Most kids in their 20-30’s have some sort of help from their parents. Once they get a stable career or the mildly successful “business guru” I think their boomer parents are going to help them out more by transferring assets. There will be trillions of dollars transferred to the Millennial/Gen Z in the next 20-30yrs. I think it’s only going to get worse with social media. You are going to have all these young people saying they made it by doing X when really their parents transferred assets to support their lifestyle. *maybe this is exactly what is happening now….
Indeed they'll fly to some resort in Bali on their parent's dime and then pretend that's where they live as a digital nomad selling courses even though this *is* the course they're selling.
Entirely tangential to your point, just something that dawned on me;
All the kids from high school that truly got far career wise were kids that did something that their parents were already doing. Like law, or biochemistry, they basically had parents that knew path already. Who helped them not just with their homework but probably exceeded the teachers.
These kids worked hard and were smart. But they also enjoyed having a parental navigator point them exactly towards what the pay-off for that effort is.
Or to connect it back to your point; The effective kids from the future don't just have wealthy parents, they also have parents who are wise to all the social media shenanigans and make them aware of all the obvious traps. The era of letting children figure things out by themselves has ended.
my personal favorite scheme i’ve come across involved starting your own LLC then funneling a bunch of circular transactions through it to trick banks into giving you a large loan that you would then use to buy an AirBnB to generate passive income lmao
Gotta hand it to em for the effort. It's a cut above buying the G Wagon for your LLC and taking bonus or 179 to get the write off. (And conveniently ignoring depr recapture or lying about how it works)
And the craziest thing is that a lot of business owners don't seem to understand that for some businesses, you don't even have 70% control of your revenue
Meaning: let's say you're making $100k through Uber. You upgrade your cars. Your income is RELIANT on UBER. If they ban you? Game over. And you got new cars to pay
Let's say you buy property to do AirBnb. Do you really really think the gov't and the rich want small business owners to actually make money? Fuck no. Industry will get so regulated, small potatoes lose their chance to make money
My mantra: make money while shit is hot, but don't go fully invested in anything out of your control. Always keep a job and/or some plan B
>Let's say you buy property to do AirBnb. Do you really really think the gov't and the rich want small business owners to actually make money? Fuck no. Industry will get so regulated, small potatoes lose their chance to make money
This is such a dumb conspiracy take.
Yes, if profit is there to be made, someone with more money than you will come in and take it. But that doesn't mean there's some vast conspiracy that just doesn't want you specifically to be successful.
Not OP, but not a conspiracy. Eventually someone proposes regulation "for safety" or "for good of the community". Think of the people trying to ban short-term rentals. The big guys can afford the lawyers and accountants to work around the system or even capture it. The little guys get stuck with two properties they have to pay for but can't rent anymore.
Yes. We went through an entire cycle of this 10-15 years ago. Many of us were “making money online” and now almost everyone I know, including me, is working a regular office job.
The circle of life.
Yes but a lot of Gen Z thinks only old dumb ass boomers fall for late night cable TV infomercial “get rich” schemes and that Gen Z is too smart for that and “I know this person is correct because they’re a real person and they have a lot of followers/likes!”
Most of these influencer accounts on social media are literally just the modern day version of cable TV infomercial/reality show
I was just telling my sister the other day that influencers are the new QVC. We watch their stories and buy what their selling because they are “real people” but it’s literally no different than our moms sitting and watching QVC everyday to see what new products they should blow money on.
lol is QVC like those kitchen studio sets or whatever where someone would demonstrate a knife set in front of a live audience and convince people to buy it? (10 easy monthly payments of $29.95 or something) hahaha
Yeah that scene of him sniping dudes in the lady's yard was pretty badass. Once I saw that, I got the confidence to matriculate into my school's accounting program.
You're right. I just focused on accounting because im in the sub and im doing it but it applies to all stable careers.
Just sick of seeing people rag on 9-5 jobs when they are the most reliable way to get wealthy in the long run
Get rid of tik tok, the hot stuff will bubble up and reach other social media cites.
Short-form content literally short circuits your dopamine receptours.
Not even wealthy, just live a life where you know how much money you have and how much you can spend on a regular basis. I’m probably never gonna be wealthy (until/unless I become an entrepreneur) but I damn well will **never** be homeless levels of poor unless it’s a problem with me and my health. Tax and people who need tax experts aren’t going anywhere.
Exactly. It's no different than the multi-level marketing schemes that have been around for decades. They tell you that you are an idiot for working a 9-5 and you should be your own boss by selling whatever goofy product is en Vogue (Avon, Amway, Herbalife,etc)
This actually excites me. So many CPA are retiring in the next 5-10 years and there arent enough to take their place. Im hoping to take advantage of that
Hate to burst your bubble, but they've been beating this drum for the past twenty years. Every year I keep hearing about this influx of CPA's that are supposedly retiring and how we're going to be so overpaid, since no one is going into accounting. I've literally heard this saying parroted since I was a freshman in college over a decade ago.
As a relatively new CPA, competing against people who are dragging their feet over exams, my experience is the shortage is in full swing and in no danger reversing anytime soon.
I keep a distant tab on my state schools, and accounting course enrollment is truly so low. While I am nervous about the next generations ability to think, I do also see job security lol
Technology is demanding less accountants. As more things shift online, less people are needed to type them in, move them around, etc.
So while there is decreasing enrollment, there is decreasing demand. Although, there is a clear need for cpas and especially experienced and knowledgeable accountants. So I think it’ll even out, like it does in pretty much every job/industry.
Accounting knowledge will remain valuable for anyone alive now almost certainly, and if it doesn’t, it’s likely that it won’t matter anyways as there will be many more jobs/careers taken out first so I imagine the pathway to a new job will be mostly solved by then.
COL is fked in the major Canadian cities, industry doesn't really matter here (unless you work as some ultra high paying job).
Does that make us "underpaid?" I mean, yeah, you could make that argument.
More of a problem with Canada than accounting though, tbh.
Yup, it's more a Canadian issue, but since we have tn1 visa to USA, it's fair to complain about salaries here. I'm planning to leave.
Actions over words.
Huge shortage in tax. Midwest firm, LCOL, we get 10-15 calls a week asking if we are taking on any new clients. 3 firms in the town next to us closed down last year with nobody to buy them out, and the only other firm in our town is a couple guys who are at least 70. We are raising prices like crazy because the demand is so high.
it’s also the fact that the boomer generation held their work positions several decades longer than usual. Our President is literally 81. Many partners are refusing to pass on the bag and just simply continuing to work well into their 60’s. they were supposed to retire 10 years ago, they just didn’t.
There is a shortage of CPAs, at least in the US, which is partly driven by all the retirements. However, it doesn't really cause higher wages in industry because accounting is a cost center, so companies are fine with worse quality/over utilization of remaining staff because it doesn't affect their top line.
In the case of public accounting, wages have increased quite a bit actually. I started at $55k in 2021 and those same positions are starting at $70k in my city now.
Exactly! Build your own firm and you’ll be rich and have good WLB and not do the 9-5 grind. Do the 8-3 grind M-Th. Or seasonal. My plan is to do all my work Jan-Apr and take summers off. So more work Sept-Oct.
Also those 20 something year olds getting by on social media money will age out and have nothing to fall back on when they turn 30. I know many video game streamers who hit 30 and are now irrelevant.
Don't forget that even though more and more people are job hunting now, they don't even know how a resume works. What experience is. How to interview. etc.
There's significantly less competition
The business is basically just "them". They want to get paid to advertise overpriced lip gloss/makeup/clothing to their viewers.
For a very small amount of them it works, but there's nothing quite as sad as an account with a small handful of followers/viewers advertising some fly-by-night brand and making maybe $10 off it.
Most people think of business = start a Shopify, hire someone to design site, create product
None of them realistically think about getting the traffic to sell the product.
But for accountants, a really good business to think about is selling services outside of your job. Don't want to do this on your own? Guidepoint is a good "job." They connect professionals (like accountants) with top companies that need your service. I found out about Guidepoint when they interviewed me for a job.
The world is cool lol. But also, everything we can think of... a huge company is already doing it
My point t too, tbh I don't mind the 9 to 5. Some of us even have the fortune of wfh . We happen to be very knowledgeable in business and can also help friends and family with financial advice. We get nice gigs here and there during tax season on top of a very nice profession. Very stable career that allows us to.provide for our families.
