By Rosa Martinez Rodriguez/reporter
Tax associates work from 60 to 100 hours per week during tax season, but during the low season, they have flexible hours with great benefits, a guest speaker told the SE Campus Accounting Society Organization last week.
Joyce Hall, a KPMG tax associate, revisited her former classroom on SE Campus to share her journey to accounting and provide tools to help aspiring accounting students.
“I want you to choose accounting because that is what you want, that is what you want to make a living, and that is what you like,” she said.
Originally from China, Hall came to the United States in 2001. She was a SE Campus student in 2005 and received her bachelor’s degree in accounting in 2006 from the University of Texas at Arlington with a 4.0 grade point average.
People sometimes choose majors for the wrong reasons, and Hall said that happened to her when she chose nursing for her major.
Peer pressure and the time invested in class forced her to keep going. However, every time she went to school, she was miserable.
When Hall decided to major in accounting, she immediately noticed that she had a passion for it.
Hall said higher-level classes are similar to a real profession. Some of the projects she did while in college were skills she could apply in her occupation.
“There is a reason that an instructor designed that project for you. There is a reason why you are asked to do that project,” she said. “Don’t question. Don’t be hesitant. Just do it. You might not see the effect right away. One day, it will benefit you.”
Hall told the accounting students to put their hearts and souls into their courses.
It is important to plan ahead when taking classes and talk to a career counselor, participate in meetings and firm trips offered by the school and network with students and instructors, Hall said.
Accounting jobs are extremely fast-paced because of deadlines and can consume many hours during a week.
“My own dog started barking at me,” Hall said about working so many hours. “I think there is something wrong.”
Accountants need to have a large amount of energy and a positive attitude in order to succeed, Hall said.
A starting job salary at a public accounting firm is $45,000. In a business accounting firm, salaries begin at $50,000 with bonus pay. Companies offer great benefits and 25-day vacations, Hall said.
In addition, Hall said that accounting was a good job because accountants could recuperate better from a poor economy than other professionals. There is always an industry that needs an accountant for certain positions like payroll, external auditor, outside auditor, revenue, cost and tax, she said.
