3 Reasons Why I Chose Accounting Over IT
Mon, 08/22/2011 - 17:52 — Sean CarneyI have always had a strong interest in technology, so much so that people often wonder why I became an accountant. Well I need to admit that it was a hard choice, here are the three reasons I chose working in accounting over working in IT.
Stability
Technology changes at a rapid pace. While this is a boon to consumers, it does pose a certain challenge for those working closely with it. It can be tricky to identify emerging technologies which will last long, and unless one keeps updating their knowledge it can quickly become obsolete. Accounting has a far more stable knowledge bas which ensures that I won't ever be left behind.
Culture
Today's companies are predominately run by accountants, not technologists. Consequently it is not uncommon for IT to be viewed as just another cost, and like all costs; one which should be reduced as much as possible. More and more companies are catching on to the strategic importance of IT, but in my opinion we still have a long way to go. Accountants are still perceived by many to be more of a necessity than technologists.
The Joy of IT
I've always enjoyed working with technology; however, I learned in university that my enjoyment was predicated on doing what I wanted to do. Writing code for a project of mine is fun, but writing code for someone else is nothing short of odious. One reason I decided to avoid working in IT was to keep a distinction between work and play, so that what I do on my own time is different (and hopefully more enjoyable) than what I do to earn a living.
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Comments
Technology != IT
I can understand the points you have made, but the distinction between technology and IT must be made. (Full disclosure: I am a computer engineer)
Stability: I agree that accounting is more stable, but stability perhaps isn't everything. In IT, there is a lot more following of trends or supporting legacy equipment. In engineering you are setting those trends. You still might not know if your trend is going to catch on, but if you aren't aiming at a mass market product and instead working on a small scale product (as I believe is the case with most engineers) you still get the opportunity to create without the fear of picking the wrong trend.
Culture: In most situations, I would agree that IT is somewhat the bottom wrung in the minds of many employees. They do a lot of hard work and often in odd hours and receive little credit. Again, this is not the general case for those that work in technology. The company I work for is made up predominantly of engineers and computer scientists and so there is no way that these technologists can be seen as just another cost.
The joy of [technology]: This one is a bit on the fence for me. While I would rather work 100% on the projects of my choosing, I do really enjoy my work and love the fact that, as a larger team, we can accomplish goals that I would find daunting on my own. I am exposed to interesting challenges that I think help me grow in the things I do for a hobby anyway (eg. less than an hour ago I was debugging an application on my Linux box that I'm sure would have taken me at least twice as long to do had it not been for my experience in my field). I already love my job. In non-technical positions I have held, I couldn't wait for my shift to be over, but I have been working a lot of overtime by choice in my current job and loving all of it. I am still a recent graduate and hope that as my experience grows, so will my opportunity to take that and focus my career towards projects that I enjoy.
Having said that, my energy for personal technology projects does take a hit when I do so much of it for work. I can see the benefit of not having that barrier and having a greater diversity of activities. I am sure that you did not just choose your career in order to avoid the issues of IT but because you enjoy that career path. I am sure that you would make an excellent engineer, but you seem to also be an excellent accountant.
Anyway, sorry for the rant. Enjoy your weekend.
Technology =+ IT
I won't say I wasn't expecting a reply to this post, but I should note that it sat unpublished for a long time while I decided if I should publish it or not. This isn't exactly how I feel, and I am aware it is a gross oversimplification. In the end, I decided I would clean out my drafts by just publishing it and at the very least it would make for some good discussion. It appears it has.
In regards to stability and culture, much of my remarks are clouded by my work experience. The projects that I see are best summarized by 'we don't develop systems, we implement them'. This isn't bad in itself but I agree that development can be far more interesting since you are leading the way. While I do have plenty of stability in my work, I am starting to think that a little less stability might be good for me.
When it comes to the joy of [technology], I have found that my knowledge of accounting and technology has been surprisingly more complementary that I had thought. For a while I was the only accountant who knew what RAID was, at least until I explained it to my coworkers. I find the most satisfaction comes from when I can act in a cross-over role and bridge my knowledge from both areas.
Technology is interesting from an accounting standpoint since it moves so much faster than accounting standards. Accounting is largely about applying the correct rules to specific situations, but when a disruptive technology (for accounting) comes along the real fun starts. Until an official rule is created in five years time, it is entirely up to you and your judgment how to treat that situation. I love that sort of stuff.
I really don't know what the future holds for me in terms of career, I sometimes want to lurch off in a random direction for a change. It's kind of like the Monty Python skit (text|video) where an accountant wants to be a lion tamer, but becomes an investment banker upon realizing how deadly lions are. Some days I want to conqueror the world, but I'll settle back into a comfortable routine soon enough.
As always, thank you for your rant. I truly appreciate it.
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