That’s a solid perspective you have there. A very accountant-ish line of thinking. Work isn’t always exciting, but if you pick a smart career it will always pay the bills.
9-5 has the benefit of weekends and evenings off. I really like that because it is when most other people are free.
Thank you for the compliment.
I found out quite young that life isnt fair and that "loving" your job is a rare feeling and everything becomes a job eventually. I am very content with a job that is tolerable and boring since the only purpose of a job for me is to fund the things I find fun outside of work. I also plan on retiring in my 50's so the knowledge and money in accounting should fit that well
That's a great point, but I would add that adjusting your mindset to try to turn your job into something interesting, rather than just a tolerable way to earn a paycheck, can not only improve your happiness at work but also boost your career.
While accounting may not be the most fascinating subject, make it your passion to learn everything and anything you can to be the best at your job as you can be - learn about mergers and acquisitions, complex accounting topics, challenging formulas, programming languages, data manipulation, etc. It helps break up the monotony of the day-to-day and may open up career progression. Many workplaces also offer educational assistance to pay for any additional courses you might want to take.
It absolutely does. I enrolled in a university program at 29 to get an education in accounting, and I've recently enrolled in the CFA program due to the job I was able to get after graduating (although CPA was the original plan). Going back to school was one of the best things I ever did for myself after feeling like I was "stuck" in life beforehand.
If you view learning as something interesting and as a way to further develop yourself it can become a hobby rather than a chore, and will make the rest of your life that much more interesting.
Yes!! Other professions don't have that and also are very demanding like doctor's and nurses have to sweat for their paychecks. No body dies when we mess up, we just recalculate numbers or go through processes to fix them.
None of it is reality, we don’t see their financial statements, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Their 9-5 is schlepping this false narrative in hopes of duping you into buying whatever “e-guide” they’ve created. Everything is about making you feel inferior, inadequate, insecure through the comparison process. Essentially injuring your ego on a subconscious level.
I highly recommend watching Hannah Alonzo on YouTube, she debunks all these scams https://youtube.com/@hannahalonzo?si=yCr4SEauTtS115CB.
I’m 2 years into my career and make just shy of 100k after bonus (F100 industry accounting analyst).
The combo of a stable accounting career and a side hustle passion project can yield you some amazing results.
If your side hustle takes off, then GREAT. If it doesn’t, you’ll always be able to feed yourself and your family with the CPA license👌🏼
These 25yo internet gurus are only there to sell you their course on how to make money. You are typically the main revenue source to them, not the product they claim to do so well with. Always remember that.
Keep what you’re doing my friend. My wife’s friend’s husband used to tell me college was a joke and he was so glad he didn’t waste his time on that. My girlfriend wanted to straight punch him at one point he was so condescending.
Now he’s busting his ass at two jobs and I get to invite him to our second home.
Over time, you start to see that all those quick-rich people weren’t really wealthy. They were just spending every dime they make and maxing out credit cards.
Honestly though he’s not exactly wrong, I’m glad I have a degree and was able to get a job in this field but I really didn’t learn anything from college that was put to particularly good use during my career so far.
4 years of hoop jumping and a 5-digit money fire all just to get a living wage. That’s how college looks to me in hindsight.
TicTok is basically telling Gen Z today what infomercials told Gen X in the 80’s and 90’s.
There have always been snake oil salesman selling unrealistic dreams, it’s just the medium that changes over time.
It's true but is also a natural consequence of what Marx termed the alienation of the self, which he viewed as inherent in capitalism.
Being safely employed and retiring in your 50s with a decent pot is a rational positive, but to noone does it sound like an exciting or fulfilling life in and of itself, and especially not when you're under 25.
How many posts on here decry having to live our lives grinding in under appreciated roles so we can make the partners or shareholders rich?
They are correct, but so are you. Balance is key.
You are in a prison on many levels (prisoner in your body, prisoner to your own thoughts and beliefs, prisoner to society's rules, expectations, judgements).
The 9 to 5 is a scam. Everything is made up. Why did we make it so terrible? Why do we not hold those we give power to accountable? Why do we give power to others in the first place? Many answers there.
That being said, just because you recognize it as the scam and prison that it is, that doesn't mean you can change it over night. And refusing to play helps no one. You can only change yourself and the ways in which you play the game. For instance, you can buy used cars your whole life instead of buying fancy ones every handful of years because you want to impress you friends. Less money spent on consumption means more money available to invest in creation. Creation can help you buy your freedom faster. Consumption keeps you indebted.
Real balance is doing what you need to do financially, while looking for other avenues where the 9 to 5 becomes less necessary.
Accounting would be great if it was just 9-5 haha, the problem is that it’s often so much more than that.
The money is good though, and it can give you a great head start against your peers if you save and invest it well.
Lol what's missing here is that you can make 100k easily as a CPA in Canada, but the vast majority of those 100k jobs are in city centers where COL far outstrips a 100k pre-tax salary (to be as comfortable as you claim).
Still though, I agree.
Covid finally did some turbo charging of salaries here in Canada. Don't think I would have made my comp otherwise (without some major career moves), 6ish years in.
Entry positions are on the rise??? Idk what Canada you’re living in, but this is not the case. All I see is layoffs and hiring freezes. The only roles I see posted constantly are Manager/Senior Manager jobs in PA and Senior Accountants in industry. Juniors market is dead.
Don't worry, the opposite is already happening
TikTok is slowly dying and people are back to finding jobs. Check out the upsurge of Redditors trying to find jobs and realize they know nothing about finding jobs (thanks to TT).
There's also ongoing data being collected and there's finally an increase of job applicants in the U.S. This data won't be published in the next few months though so no one's gonna know about this reversal just yet
People know they got bills to pay, and barely anybody is paying now
I’ve had a passion for both accounting and MMA since I was a teenager. I’ve worked in the accounting field for 10 years now, all while also pursuing my MMA goals. When fighting was finally paying off, I did part-time, remote accounting work. When I tore my ACL and had to take a break from MMA, I went back to the office full-time, got my Masters in Accounting, and am now pursuing my CPA.
All this to say that the stability of accounting has enabled me to also pursue other passions without being a starving artist (like many of my teammates 😬).
Sure, 9-5 kinda sucks, but if you're thinking about taking life advice from people who've only just begun to live theirs, maybe reconsider why 20 year-olds would know anything about anything.
Bro it’s insane lmfaooo.
I have mad people from my hometown that I follow and see some of them reposting these guru videos on their stories or making posts about the same idea and people in the comments agreeing. 😭😭
These are some of the same people I sat next to in school and they would do fuck all in class then use “school isn’t for me Gary Vee vibes” as a cope. So, they’re not going uni because “that’s not for them” while judging people who do because they equate college to being 6 figures in debt automatically and a slave to society. College 100% isn’t the route for everyone but you still have to go and continue your education elsewhere whether it be a trade, a skill, anything. Just because Zuck dropped out and became a money machine doesn’t mean you have the same odds. Working at a warehouse without a putting an actual plan behind this “escape the 9-5” mindset while you wait for that millionaire lifestyle to spawn isn’t gonna work.
I personally know a couple of people who have fallen for this stuff. One for “learn how to code and get a 100k+ job in 6 weeks”(they in fact did NOT learn any type of coding nor got a job and the course only consisted of customer service bullshit for tech companies), one for e-commerce (they paid 30k for a course that was supposed to help start up their Amazon store and 3 months later, their store got taken down and the guru blocked them), and a handful for forex (either paid for a course that amounted to nothing or to a trader so they can multiply their return and got blocked right after).
I went to school with one of the trading gurus that scams people in my town and somehow, this guy keeps fooling people. It really is crazy to see the double life they have bc on social media you see them “owning” McLaren’s but run into them irl driving the same stock V6 charger they had since high school LMFAOO.
Social media plays a big part in the youth’s lives. I remember being in the 6th grade and if you didn’t have social media, you weren’t valid. All the way through high school, you had to deal with constantly comparing yourself to the “glamorous lives” that people post of themselves and then you get judged because your follow ratio is bad and your post didn’t get enough likes. All of this being introduced to us very early on has fucked up some peoples priorities and the way we think and it’s so whack.
