What a whirlwind!
A trip to New Hampshire was in order to be there when my childhood friend took the leap and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest. It was a fun weekend with festivities on Saturday and Sunday.
While we were there, Mike and I were having drinks at a bar in Manchester and sat next to these two women. Somehow, we started chatting…lo and behold, one of them was an accountant. I let her know that I’m a tax accountant and her comment was, “Gosh, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
I asked her why she hadn’t done it, since she’s already in accounting, and she said that it’s too difficult to break into taxes. I disagree…while it might not be lucrative at first, there are plenty of ways to “get into taxes.” If you go to a CPA firm with some previous experience, there’s a possibility that you could work there. Don’t have that? Try taking Block’s 6-week prep class. If you pass the test at the end of the class, have a decent overall score in the class and meet the attendance requirements (can’t miss more than 2 days, I think it was) they’ll interview you and possibly extend employment. The hours required here are only 15 hours per week with an option to leave after six weeks and not stay the whole season. The pay? Well, beginning pay is ever-so-slightly over minimum wage, but there is a potential for a bonus. However, if you’re really counting on a bonus, you might want to know that the year I started at Block, after preparing over 450 tax returns for that year, I was one of only two first-year preparers who received a bonus in my district.
In other words, don’t count on the bonus…but at least it’s a way to get into taxes even if you have a full-time job.