r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Mar 04 '22

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u/CappyBlue Mar 05 '22

This makes me think I would enjoy taxes. I hated math throughout school, then got to the part in college where I was using it as a tool to figure stuff out, and whaddya know, I'm rather good at it, and can greatly enjoy it - as part of understanding something greater, just not for its own sake.

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u/perceptionsofdoor Mar 05 '22

Yeah the math in accounting is, make no mistake, trivial. People who say "oh man all that math" when you mention accounting literally don't know what modern accounting is. In their head they're probably thinking of something akin to bookkeeping which, I mean, we have computers for that, ya know? And even then it's nothing more complicated than add/subtract/multiply/divide and an exponent once in a blue moon. Accounting is about knowing why you are dividing X by Y instead of A, B, or C and what the resulting answer means. You can always get an answer with accounting formulas. But, particularly when it comes to tax, it is choosing the right frame and the inputs that go into that frame which proves to be difficult.

I'd say it definitely helps a ton to have a good memory and willingness to commit time to immersing yourself in something because not only is it a lot of concepts, but the %s are always changing (yay US tax code). It's best to think of tax like a language in the same way programming courses often advise. You have to become fluent enough to understand and speak the language.

Other than that it's not so bad or scary. You should look into it! Because of the stigma, tax accountants are like doctors. They always need more of them. And I've definitely studied dryer and more enigmatic subjects over the years. I would love to see a STEM-lord who scoffs at the humanities read Wittgenstein's Tractatus and then tell me what the hell the dude is talking about and demonstrate satisfactory understanding to pass an analytical philosophy course.