In reality, the TikTok crew isn't that far off from the truth. Kids have been funnelled into college for generations, and have been fed this lie that we can sustain an economy where everyone works behind a laptop screen and we can sustain just everyone providing "services" to our fellow laptop users.
The reality is that we have way too much college educated white collar talent and no jobs for them. We need people doing blue collar work. If you have skills where you actually make contributions that can't be done on the computer you'll be in much better shape.
CPAs are kind of an exception it seems. I guess it has something to do with us being the blue collar workers of the white collar world. We have skills that allow us to do something that nobody wants to do, so in turn we get decey wages and job security.
So accounting is ok for the white collar world, but otherwise unless you're an exceptional talent or disabled or something, go to a trade school and get your hands dirty. Save on college tuition and enjoy your 6 figure salary.
A lot of these people also are buying into "fake it til you make it", "manifest abundance by spending like you have it", and other Amway/The Secret mentalities, which means they are horrifically in debt or have such unstable incomes that they onlt flash the money on payday and then it's gone the same day. It's all smoke and mirrors and reeks of people smart enough to not join an MLM but too lazy and/or directionless to figure out wlb with a 9-5.
This is true. There aren’t grifters selling courses on how to have a stable career and invest for the long term. What people see on social media is geared towards engagement, not what is actually good advice.
Also from Canada in my late 20's now, and I agree with you.
I wasn't as smart as you both career nor financially, but you are 100% right.
I wasn't the best in school, nor was I the best employee out there, but I make a decent living, and feel pretty secure about my career prospects, and am able to own housing in Toronto (albeit it's a shoebox condo) with the income I have saved and the amount of leverage I can get from my income.
Bright futures ahead for you, I wish I had this clarity back when I was younger.
Note all the salaries he just said are in CAD with Canadian taxes on top of it. US CPAs well out earn their Canadian peers. The industry won't be missing jobs for a long time which makes it a very strong basis for stability but without grinding for partner or finding a creative outlet for employment getting to top earning salaries is rather difficult.
I’m there with you buddy as a Canadian. My CPA route has led me to a job (albeit big 4 audit) right out of university and landed an industry role in a city I’ve always wanted to move to after a couple years. It’s not a “glamorous” career but I get to be employed even during the worst of times and also make a decent amount to save/invest for my retirement!
Plus you can probably make some good money if you move around (or make more if you wanna move to the states$) and easily find remote opportunities as well so you can be more flexible with where you wanna live or hours you wanna work (compared with other jobs).
It’s a profession with a slow start but once you gain more experience, it’s a faster trajectory upwards.
Tiktok is just another platform that scammers can use to sell you their “courses” to get rich. Anyone who is actually rich won’t be sharing with just anyone their trade secrets. These scammers have existed for a long time but since they’re able to advertise on a platform that has an algorithm it does make you think that lots of people are getting rich. I strongly believe anything sustainable isn’t obtained through a get rich quick scheme. While some people may get lucky but that’s also a rare 1%. A lot of great start ups are built on work ethic, resilience and the ability to risk A LOT for that slim chance of succeeding.
Accounting on the other hand is safe but like others have said, it’s steady and won’t be “automated” by AI anytime soon 🤣
Lol I loved the Matrix and totally agree with it all. They will have their own matrix defined by the conditions of TikTok and entrepreneurship life to contend with at some point anyways (I experienced it and life is full of restrictions at the end of the day anyways). Good luck on your journey!
Something you touched: Leaving 9-5 is fine IF you have a really good business plan, some exceptional talent, etc If you don’t have those things, it’s a terrible idea. Also, if you can’t take steps to get something going while you are employed, you probably don’t have the work ethic / hustle to make it worth it to quit you 9-5. I know these things about myself which is why I’m happy to get that sweet sweet check every two weeks.
Just another "get rich quick" scheme. It isn't anything new, why study and work hard when you can have instant riches.
Do You Know the Way to San Jose:
LA is a great big freeway
Put a hundred down and buy a car
In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass
And all the stars that never were
Are parking cars and pumping gas
When you see all this, remember the median HOUSEHOLD income was 74k in 2022. You’ll be making above median income in 2 years, If not right out of school.
If you don’t mind your job, being comfortably in the upper middle class of the matrix is pretty good living
Let time do its thing. You’ll have a highly employable skill set and a nice life in a decade if you stick this out, meanwhile they’ll still be trying to get attention online in their mid thirties.
Most of the “lifestyle” they’re trying to show off online is staged for social media.
If people weren’t in the “matrix” we wouldn’t have functioning cars, clothes, utilities, phones, etc. Most online entrepreneurs are just losers who want easy money for little to not effort.
Spot on my friend! Same here, enjoy my work, totally disconnect from it when 5pm hits (depending on the day🤣). Go on plenty of vacations, love my hobbies, job security forever since I’m a CPA, life is good 🙌🏻
Reddit isn't helping either, but for different reasons. I was very happy in my small firm until I found this sub and then started seeing what the popular posts and comments claimed people were making and I started getting like resentful that I wasn't making as much. After awhile of like looking into other options in my area and debating on moving I realized I'm making right about what everyone else is in my area with my experience, if not higher. On top of that I'm treated very well, and am given decent raises annually.
So I guess just like don't believe everything you read or realize that the posts that go viral are usually the outliers. Sometimes not, but look more into it before you go crazy about it.
Congrats on basically having an offer. Agreed with most of your thoughts. I am a bit bias as a CPA myself.
I’m 8 years into my accounting career, and I have never been bored in my positions for more than a few weeks. 9-5 has not been horrible for me, but I have worked more than 9-5 often. I did 5 years in big 4 audit and work in industry now. My income may not be comparable because I am in the Bay Area, but I have been well over $100k for a few years now.
You should consider finding time to pass the CPA exams before you start, if possible. I have seen many people start hating their 9-5 because they have to go home and study everyday. Many still are not passing without multiple attempts because it requires so much time.
This is a refreshing post. Way too many influencers are dumping on 9-5s. Obviously traditional career paths have their drawbacks, but I agree with you that they are oftentimes very viable in “getting rich slowly.” Moreover, you can actually do some pretty incredible things at a 9-5 depending on the company. It’s not all pointless Excel jockey work. And that experience within a corporation can be leveraged to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Too many folks are painting this landscape in black and white.
I like your post. it sounds like you have your head on straight.
I'm in my mid 50s, I have a solid career as a lawyer, things are really amazing right now. But that came with a lot of hard work and grinding it out day after day, for years.
I don't wanna be the old guy saying that young people just don't wanna work, but as I have progressed through my career, I look at people much more critically in terms of what they do versus what they say. Everybody talks a big game, but not as many people want to walk the walk. Talk is cheap.
I think your plan to become a CPA is a great idea and I wish you the best. If you're willing to show up every day and work hard, you will be fine. Not always the most glamorous thing in the world, but it's nice to be able to take care of yourself and your family. And if you can have your employer help pay for your education, that's even better, that way, you don't come out of school with a big debt hanging around your neck. Good luck to you and I wish you the best!
>Im sick of all these influencers giving my generation false hope of sipping margs on a beach at 25 years old.
If you're stupid enough to get your career advice and life strategies from tik tok influencers, that's your problem...not tik tok influencers themselves. People giving bad advice (to sell books, tv shows, or get clicks on the internet) has always been a thing.
I'm also not sure how this is "killing the 9-5 stable career"...if anything, you should be grateful that your peers are buying into this nonsense instead of taking the practical path that you've taken, since you won't be competing against those idiots for jobs. They'll be on the beach sipping their margs instead. LOL!!!
You can also delete the tik tok app if you're actually sick of seeing this. It's crap, get rid of it.
“My point is, yes accounting is a "boring 9-5" but its also a great path to retiring in your 50's with a few million bucks to play with…”
Rofl, that’s cute. I don’t know who told you that, but they lied to you, kid. The typical accountant absolutely does not retire in their 50s “with a few million bucks to play with.” You’ll be working a lot longer than 20-30 years.
You’re not wrong. I wouldn’t read too much into that salty b*tch you’re responding to.
Stay the course and you’ll retire with a nice retirement. My Fiance is a CPA and has around 300k in investments at age 30. If he doesn’t contribute literally anything for the next 25 years he’ll most likely have millions.
CPAs make great money and the job stability is unmatched outside of medical.
