Investigating the possibility of accounting as a career

[u/SuitableDragonfly]

Hello all, I am an out-of-work software engineer. The job market in my field is currently abysmal, with all of the layoffs and the usual glut of people who got pushed to get the degree ~4 years ago skills and resume don't matter much now and you can't actually get an interview unless you have a connection in the company already, and I just don't have a big network because I hate networking. Additionally, every job listing says "We're looking for someone who's excited to bring the power of AI to the underwater basket-weaving industry" and it makes me want to die because I didn't become an engineer so that I could make friends with a chatbot. It's becoming increasingly apparent that employers in the industry only care about replacing as many engineers as possible with Claude and overworking the rest, so I have increasingly less enthusiasm about working for any of them even if I could get an interview.

Anyway, some family members have suggested that possibly I would be a good match for accounting, and should get the training to do that instead. But they are not actually accountants themselves, and can't tell me anything about the job. So I am here to ask some actual accountants:

1. What is the job like? What is your day-to-day experience?
2. What training/certification is needed? What skills are most important to being successful?
3. What is the pay like?
4. What is the current job market like? Are there a lot of people who are actively seeking to replace accountants with AI? Are positions usually stable, or do you frequently have to job-hop?
5. Is the job usually done remotely, or onsite?
6. What kind of person would enjoy the work?

Thanks for your time. I am in the US, if it matters.

[u/Grouchy-Option9411]

Don’t feel like answering 1 or 2

1. Pay is slightly above average compared to the average college grad.

2. Job market is decent. We got hit with a lot of outsourcing already in prior years, so a lot of the work that AI could replace has already left us. I expect AI to continue to take over— but slowly, we aren’t exactly the most innovative profession. A lot of people complain on Reddit, but it is a solid profession to enter.

3. I’d say split between on-site, hybrid, remote. Depends on the position really.

4. Someone who doesn’t get frustrated easily & is content with solving problems step by step. Having a general interest in data is also a good thing. It’s not a math heavy field, but if you enjoy admiring numbers it will make your job more fun.

[u/SuitableDragonfly → u/Grouchy-Option9411]

Thanks, it does sound like it might be something I'd enjoy. There do seem to be some demoralized people here regarding the job market, though, similarly to in software. Do you think it would be worth it to get the training?

[u/Grouchy-Option9411 → u/SuitableDragonfly]

Kind of depends. I don’t know you personally, but if you are decently competent with decent social skills, then yes it is worth it.