Non baseball life question

I will chime in...does she know someone that works in dietetics? someone she could maybe job shadow?

My sister is a dietician and it is very demanding. I know she does have to work holidays, weekends.

In the future when your daughter has husband and/or children will that be an issue?

Is it possible to fill the need of working with children to maybe volunteering at a hospital?

Her cousin is a dietician and she has talked with her about it. She just really likes the whole food/nutrition thing, gobbles up books like crazy.

P.S. For those in the other hot thread, she was a July birthday and started school at 6 because her mother is a Kindergarten teacher and sees way too many young kids not ready for school (socially and academically)

quote:

Her stated main reason not to want pure accounting profession, is that she thinks it will be boring, but I have told her that she can do a lot of different things in the business world with an accounting degree as her background. She also feels that she will not be very good at it.

I have a degree in accounting and economics. Accounting can be a very boring job and you have to be a certain type of person to exist in that field. It is still a great degree to have. I was in an accounting firm for a couple years and hated it. There were some good things that I was involved in like negotiating NHL contracts and auditing large corporations but most pf it was stressful and boring.
I think that your idea of taking some classes is good but maybe she could talk to a dietitian and see what kind of jobs are available and actually shadow one at work.
It is not uncommon to be afraid to start having to make a living in the real world. I think most kids rush to get a degree and realize they may be in the wrong field.

This is a tough one, and all you can get are opinions.

From my perspective, I am a CPA, I practiced with E&Y for 4 years, local firms for another 5, and have spent over 20 years in the construction industry. I have always looked at the accounting, except in a public accounting firm, as a secondary function. In constuction, for instance, if engineering and operations aren't the primary focus, we aren't going to have much to account for. That being said, my oldest son, after a trip to Europe, wanted badly to work in international mergers and acquisitions. He started out with an accounting major. He added several along the line, including international, and studied abroad. He has worked for E&Y for 4 years in the NYC office, and in Sept. was transferred to Paris for a three year tour. Opportunities that hard to even imagine from southern Illinois.

That is what he wanted to do though. His school and travel experiences reinforced that. It was the right decision for him.

Accounting can offer many different tracks into different industries, including those with working with children. However, if the focus is the actual working with the kids, accounting may not have been the way to go. There is work in every profession though, and to think any one won't have its boring moments is denying reality.

The option of doing volunteer work can be used to satisfy the working in something she wants to do, but ultimately other demands will take precedence over volunteer time.

I have always encouraged my children to find something they like. Two have, and one is still finding that path, baseball is still the primary activity there.

The accounting degree affords flexibility. It will stand her in good stead if she chooses to go towards the dietetics and finds the need to change to something else, either from dissatisfaction or financial or burnout issues in the future.

How does she know she'll hate working at an accounting job w/o trying? Sounds like she has good enough grades to get a job with a large accounting firm that will afford her the opportunity to check out alot of industries and to meet a lot of people.

I assume she knows that starting accoutants at large CPA firms start in the 50-55k? depending upon location. CPA's are always in demand and its 50% dealing with people and 50% doing or reviewing accounting work. People I starting working with have gone in dozens of different directions.

Good question. I think there is a time we need to withhold offering our advice to our children in order to allow them to blaze their own trails. I'm sure that time varies from child to child but I have reached that point with all my children. My youngest son received his degree last month and at that point in time I told him I would no longer "offer" advice unless he specifically asked and he could do as he he saw fit. I basically cut the cord. --- Maybe you could ASK her what SHE is going to do and then allow her answer to determine what you say or do.

quote:

Originally posted by Kokomojo:


P.S. For those in the other hot thread, she was a July birthday and started school at 6 because her mother is a Kindergarten teacher and sees way too many young kids not ready for school (socially and academically)

I am glad that you mentioned not being ready socially and academically and not athletically.

It's very difficult at 21, 22 or even 23 to figure out what you are going to do for the rest of your life. I understand your parental fear that she may not go back to school once she leaves, but that is something that is going to fall on her, and I agree there comes a time when we need to cut the cord and they have to make decisions on their own.
Many college grads do take sabaticals after 4 years of college before they go back for their masters or another degree, even some take off time before they begin law school, perhaps that is what she needs at this time.

My two cents worth. If she is worried about being bored, The FBI love to hire agents with an accounting degree. White coller crime is at an all time high. Good pay. good benifits, and a chance to travel.

Sorry for the typo, I talk better than I spell

I don't know who said it but it fits; "do something you love and you will never work a day in your life."

I too am a CPA, 10 years with AA&Co, and 15 years in industry in the financial area. It was fun at first; I was learning all the time working with bright, motivated people. However, once I left public accounting I learned to hate the work. The reality was you were treated as the "backroom bookeepers."

My eldest is studying accounting, my youngest is studying to become a teacher. As a father my advice is find something you love to do; do your best and make the most out of it. In our society today there will be very few that work in one job, one industry or in one profession.