Kid, you really should put down TikTok. You’re 21. You know nothing. And I don’t need someone like you, who knows nothing, explaining investments to me, who has well over a decade of experience in my career. You’re not going to retire at 50 with millions and that’s a fact, sorry to break it to you.
Same playbook a couple of months back with me in another thread because I shared my income range hence it stuck out so much.
Bunch of name calling and then stating that they are a woman as a trump card.
The amount that they get triggered by anything even resembling success is pretty telling.
Dude why the fk did you think your post was even necessary? Like what point were you even trying to make? Tik tok bad? No shit. If you’re gonna let a video app dictate your career then you probably have bigger problems to address
I wouldn't listen to advice from Tik Tok. At best, some people get lucky that they don't have to work normal jobs. At worst they're lying and trying to sell you a dream.
Nothing wrong with starting a business but most likely a successful business will have you working far longer than 9 to 5. Running a business is not easy.
social media is all smoke & mirrors. 90% fake…everyone trying to monetize everything…woman crying in a car (bio reads “relationship trauma counselling”…guy working out screaming cause you live in the matrix “buy my book”. CPA is great plan…work FT and work on side hustles.
You're not special and if you have a calling to be a cog in your own special chit wheel, then who are we to stop you.
Don't forget to go fuck your self on the way out of reality's door.
I quit my job over 12 years ago to start an internet business. I have been pretty successful in it, making more money annually than I ever would've made at a job.
However over the last few years I have strongly been considering going back to work. Accounting is one of the things I've been considering the most 🤷
I promise you what you see is a small fraction of people and many of these people just like rappers and athletes, they run into a lot money and many of them will lose almost all of it after a while. Very few will get to keep that life style long term. And it’s the worst thing in the world when you have it all and lose it. Most people who make a lot of money it takes decades of working a job rising up in ranking, getting higher pay, saving and investing, and by their 50 and 60s that’s when they have a good net worth of 5 million plus in assets and can easily rétine and live a good life. That does not mean you’re going to slave away all these years and not have any fun. You have to live a moderate life. Most of your working years will be 80% hard work and 20% fun. And towards the end of your life it’s actually way better and healthier for you to not retire completely. You want to have a purpose you love to work on and enjoy. Most your live will be spent finding and working toward that purpose.
Hot take and I may get downvoted for this, but the escaping the matrix was never not working and trying to get rich quick to me, it was always working a job but trying to escape the 9-5. Surely as accountants every one here has been in an email chain with an absolute window licker thinking to themselves how they gave themselves at 20k bonus for Christmas. I think escaping the matrix isn’t a bag thing if you do it smart, instead of working 12 hours a day to try something that may not work, work and do it part time in the hope that you don’t have to travel a hour to the office each day. If you disagree, I’ll have a discussion with you in the comments
I'm 31 and see the same exact thing from many people around my age, sadly. None of them are doing well. They're all broke. Most of them have relationship problems. At best, they're supported by their parents. Anyone actually forming a sentence including "you're stuck in the matrix" is quite literally delusional.
Just keep doing you.
100k is limited to working management as you said. I don’t think there’s many management positions. Anyways, I do have friends that are successful and job hop. People who job hop easily make more but also sometimes they get laid off faster. Fortune favors the bold.
I sometimes see posts on Reels from a guy who does day-in-the-life vlogs of his standard “boring” 9-5. They seem like very grounded videos in a world of crazy sensationalized social media crap
Tiktok, like all social media shows you what you continue to watch. Anytime someone posts something like this its just a self report rather than the state of things.
lol at 9-5. Most jobs are now 8-5 with unpaid lunch. I think you’re seeing a small slice of the big picture. TikTok influencers are NOT killing aspirations for a stable career.
Facts! I’m a 48yo CPA. I never worked in public accounting and worked P/T when my kids were little. Now they’re off to college and I work 30 hrs/wk and make $150k as a controller. I also have a side hustle as a controller for another small business where I work about 5 hrs/wk as their controller and they pay me $25k per year. It’s not super exciting work, but it’s all remote so sometimes I work at the beach/mountains or on my couch. The trick is to work for a company that is in an industry you love (mine is sports). The culture is awesome. I’ve been wealth-building for years and will retire probably at 55 with a hefty 401K and a paid-off house. Here’s the how-to: get a solid education in business, keep adding skills to your arsenal (learn QBO, Workday, excel, payroll software). Make learning part of your job. There is an accountant shortage and not just in public. There is a huge need for accountants who can bridge the gap between business owners (who don’t speak accounting and don’t want to) and CPAs who prepare tax returns. It’s always been a stable field and I’ve never once been out of work.
for every 1 tiktoker who "makes it" there are thousands of others who don't. life will hit them very hard and fast. this poor generation will be so lost
wtf do you care about clowns online? Be a CPA, love your life in a few years when you’re making 6 figures annually and they’re washed up chumps.
In reality, those with 9-5s are the fortunate, if you can flex hours and work remote, that’s the dream imo.
I feel like the social media influencer trend will fizzle out and be a huge eyeroll in a few years. And all the people trying to make a go of it and destroying their mental health are going to be flooding back to other jobs in their mid-20's.
Unless you are producing really compelling content AND can get an audience of followers, your odds of making even part-time job cash are slim to none. And even if you can manage it for a while, eventually many people are going to burn out, people will lose interest in them, and they'll be going back to school, back to get jobs, etc after they fail miserably as social media creators.
I saw one the other day where someone said that $500k a year wasn’t enough for a family of 4. His solution? Start your own business. Conveniently, he just so happened to have a course about how to build a 7-figure Amazon dropshipping empire while only working 2 hours a day from your living room.
they’re selling their courses, not a real business
When the gold rush kicks in you should start to sell shovels if you want to get rich.
"Never mind the gold rush! We'll sell you unobtanium detection and mining equipment!"
see NVDA
Always. Stupid ecommerce courses lol
More. Specifically, courses on how to sell your own course. It's a ponzi. EDIT: My phone typing makes me sound like Christopher Walken.
Most kids in their 20-30’s have some sort of help from their parents. Once they get a stable career or the mildly successful “business guru” I think their boomer parents are going to help them out more by transferring assets. There will be trillions of dollars transferred to the Millennial/Gen Z in the next 20-30yrs. I think it’s only going to get worse with social media. You are going to have all these young people saying they made it by doing X when really their parents transferred assets to support their lifestyle. *maybe this is exactly what is happening now….
Indeed they'll fly to some resort in Bali on their parent's dime and then pretend that's where they live as a digital nomad selling courses even though this *is* the course they're selling. Entirely tangential to your point, just something that dawned on me; All the kids from high school that truly got far career wise were kids that did something that their parents were already doing. Like law, or biochemistry, they basically had parents that knew path already. Who helped them not just with their homework but probably exceeded the teachers. These kids worked hard and were smart. But they also enjoyed having a parental navigator point them exactly towards what the pay-off for that effort is. Or to connect it back to your point; The effective kids from the future don't just have wealthy parents, they also have parents who are wise to all the social media shenanigans and make them aware of all the obvious traps. The era of letting children figure things out by themselves has ended.
Yeah, they're literally course selling "financial" gurus. The course is how they make the money.
That’s the problem. And for crazy monthly cost to join their “group”. Social media has become a pure staged show in all respects
The groups are the new grift. Every ‘coach’ has one.
Get rich quick schemes have been around forever. And it’s not like accounting was the “cool” profession before TikTok.
Though I will say scammers try to making it look cool by showing fake tax deductions/illegal tax write offs. Which is probably worse.
my personal favorite scheme i’ve come across involved starting your own LLC then funneling a bunch of circular transactions through it to trick banks into giving you a large loan that you would then use to buy an AirBnB to generate passive income lmao
>Banks hate this one simple trick!
