as Excel, data entry, record keeping and I'm willing to learn" but so far it hasn't worked out. Finding a job in this field now is so so frustrating that a few week back I literally smoke and cry my eyes out every night. Now my plan is to look for any job and save up money to move out of the state to pursue the Accounting field, preferably Salt lake city Utah or Houston TX. I am pretty done and hate the situation here in CA.

@@NateTrynaMakeMoneyI wish you good luck in your search. Saty Positive🙏

Thank you!!! 😊

Thank you! Yes, there wasn't a lot of opportunity to move up at my last company which is why now I'm really excited to be referred to as the assistant controller. While interviewing I was told it was a staff accountant/assistant controller role because they wanted to transition someone. But they do refer to me as the assistant controller and you're right... after 5 years no more being a staff accountant :) And my work hours are usually 8AM-5PM with a one hour lunch. But I am salary so sometimes I can leave a little early or I stay a little late. And if I have an appointment or if I'm sick I can work from home.

@@rylieconstance I'd love to see make and upload that potential job interview tip video you mentioned in this video as well btw!

My advice is to choose an industry you're interested in and start applying for staff accountant roles. For me, I really liked working in retail in high school/college so I just starting applying at retail companies. I worked as a staff accountant for Foot Locker for 2 years and loved it!

Thank you!!! And I do not have my CPA. I worked in public accounting for a little over a year as an auditor. During that time I studied for the REG section but as soon as I realized I didn't want to work in public accounting anymore I stopped pursuing my license. Companies do love to see experience in public accounting and a CPA so it's definitely a good option to think about. And it was just preference in my career choice, and you can certainly have a very successful career without a CPA :)

@@rylieconstance Thanks for the feedback! For me, I want to stay in industry/private accounting forever and management doesn't sound appealing to me so not sure if CPA is worth it for me...

Yeah it didn't make sense for me to get my CPA. It's a big time commitment and it also costs money, as well as you have to complete a certain number of hours of CPE courses each year so your license doesn't expire. Speaking from personal experience, I didn't need it and I've never regretted not having it. I hope that helps!

Thank you! And I think accounting has very good job security for the foreseeable future. In my personal experience technology is very helpful but not close to being able to replace accountants. There are a lot of concepts that aren't always straightforward in accounting. So I would say your job is safe :)

@@rylieconstance Thank you so much❤

@@Daphyne95 AI will not replace people in the accounting profession, it will work with people

I’m in internal audit and I would say I don’t think any company would ethically or legally be allowed to rely on AI for anything in the near future. For every transaction that is calculated using software or anything that the accounting department does that relies on software HAS to be calculated manually as well and any differences over a certain threshold have to be investigated. There are too many internal controls in place with companies that don’t allow complete reliance on tech.

Probably my junior or senior year of high school. I was lucky that I had a few accounting classes in high school so I had some exposure to it before college 😊

Hello! Thank you so much for your comment! Salaries can range quite a bit in accounting. I would say anywhere between $50K-$70K is typical to start (I know that is a very big range). But based on you being a CPA candidate and working in a large city I would say you can expect to earn on the higher end. If you want to work at a larger firm like a Big 4 accounting firm then you can also typically expect a higher salary versus a regional or local firm. It's also a good idea to mention your salary expectations in a job interview and just remember it's always better to set a higher salary expectation than a lower one. And of course with experience comes salary increases. I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!!

I graduated the year before you, 2018, and also used to work in public accounting - tax! Glad I’m out lol especially this time of year!

That's awesome! And yes I totally feel that lol. I worked for 1 year in public accounting as an auditor. It was great experience but definitely glad to have some work life balance now :)

I would start by choosing an industry that you're interested in and applying to companies in those industries (like retail, medical, biology, construction, real estate, etc.). Every company needs accountants so don't limit yourself. Also remember to ask questions during your interview. You're interviewing the company just as much as they are interviewing you and you want to make sure you're a good fit. And be confident, you got this! :)

Thank you so much! That's so exciting!