The broader ones knowlege, experience, prospective and vision the greater value to themselves and our society.

Very good advice offered in this thread, and I agree with baseball17's statement:

quote:

The accounting degree affords flexibility.

Your daughter might decide after a few years of work that being an accountant is boring. However, at that time she might also be able to parlay her accounting degree and a few years of experience into many other opportunities. Perhaps she then seeks a job with an organization which serves children, but part of her duties include fundraising efforts and budget (whether hands-on or just overseeing those areas). Or perhaps within the same company where she was doing accounting work, she moves to a position in human resources which requires a good head for numbers (payroll, etc.) but also involves lots of contact with interesting young people (interviewing candidates). These are just a couple of the hundreds of possibilities.

I currently work in a job that is my most enjoyable in over three decades of being employed (Web development for a large company in Minneapolis). My job (Web design and dev) did not exist when I finished college with a science degree in 1981. But the degree demonstrated capability with biology, chemistry and math, and that degree has been a factor in every professional-level position I have worked, including my current one. Likewise, your daughter's degree proves a certain level of aptitude in skills that matter to many industries.

Congratulations to your daughter on earning her accounting degree. That is a significant accomplishment and will be helpful to her in her career, no matter which direction she chooses.

Julie

Kokomojo - perhaps look at this from a different point of view.

I am not sure she is ever going to be happy under the current system in place. I would put the onus on her for her career and future and choices. For starters, I would highly encourage her interest in dietetics but the financing for it and attainment of it is completely up to her own efforts. You have already fulfilled your parental obligations as far as financial support and now you can continue to be a good parent by fully supporting her future ambitions. Vocal support and encouragment will always be there obviously from you.

I would encourage her to use her accounting degree to get a job and to use night school to pursue her new interests. That will serve two purposes. It will let her know for sure that accounting is indeed not for her and more importantly imho make her appreciate the new path chosen. It will also teach her that she is responsible for the path she decides. I am not sure if she remains in school she'll ever trully appreciate what a great parent you have been and how much she has to be thankful for. She may even end up liking accounting which would not be a bad thing to learn either. If she changes paths now, she will never know that and she might be thinking about doing something other than dietetics when that graduation date approaches.

I humbly thank all of you good people that have taken the time to post experiences and advice. I knew that I would get great advice from here as the people on here have great values.

I am going to print out these responses for her and we shall have a chat if she desires. While it is my money funding her college (with some student loans planned in the future if she goes all the way through with the RD) it is her life and she needs to make the decision.

Julie, I will be sending in my $.05 for the service (think Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip.)

Kokomojo,

I see from my email that you were serious about that last sentence, Thank You! And your PayPal donation was quite a bit more than "Peanuts".

Julie

quote:

Originally posted by 108 Stitches:
My two cents worth. If she is worried about being bored, The FBI love to hire agents with an accounting degree. White coller crime is at an all time high. Good pay. good benifits, and a chance to travel.

Are you recruiting?

I don't have any advice. I can offer how my daughter (a college senior) is planning her life. She grew up wanting to be a teacher. By her junior year of high school she said she couldn't imagine teaching at any level of K-12. I think she watched too much CSI. She decided to major in forensic science and minor in criminology. During college she decided she wants to attend law school. She will after working in the Justice Department for a year. Her goal is to practice trial law for ten years then became a law school professor.

Who knows what will happen other than I trust her judgement to examine the options and make good decisions. A lot of kids aren't sure what they want when they graduate from college. There's a lot of time to try the options and decide. But anything approached with one foot out the door will not be a positive experience.

Thanks again everyone. Daughter made her decision to enter the job market and see what it is like. I had her read this entire thread and she too thanks all of you for your input. FSU starts classes tomorrow and she is still here at home.

Today she got her passport photos (no there is no wild Europe trip planned) and is updating her resume. She is excited and relieved probably for the first time in a year or so.

Fungo and Cleveland Dad's advice was key for the way I approached her. I asked her if it was all her money to pay for school instead of mine and student loans what would she do. She said she would go out and earn. I said Final Answer?

I truly think all of the non-family, non-biased advice on this board was key.

Thanks again.

Accounting like any other job/career will be exactly what she wants it to be. While this sound simplistic, it is the truth. One of my former baseball players wanted to get an accounting degree. He parlayed his experience into running a firm since he worked at the firm while getting his degree. Then, he moved up the ladder in the financial department and now boss. One young man who played for me wanted to go in to the FBI and he decided that an accounting degree was his best way in. So, now he audits books of bad guys. He loves his job. In fact, he's down right in to it. One family friend had an accounting degree but worked in various occupations since she wanted to be at home. Then, she decided why not start a small tax company. She could be at home and still do it. Then, that grew and she took on a partner. Now, she had 5 or 6 workers, a partner and works when she wants to. Again, it will be what she wants it to be.