People in prison loved this one trick
Gotta hand it to em for the effort. It's a cut above buying the G Wagon for your LLC and taking bonus or 179 to get the write off. (And conveniently ignoring depr recapture or lying about how it works)
Knowing them, they probably wouldn't report that they sold it. If anything, $0 Full disposal once they sell it/trade it in
Right? It doesn't even pass the basic first glance underwriting would do for a loan lol
And the craziest thing is that a lot of business owners don't seem to understand that for some businesses, you don't even have 70% control of your revenue Meaning: let's say you're making $100k through Uber. You upgrade your cars. Your income is RELIANT on UBER. If they ban you? Game over. And you got new cars to pay Let's say you buy property to do AirBnb. Do you really really think the gov't and the rich want small business owners to actually make money? Fuck no. Industry will get so regulated, small potatoes lose their chance to make money My mantra: make money while shit is hot, but don't go fully invested in anything out of your control. Always keep a job and/or some plan B
>Let's say you buy property to do AirBnb. Do you really really think the gov't and the rich want small business owners to actually make money? Fuck no. Industry will get so regulated, small potatoes lose their chance to make money This is such a dumb conspiracy take. Yes, if profit is there to be made, someone with more money than you will come in and take it. But that doesn't mean there's some vast conspiracy that just doesn't want you specifically to be successful.
Not OP, but not a conspiracy. Eventually someone proposes regulation "for safety" or "for good of the community". Think of the people trying to ban short-term rentals. The big guys can afford the lawyers and accountants to work around the system or even capture it. The little guys get stuck with two properties they have to pay for but can't rent anymore.
That's very different from "the government doesn't want you to make money".
My favorite ones are the course sellers. AKA "I never made any money until I started selling courses/books on how to make money"
Yes. We went through an entire cycle of this 10-15 years ago. Many of us were “making money online” and now almost everyone I know, including me, is working a regular office job. The circle of life.
Yes but a lot of Gen Z thinks only old dumb ass boomers fall for late night cable TV infomercial “get rich” schemes and that Gen Z is too smart for that and “I know this person is correct because they’re a real person and they have a lot of followers/likes!” Most of these influencer accounts on social media are literally just the modern day version of cable TV infomercial/reality show
I was just telling my sister the other day that influencers are the new QVC. We watch their stories and buy what their selling because they are “real people” but it’s literally no different than our moms sitting and watching QVC everyday to see what new products they should blow money on.
lol is QVC like those kitchen studio sets or whatever where someone would demonstrate a knife set in front of a live audience and convince people to buy it? (10 easy monthly payments of $29.95 or something) hahaha
Idk man did you see the Ben Affleck movie?
Yeah that scene of him sniping dudes in the lady's yard was pretty badass. Once I saw that, I got the confidence to matriculate into my school's accounting program.
I dunno, man. Woodrow Wilson let my great grandpapi know that good accountants where "The Bees Knees". So, take that. . .
You're right. I just focused on accounting because im in the sub and im doing it but it applies to all stable careers. Just sick of seeing people rag on 9-5 jobs when they are the most reliable way to get wealthy in the long run
Also your algorithm is showing you those videos for a reason. Before I got rid of IG I never got those in my feed.
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Get rid of tik tok, the hot stuff will bubble up and reach other social media cites. Short-form content literally short circuits your dopamine receptours.
Not even wealthy, just live a life where you know how much money you have and how much you can spend on a regular basis. I’m probably never gonna be wealthy (until/unless I become an entrepreneur) but I damn well will **never** be homeless levels of poor unless it’s a problem with me and my health. Tax and people who need tax experts aren’t going anywhere.
Exactly. It's no different than the multi-level marketing schemes that have been around for decades. They tell you that you are an idiot for working a 9-5 and you should be your own boss by selling whatever goofy product is en Vogue (Avon, Amway, Herbalife,etc)
better for us. less competition.
This actually excites me. So many CPA are retiring in the next 5-10 years and there arent enough to take their place. Im hoping to take advantage of that
Hate to burst your bubble, but they've been beating this drum for the past twenty years. Every year I keep hearing about this influx of CPA's that are supposedly retiring and how we're going to be so overpaid, since no one is going into accounting. I've literally heard this saying parroted since I was a freshman in college over a decade ago.
As a relatively new CPA, competing against people who are dragging their feet over exams, my experience is the shortage is in full swing and in no danger reversing anytime soon.
I keep a distant tab on my state schools, and accounting course enrollment is truly so low. While I am nervous about the next generations ability to think, I do also see job security lol
Technology is demanding less accountants. As more things shift online, less people are needed to type them in, move them around, etc. So while there is decreasing enrollment, there is decreasing demand. Although, there is a clear need for cpas and especially experienced and knowledgeable accountants. So I think it’ll even out, like it does in pretty much every job/industry. Accounting knowledge will remain valuable for anyone alive now almost certainly, and if it doesn’t, it’s likely that it won’t matter anyways as there will be many more jobs/careers taken out first so I imagine the pathway to a new job will be mostly solved by then.
Are you Canadian? What the salary and YOE and location? I'm seeing a wide spread under paid everywhere in Canada vs cost of living.
I'm in Vermont.
COL is fked in the major Canadian cities, industry doesn't really matter here (unless you work as some ultra high paying job). Does that make us "underpaid?" I mean, yeah, you could make that argument. More of a problem with Canada than accounting though, tbh.
Yup, it's more a Canadian issue, but since we have tn1 visa to USA, it's fair to complain about salaries here. I'm planning to leave. Actions over words.
Huge shortage in tax. Midwest firm, LCOL, we get 10-15 calls a week asking if we are taking on any new clients. 3 firms in the town next to us closed down last year with nobody to buy them out, and the only other firm in our town is a couple guys who are at least 70. We are raising prices like crazy because the demand is so high.
Where are you located at?
Rural Iowa
Thanks
it’s also the fact that the boomer generation held their work positions several decades longer than usual. Our President is literally 81. Many partners are refusing to pass on the bag and just simply continuing to work well into their 60’s. they were supposed to retire 10 years ago, they just didn’t.
There is a shortage of CPAs, at least in the US, which is partly driven by all the retirements. However, it doesn't really cause higher wages in industry because accounting is a cost center, so companies are fine with worse quality/over utilization of remaining staff because it doesn't affect their top line. In the case of public accounting, wages have increased quite a bit actually. I started at $55k in 2021 and those same positions are starting at $70k in my city now.
Ive seen the starting pay in my city be at least 70k at medium-big firms. Definitely increasing
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Lol what's the goals?
Exactly! Build your own firm and you’ll be rich and have good WLB and not do the 9-5 grind. Do the 8-3 grind M-Th. Or seasonal. My plan is to do all my work Jan-Apr and take summers off. So more work Sept-Oct.
Also those 20 something year olds getting by on social media money will age out and have nothing to fall back on when they turn 30. I know many video game streamers who hit 30 and are now irrelevant.
Nah offshore will negate that
and AI
This too. Soon CPAs will be even more in demand and with scarcity, it will allow us to command even higher salaries.
Don't forget that even though more and more people are job hunting now, they don't even know how a resume works. What experience is. How to interview. etc. There's significantly less competition
Well.... What business are they starting up lmao. Always hearing "start a business", but doing what exactly
Committing tax fraud and filing fraudulent business loans
That's all the guys with Real estate portfolio that get their capital front selling courses and books.
listen, if you open an llc and go to the bank they "HAVE TO GIVE YOU THE LOANS". then you just use that and make $$$$$ obviously, it's legit
I do love how so much of the youth have entrepreneurial spirits, but unfortunately it is for starting clothing brands and “passive income”
I mean, if you can make passive income work it’s one of the best things you can ever do.
The business is basically just "them". They want to get paid to advertise overpriced lip gloss/makeup/clothing to their viewers. For a very small amount of them it works, but there's nothing quite as sad as an account with a small handful of followers/viewers advertising some fly-by-night brand and making maybe $10 off it.
Most people think of business = start a Shopify, hire someone to design site, create product None of them realistically think about getting the traffic to sell the product. But for accountants, a really good business to think about is selling services outside of your job. Don't want to do this on your own? Guidepoint is a good "job." They connect professionals (like accountants) with top companies that need your service. I found out about Guidepoint when they interviewed me for a job. The world is cool lol. But also, everything we can think of... a huge company is already doing it
Spoken like a true accountant. Welcome to the profession my brother.
My point t too, tbh I don't mind the 9 to 5. Some of us even have the fortune of wfh . We happen to be very knowledgeable in business and can also help friends and family with financial advice. We get nice gigs here and there during tax season on top of a very nice profession. Very stable career that allows us to.provide for our families.
Glad to be here. Looking forward to it!
That’s a solid perspective you have there. A very accountant-ish line of thinking. Work isn’t always exciting, but if you pick a smart career it will always pay the bills. 9-5 has the benefit of weekends and evenings off. I really like that because it is when most other people are free.
Thank you for the compliment. I found out quite young that life isnt fair and that "loving" your job is a rare feeling and everything becomes a job eventually. I am very content with a job that is tolerable and boring since the only purpose of a job for me is to fund the things I find fun outside of work. I also plan on retiring in my 50's so the knowledge and money in accounting should fit that well
That's a great point, but I would add that adjusting your mindset to try to turn your job into something interesting, rather than just a tolerable way to earn a paycheck, can not only improve your happiness at work but also boost your career. While accounting may not be the most fascinating subject, make it your passion to learn everything and anything you can to be the best at your job as you can be - learn about mergers and acquisitions, complex accounting topics, challenging formulas, programming languages, data manipulation, etc. It helps break up the monotony of the day-to-day and may open up career progression. Many workplaces also offer educational assistance to pay for any additional courses you might want to take.
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It absolutely does. I enrolled in a university program at 29 to get an education in accounting, and I've recently enrolled in the CFA program due to the job I was able to get after graduating (although CPA was the original plan). Going back to school was one of the best things I ever did for myself after feeling like I was "stuck" in life beforehand. If you view learning as something interesting and as a way to further develop yourself it can become a hobby rather than a chore, and will make the rest of your life that much more interesting.
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If you find it perfectly tolerable then I envy you. Made me wanna blow my head off
Yes!! Other professions don't have that and also are very demanding like doctor's and nurses have to sweat for their paychecks. No body dies when we mess up, we just recalculate numbers or go through processes to fix them.
Hold on who says you can’t sip margs at the beach at 25?
You can do both!
None of it is reality, we don’t see their financial statements, it’s all smoke and mirrors. Their 9-5 is schlepping this false narrative in hopes of duping you into buying whatever “e-guide” they’ve created. Everything is about making you feel inferior, inadequate, insecure through the comparison process. Essentially injuring your ego on a subconscious level. I highly recommend watching Hannah Alonzo on YouTube, she debunks all these scams https://youtube.com/@hannahalonzo?si=yCr4SEauTtS115CB.
I’m 2 years into my career and make just shy of 100k after bonus (F100 industry accounting analyst). The combo of a stable accounting career and a side hustle passion project can yield you some amazing results. If your side hustle takes off, then GREAT. If it doesn’t, you’ll always be able to feed yourself and your family with the CPA license👌🏼 These 25yo internet gurus are only there to sell you their course on how to make money. You are typically the main revenue source to them, not the product they claim to do so well with. Always remember that.
Where the hell are you making close to 100k with 2 years experience? Well done. But wtf. I have 6 years and still not close to 100k.
The people listening to financial advice on tik tok were never capable of becoming cpas in the first place.
Keep what you’re doing my friend. My wife’s friend’s husband used to tell me college was a joke and he was so glad he didn’t waste his time on that. My girlfriend wanted to straight punch him at one point he was so condescending. Now he’s busting his ass at two jobs and I get to invite him to our second home. Over time, you start to see that all those quick-rich people weren’t really wealthy. They were just spending every dime they make and maxing out credit cards.
Honestly though he’s not exactly wrong, I’m glad I have a degree and was able to get a job in this field but I really didn’t learn anything from college that was put to particularly good use during my career so far. 4 years of hoop jumping and a 5-digit money fire all just to get a living wage. That’s how college looks to me in hindsight.
TicTok is basically telling Gen Z today what infomercials told Gen X in the 80’s and 90’s. There have always been snake oil salesman selling unrealistic dreams, it’s just the medium that changes over time.
I’ve never heard that but that’s pretty accurate
Tom Vu was basically the poster boy for the equivalent of the modern “influencer” segment, during the late 80’s and early 90’s
INfluencer INformercial - sounds right
My FYP has a bunch of CPAs talking about what a great profession it is. They’re millennials so I don’t think it’s AICPA propaganda lol
Remember, boring is good. It is stable. Predictable (Mostly). I think you have a healthy attitude/perspective.
It's true but is also a natural consequence of what Marx termed the alienation of the self, which he viewed as inherent in capitalism. Being safely employed and retiring in your 50s with a decent pot is a rational positive, but to noone does it sound like an exciting or fulfilling life in and of itself, and especially not when you're under 25. How many posts on here decry having to live our lives grinding in under appreciated roles so we can make the partners or shareholders rich?
Shit if I got my cpa I'm starting my accounting business not working shit jobs for big 4
lol you’d be working almost the same exact hours if you started your own business lol plus wearing multiple hats since it’s just you.
Yea but I control what I earn
The Millionaire Slowlane
They are correct, but so are you. Balance is key. You are in a prison on many levels (prisoner in your body, prisoner to your own thoughts and beliefs, prisoner to society's rules, expectations, judgements). The 9 to 5 is a scam. Everything is made up. Why did we make it so terrible? Why do we not hold those we give power to accountable? Why do we give power to others in the first place? Many answers there. That being said, just because you recognize it as the scam and prison that it is, that doesn't mean you can change it over night. And refusing to play helps no one. You can only change yourself and the ways in which you play the game. For instance, you can buy used cars your whole life instead of buying fancy ones every handful of years because you want to impress you friends. Less money spent on consumption means more money available to invest in creation. Creation can help you buy your freedom faster. Consumption keeps you indebted. Real balance is doing what you need to do financially, while looking for other avenues where the 9 to 5 becomes less necessary.
I’m grateful to be an accountant so that I’m not too be stressed about grocery bill and travel sometimes. 🤷♂️
Accounting would be great if it was just 9-5 haha, the problem is that it’s often so much more than that. The money is good though, and it can give you a great head start against your peers if you save and invest it well.
also 21m starting my schooling in September. I completely agree with everything you said.
Lol what's missing here is that you can make 100k easily as a CPA in Canada, but the vast majority of those 100k jobs are in city centers where COL far outstrips a 100k pre-tax salary (to be as comfortable as you claim). Still though, I agree. Covid finally did some turbo charging of salaries here in Canada. Don't think I would have made my comp otherwise (without some major career moves), 6ish years in.
Entry positions are on the rise??? Idk what Canada you’re living in, but this is not the case. All I see is layoffs and hiring freezes. The only roles I see posted constantly are Manager/Senior Manager jobs in PA and Senior Accountants in industry. Juniors market is dead.
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When did your mentor start?
Don't worry, the opposite is already happening TikTok is slowly dying and people are back to finding jobs. Check out the upsurge of Redditors trying to find jobs and realize they know nothing about finding jobs (thanks to TT). There's also ongoing data being collected and there's finally an increase of job applicants in the U.S. This data won't be published in the next few months though so no one's gonna know about this reversal just yet People know they got bills to pay, and barely anybody is paying now
Retiring in 50’s with a few million bucks on 100k. Good one
Retiring after 50yrs is doable!
Ya I’m not sure what math he’s doing but the average CPA in Canada does not have a few million lol.
You might be unemployed at some point. Maybe not forever
I’ve had a passion for both accounting and MMA since I was a teenager. I’ve worked in the accounting field for 10 years now, all while also pursuing my MMA goals. When fighting was finally paying off, I did part-time, remote accounting work. When I tore my ACL and had to take a break from MMA, I went back to the office full-time, got my Masters in Accounting, and am now pursuing my CPA. All this to say that the stability of accounting has enabled me to also pursue other passions without being a starving artist (like many of my teammates 😬).
Sure, 9-5 kinda sucks, but if you're thinking about taking life advice from people who've only just begun to live theirs, maybe reconsider why 20 year-olds would know anything about anything.
Bro it’s insane lmfaooo. I have mad people from my hometown that I follow and see some of them reposting these guru videos on their stories or making posts about the same idea and people in the comments agreeing. 😭😭 These are some of the same people I sat next to in school and they would do fuck all in class then use “school isn’t for me Gary Vee vibes” as a cope. So, they’re not going uni because “that’s not for them” while judging people who do because they equate college to being 6 figures in debt automatically and a slave to society. College 100% isn’t the route for everyone but you still have to go and continue your education elsewhere whether it be a trade, a skill, anything. Just because Zuck dropped out and became a money machine doesn’t mean you have the same odds. Working at a warehouse without a putting an actual plan behind this “escape the 9-5” mindset while you wait for that millionaire lifestyle to spawn isn’t gonna work. I personally know a couple of people who have fallen for this stuff. One for “learn how to code and get a 100k+ job in 6 weeks”(they in fact did NOT learn any type of coding nor got a job and the course only consisted of customer service bullshit for tech companies), one for e-commerce (they paid 30k for a course that was supposed to help start up their Amazon store and 3 months later, their store got taken down and the guru blocked them), and a handful for forex (either paid for a course that amounted to nothing or to a trader so they can multiply their return and got blocked right after). I went to school with one of the trading gurus that scams people in my town and somehow, this guy keeps fooling people. It really is crazy to see the double life they have bc on social media you see them “owning” McLaren’s but run into them irl driving the same stock V6 charger they had since high school LMFAOO. Social media plays a big part in the youth’s lives. I remember being in the 6th grade and if you didn’t have social media, you weren’t valid. All the way through high school, you had to deal with constantly comparing yourself to the “glamorous lives” that people post of themselves and then you get judged because your follow ratio is bad and your post didn’t get enough likes. All of this being introduced to us very early on has fucked up some peoples priorities and the way we think and it’s so whack.
This just sounds like you are self-fellatiating your ego.
I'm just glad 20 somethings still reference The Matrix which came out 25 years ago (!)
In reality, the TikTok crew isn't that far off from the truth. Kids have been funnelled into college for generations, and have been fed this lie that we can sustain an economy where everyone works behind a laptop screen and we can sustain just everyone providing "services" to our fellow laptop users. The reality is that we have way too much college educated white collar talent and no jobs for them. We need people doing blue collar work. If you have skills where you actually make contributions that can't be done on the computer you'll be in much better shape. CPAs are kind of an exception it seems. I guess it has something to do with us being the blue collar workers of the white collar world. We have skills that allow us to do something that nobody wants to do, so in turn we get decey wages and job security. So accounting is ok for the white collar world, but otherwise unless you're an exceptional talent or disabled or something, go to a trade school and get your hands dirty. Save on college tuition and enjoy your 6 figure salary.
That’s why I never and will never use Tik Tok
Who cares, get off ticktock?
Yes I can agree, I’m comfortable and secure with my career path despite the negative perceptions of 9-5 jobs!
A lot of these people also are buying into "fake it til you make it", "manifest abundance by spending like you have it", and other Amway/The Secret mentalities, which means they are horrifically in debt or have such unstable incomes that they onlt flash the money on payday and then it's gone the same day. It's all smoke and mirrors and reeks of people smart enough to not join an MLM but too lazy and/or directionless to figure out wlb with a 9-5.
This is true. There aren’t grifters selling courses on how to have a stable career and invest for the long term. What people see on social media is geared towards engagement, not what is actually good advice.
Also from Canada in my late 20's now, and I agree with you. I wasn't as smart as you both career nor financially, but you are 100% right. I wasn't the best in school, nor was I the best employee out there, but I make a decent living, and feel pretty secure about my career prospects, and am able to own housing in Toronto (albeit it's a shoebox condo) with the income I have saved and the amount of leverage I can get from my income. Bright futures ahead for you, I wish I had this clarity back when I was younger.
Social media stars are almost never as rich as they lead you to believe.
I agree.
As a current accounting student, I love those TikToks... less competition for me lmao
Note all the salaries he just said are in CAD with Canadian taxes on top of it. US CPAs well out earn their Canadian peers. The industry won't be missing jobs for a long time which makes it a very strong basis for stability but without grinding for partner or finding a creative outlet for employment getting to top earning salaries is rather difficult.
I’m there with you buddy as a Canadian. My CPA route has led me to a job (albeit big 4 audit) right out of university and landed an industry role in a city I’ve always wanted to move to after a couple years. It’s not a “glamorous” career but I get to be employed even during the worst of times and also make a decent amount to save/invest for my retirement! Plus you can probably make some good money if you move around (or make more if you wanna move to the states$) and easily find remote opportunities as well so you can be more flexible with where you wanna live or hours you wanna work (compared with other jobs). It’s a profession with a slow start but once you gain more experience, it’s a faster trajectory upwards. Tiktok is just another platform that scammers can use to sell you their “courses” to get rich. Anyone who is actually rich won’t be sharing with just anyone their trade secrets. These scammers have existed for a long time but since they’re able to advertise on a platform that has an algorithm it does make you think that lots of people are getting rich. I strongly believe anything sustainable isn’t obtained through a get rich quick scheme. While some people may get lucky but that’s also a rare 1%. A lot of great start ups are built on work ethic, resilience and the ability to risk A LOT for that slim chance of succeeding. Accounting on the other hand is safe but like others have said, it’s steady and won’t be “automated” by AI anytime soon 🤣
Lol I loved the Matrix and totally agree with it all. They will have their own matrix defined by the conditions of TikTok and entrepreneurship life to contend with at some point anyways (I experienced it and life is full of restrictions at the end of the day anyways). Good luck on your journey!
Bro is stuck in the matrix looool
Something you touched: Leaving 9-5 is fine IF you have a really good business plan, some exceptional talent, etc If you don’t have those things, it’s a terrible idea. Also, if you can’t take steps to get something going while you are employed, you probably don’t have the work ethic / hustle to make it worth it to quit you 9-5. I know these things about myself which is why I’m happy to get that sweet sweet check every two weeks.
100%, and the average 18 year old falling for this stuff online is not that person
let them leave the 9-5 lol more 4 us :))
Just another "get rich quick" scheme. It isn't anything new, why study and work hard when you can have instant riches. Do You Know the Way to San Jose: LA is a great big freeway Put a hundred down and buy a car In a week, maybe two, they'll make you a star Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass And all the stars that never were Are parking cars and pumping gas
When you see all this, remember the median HOUSEHOLD income was 74k in 2022. You’ll be making above median income in 2 years, If not right out of school. If you don’t mind your job, being comfortably in the upper middle class of the matrix is pretty good living
I can't handle anymore AICPA Psyops.
Less competition is more money for us.
Let time do its thing. You’ll have a highly employable skill set and a nice life in a decade if you stick this out, meanwhile they’ll still be trying to get attention online in their mid thirties. Most of the “lifestyle” they’re trying to show off online is staged for social media. If people weren’t in the “matrix” we wouldn’t have functioning cars, clothes, utilities, phones, etc. Most online entrepreneurs are just losers who want easy money for little to not effort.
Spot on my friend! Same here, enjoy my work, totally disconnect from it when 5pm hits (depending on the day🤣). Go on plenty of vacations, love my hobbies, job security forever since I’m a CPA, life is good 🙌🏻
Reddit isn't helping either, but for different reasons. I was very happy in my small firm until I found this sub and then started seeing what the popular posts and comments claimed people were making and I started getting like resentful that I wasn't making as much. After awhile of like looking into other options in my area and debating on moving I realized I'm making right about what everyone else is in my area with my experience, if not higher. On top of that I'm treated very well, and am given decent raises annually. So I guess just like don't believe everything you read or realize that the posts that go viral are usually the outliers. Sometimes not, but look more into it before you go crazy about it.
Your plan is rock solid and I wish you all the best! 😊
Congrats on basically having an offer. Agreed with most of your thoughts. I am a bit bias as a CPA myself. I’m 8 years into my accounting career, and I have never been bored in my positions for more than a few weeks. 9-5 has not been horrible for me, but I have worked more than 9-5 often. I did 5 years in big 4 audit and work in industry now. My income may not be comparable because I am in the Bay Area, but I have been well over $100k for a few years now. You should consider finding time to pass the CPA exams before you start, if possible. I have seen many people start hating their 9-5 because they have to go home and study everyday. Many still are not passing without multiple attempts because it requires so much time.
This is a refreshing post. Way too many influencers are dumping on 9-5s. Obviously traditional career paths have their drawbacks, but I agree with you that they are oftentimes very viable in “getting rich slowly.” Moreover, you can actually do some pretty incredible things at a 9-5 depending on the company. It’s not all pointless Excel jockey work. And that experience within a corporation can be leveraged to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Too many folks are painting this landscape in black and white.
I like your post. it sounds like you have your head on straight. I'm in my mid 50s, I have a solid career as a lawyer, things are really amazing right now. But that came with a lot of hard work and grinding it out day after day, for years. I don't wanna be the old guy saying that young people just don't wanna work, but as I have progressed through my career, I look at people much more critically in terms of what they do versus what they say. Everybody talks a big game, but not as many people want to walk the walk. Talk is cheap. I think your plan to become a CPA is a great idea and I wish you the best. If you're willing to show up every day and work hard, you will be fine. Not always the most glamorous thing in the world, but it's nice to be able to take care of yourself and your family. And if you can have your employer help pay for your education, that's even better, that way, you don't come out of school with a big debt hanging around your neck. Good luck to you and I wish you the best!
>Im sick of all these influencers giving my generation false hope of sipping margs on a beach at 25 years old. If you're stupid enough to get your career advice and life strategies from tik tok influencers, that's your problem...not tik tok influencers themselves. People giving bad advice (to sell books, tv shows, or get clicks on the internet) has always been a thing. I'm also not sure how this is "killing the 9-5 stable career"...if anything, you should be grateful that your peers are buying into this nonsense instead of taking the practical path that you've taken, since you won't be competing against those idiots for jobs. They'll be on the beach sipping their margs instead. LOL!!! You can also delete the tik tok app if you're actually sick of seeing this. It's crap, get rid of it.
“My point is, yes accounting is a "boring 9-5" but its also a great path to retiring in your 50's with a few million bucks to play with…” Rofl, that’s cute. I don’t know who told you that, but they lied to you, kid. The typical accountant absolutely does not retire in their 50s “with a few million bucks to play with.” You’ll be working a lot longer than 20-30 years.
You must be the condescending and patronizing boss that people complain about. Absolute joy to work for.
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You’re not wrong. I wouldn’t read too much into that salty b*tch you’re responding to. Stay the course and you’ll retire with a nice retirement. My Fiance is a CPA and has around 300k in investments at age 30. If he doesn’t contribute literally anything for the next 25 years he’ll most likely have millions. CPAs make great money and the job stability is unmatched outside of medical.
Kid, you really should put down TikTok. You’re 21. You know nothing. And I don’t need someone like you, who knows nothing, explaining investments to me, who has well over a decade of experience in my career. You’re not going to retire at 50 with millions and that’s a fact, sorry to break it to you.
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That user gets salty whenever someone mentions career success or savings. It's inconceivable in their world - don't pay attention to them.
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Same playbook a couple of months back with me in another thread because I shared my income range hence it stuck out so much. Bunch of name calling and then stating that they are a woman as a trump card. The amount that they get triggered by anything even resembling success is pretty telling.
Dude why the fk did you think your post was even necessary? Like what point were you even trying to make? Tik tok bad? No shit. If you’re gonna let a video app dictate your career then you probably have bigger problems to address
This guy just can't stand positivity
You will see those same people cry when they realize all the freebies they are getting are considered income and taxable.
"Your house is a liability!!!"
I wouldn't listen to advice from Tik Tok. At best, some people get lucky that they don't have to work normal jobs. At worst they're lying and trying to sell you a dream. Nothing wrong with starting a business but most likely a successful business will have you working far longer than 9 to 5. Running a business is not easy.
social media is all smoke & mirrors. 90% fake…everyone trying to monetize everything…woman crying in a car (bio reads “relationship trauma counselling”…guy working out screaming cause you live in the matrix “buy my book”. CPA is great plan…work FT and work on side hustles.
They'll be back working under W2s in no time.
You're not special and if you have a calling to be a cog in your own special chit wheel, then who are we to stop you. Don't forget to go fuck your self on the way out of reality's door.
I quit my job over 12 years ago to start an internet business. I have been pretty successful in it, making more money annually than I ever would've made at a job. However over the last few years I have strongly been considering going back to work. Accounting is one of the things I've been considering the most 🤷
I promise you what you see is a small fraction of people and many of these people just like rappers and athletes, they run into a lot money and many of them will lose almost all of it after a while. Very few will get to keep that life style long term. And it’s the worst thing in the world when you have it all and lose it. Most people who make a lot of money it takes decades of working a job rising up in ranking, getting higher pay, saving and investing, and by their 50 and 60s that’s when they have a good net worth of 5 million plus in assets and can easily rétine and live a good life. That does not mean you’re going to slave away all these years and not have any fun. You have to live a moderate life. Most of your working years will be 80% hard work and 20% fun. And towards the end of your life it’s actually way better and healthier for you to not retire completely. You want to have a purpose you love to work on and enjoy. Most your live will be spent finding and working toward that purpose.
Hot take and I may get downvoted for this, but the escaping the matrix was never not working and trying to get rich quick to me, it was always working a job but trying to escape the 9-5. Surely as accountants every one here has been in an email chain with an absolute window licker thinking to themselves how they gave themselves at 20k bonus for Christmas. I think escaping the matrix isn’t a bag thing if you do it smart, instead of working 12 hours a day to try something that may not work, work and do it part time in the hope that you don’t have to travel a hour to the office each day. If you disagree, I’ll have a discussion with you in the comments
Also working towards becoming a CPA one day 🥳 we’re always going to have a stable career! Don’t worry about them tbh
I'm 31 and see the same exact thing from many people around my age, sadly. None of them are doing well. They're all broke. Most of them have relationship problems. At best, they're supported by their parents. Anyone actually forming a sentence including "you're stuck in the matrix" is quite literally delusional. Just keep doing you.
Don't let those influencers get to you they will fall flat on their faces one day
100k is limited to working management as you said. I don’t think there’s many management positions. Anyways, I do have friends that are successful and job hop. People who job hop easily make more but also sometimes they get laid off faster. Fortune favors the bold.
9-5 😭
Most people spend little or no time looking at or thinking about tiktok. Ignore it.
I sometimes see posts on Reels from a guy who does day-in-the-life vlogs of his standard “boring” 9-5. They seem like very grounded videos in a world of crazy sensationalized social media crap
Tiktok, like all social media shows you what you continue to watch. Anytime someone posts something like this its just a self report rather than the state of things.
Life hasn’t hit them yet, give em 10years and they will join us in reality.
9-5 will never not be horrible
lol at 9-5. Most jobs are now 8-5 with unpaid lunch. I think you’re seeing a small slice of the big picture. TikTok influencers are NOT killing aspirations for a stable career.
Facts! I’m a 48yo CPA. I never worked in public accounting and worked P/T when my kids were little. Now they’re off to college and I work 30 hrs/wk and make $150k as a controller. I also have a side hustle as a controller for another small business where I work about 5 hrs/wk as their controller and they pay me $25k per year. It’s not super exciting work, but it’s all remote so sometimes I work at the beach/mountains or on my couch. The trick is to work for a company that is in an industry you love (mine is sports). The culture is awesome. I’ve been wealth-building for years and will retire probably at 55 with a hefty 401K and a paid-off house. Here’s the how-to: get a solid education in business, keep adding skills to your arsenal (learn QBO, Workday, excel, payroll software). Make learning part of your job. There is an accountant shortage and not just in public. There is a huge need for accountants who can bridge the gap between business owners (who don’t speak accounting and don’t want to) and CPAs who prepare tax returns. It’s always been a stable field and I’ve never once been out of work.
Atleast it culls the dumb ones
for every 1 tiktoker who "makes it" there are thousands of others who don't. life will hit them very hard and fast. this poor generation will be so lost
Tiktok is not forever, you'll see. Keep it up :)
wtf do you care about clowns online? Be a CPA, love your life in a few years when you’re making 6 figures annually and they’re washed up chumps. In reality, those with 9-5s are the fortunate, if you can flex hours and work remote, that’s the dream imo.
I'd rather be stuck in the matrix as an accountant than working a labor job or at a starbucks, js
I feel like the social media influencer trend will fizzle out and be a huge eyeroll in a few years. And all the people trying to make a go of it and destroying their mental health are going to be flooding back to other jobs in their mid-20's. Unless you are producing really compelling content AND can get an audience of followers, your odds of making even part-time job cash are slim to none. And even if you can manage it for a while, eventually many people are going to burn out, people will lose interest in them, and they'll be going back to school, back to get jobs, etc after they fail miserably as social media creators.
I saw one the other day where someone said that $500k a year wasn’t enough for a family of 4. His solution? Start your own business. Conveniently, he just so happened to have a course about how to build a 7-figure Amazon dropshipping empire while only working 2 hours a day from your living room.
Man, at 21 I wish I had this perspective and game plan. You have a solid head on your shoulders, keep at it!