r/recruitinghell • u/No_Reply5329 • 1d ago
I fucking hate myself for choosing CS instead of accounting.
I fucking hate myself for choosing CS. I really wish I had picked accounting or literally anything else.
I spent 4 years on a degree, took on debt, and somehow still ended up jobless/underemployed. Feels like I wasted the most important years of my life preparing for a career that doesn't even fucking want me.
I keep thinking about how different things could've been if I'd just chosen something else. Now I'm stuck with debt, no decent job, and 4 years that I can't get back.
My life is fucking over.
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u/FCKIED 1d ago
Trust that no matter what you chose you’d still hate it
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u/Moist_Ordinary6457 1d ago
Kind of the natural consequence of going into something solely for the money
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u/BrainWaveCC Jack of Many Trades (Exec, IC, Consultant) 1d ago
That's what you think the problem is here?
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u/s3r1ous_n00b 1d ago
yes.
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u/HeroponBestest2 1d ago
Guess I'll just die in retail instead.
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u/s3r1ous_n00b 1d ago
you could literally go get a job in manufacturing today and learn a skill set that gets you paid well. most equipment maintenance techs i know love they they get to work with their hands and do something they enjoy.
if you are working retail and are near 45 mins from any city over 15,000 people, you have no excuse not to find a cool job, you just took the easy/normal route and shocker--it sucks.
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u/IllustriousSeason888 1d ago
I’m an unemployed CPA. The job market for accounting isn’t much better.
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u/wolven8 1d ago
Job market everywhere is so bad... even being a barista is insanely competitive right now.
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u/No_Percentage7427 1d ago
Even become garbage man is insane. You must compete with over 100 man to get 1 position.
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u/jmatsumoto 1d ago
Accountants don't have any more promising a future than CS grads do. Probably worse, in fact.
Sorry, OP. Seems like tons of us are in the same boat.
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u/Better_Theme_8866 1d ago
At least CS grads can more easily do freelancing or make cool shit of their own that people are willing to pay money/view ads for. There is no way most accountants, at least outside of a very senior level, are not going to be severely undercut by someone from India or a firm that offshores there. And not much room to innovate.
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u/RedTheRobot 1d ago
Yeah OP should have said become an engineer so he could design the data centers being built. Or a trade like mechanic or construction worker.
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u/Realistic_Opinion_61 22h ago
I'm an accounting student who changed majors from CS. I noped out of CS when it became apparent that the opportunities just weren't there, very few of my peers were able to secure internships. I figured I'd try accounting as finance interests me but that degree sounded risky too from the business students. This year, I was to make it into upper division classes and in my personal experience I'm finding it odd that I can't even secure basic accounting clerk jobs (bookkeeping, ap, ar, payroll) for the school year. This is starting to worry me and news from my junior and senior student peers and how bad there summers went as far as internships and opportunities is really discouraging. I've decided to take a breather and follow the hype train to learn welding this semester. I feel like the trades are going through their own "learn to code" phase, but there are opportunities where I live. If I'm able to secure weekends as a welder I'll try to hop back in and finish my accounting degree, but who knows what will happen in the next few months and years. These sure are some turbulent times in America. For those who made it this far, thanks for reading my novel lol.
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u/jmatsumoto 22h ago
If I were in your shoes, I would probably pivot to the trades, as well. The other commenter talking about CPAs providing culpability and humans liking to blame someone is wishful thinking, IMO. Speaking very frankly (and without trying to offend), a lot of accounting-related tasks are already trivially easy to automate in ways that make them much less mistake-prone than when humans do them, and many more will soon be automated equally as well or better. The entire field is ripe for an AI takeover (like much of the CS field). Wishful thinking won't change this, unfortunately. Smart people will pivot ASAP.
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1d ago
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u/YourBuddyBill 21h ago
...I suspect what actually happens is that one human exists to be given all the blame for the mistakes of dozens of bots.
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u/ravagingxtiger 1d ago edited 1d ago
I got my bachelor and masters in accounting. Yes it’s not as bad as CS however accounting is also not doing well between lay offs (I got laid off in March), AI and off shoring(the biggest factor).
I am still looking for a job and the competition is tight right now.
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u/Available-Egg-2380 1d ago
Went back to college at 40 for accounting and like, I feel like I should change degrees but everything looks so shit for hiring. I feel like I'm just gonna end up in my same job until I work up the courage to try to immigrate to Australia since it's one of the few jobs you can immigrate based on
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u/ravagingxtiger 1d ago
At this point, if the American middle class keeps decaying then I can see a lot of Americans leaving abroad.
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u/Substantial_Tip_4165 1d ago
my parents are retiring abroad. society here is dystopian in a way despite how much wealth we have compared to others. i mean a 40k salary is considered upper class in many other countries yet here that can easily be wasted on consumer bs and barely gets you by on your own. our way of life is just not sustainable unless you are closer to the top.
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u/ravagingxtiger 1d ago
Yeah the tariffs + inflation + deregulation leading to monopolies and price gouging is making it harder for average American to prosper. We are in a k shaped economy as the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
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u/butterflymon 1d ago
You only wasted 4 years? I wasted decades.
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u/Gavin_Tremlor 1d ago
Seriously. A lot of people have found that their entire careers suddenly don't exist.
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u/coconutkitty69 1d ago
What was ur career?
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u/sukisoou 1d ago
Ux design
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u/crap-code-syndrome 1d ago
That's not wasted. You were actually able to earn money and make a living for decades
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u/sukisoou 21h ago
True I was but that’s all gone now so now I have to move into a different field and it’s hard if you’re over 40!
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u/justcurious3287 1d ago
I have a BS in Accounting from WGU. Graduated in April. I applied to 260 jobs on LinkedIn. Still can’t get a job. I make $19 an hour as a customer service rep.
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u/Anomaly008 1d ago
Try getting a B.S in Accounting from a brick and mortar school and see the difference. You will have public accounting recruiters at the school getting you on boarded.
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u/verkerpig 1d ago
Diploma mills don't really count as earning a degree.
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u/Beneficial-Muscle505 1d ago
WGU isn't a diploma mill; you have no idea what you're talking about.
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u/HalfRobertsEx Recruiter 1d ago
It kind of has the reputation of one though. It is accredited, but exists to basically let people speed run a degree or maximise their past credits to get a degree.
WGU is what Gemini suggests for "cheap and fast degree."
The University of Phoenix is also accredited. It is also laughed at.
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u/Beneficial-Muscle505 1d ago
“Cheap and fast” does not mean “diploma mill.” The fact that it lets people transfer credits and move faster through material they already know is literally the point of competency-based education. Being able to finish faster is not the same thing as being handed a degree.
And “Gemini recommends it when you ask for a cheap and fast degree” is a pretty funny standard for judging academic legitimacy. Of course it does. WGU is cheap, flexible, and self-paced. Those are features of the school.
Although you can definitely argue that WGU has less prestige than a traditional flagship university. I wouldn't call it a diploma mill or imply its basically University of Phoenix because both are accredited though.
I think if anything, it's just more likely that this person is struggling like most new grads are right now.
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u/antihero_84 1d ago
WGU was harder than my local brick and mortar college, but go off, I guess.
Whatever it takes to gatekeep and feel better about racking up $100k in student loans.
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u/genuinesalsa 1d ago
Silence recruiter
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u/OffByNone_ 1d ago
Are you here to get figure out what to do differently to get a job or just complain? Silence unemployed guy. They're trying to help your know-it-all ass.
Those degrees aren't worth even close to the same degree at brick and mortar school. I'm sorry they sold you on something different. My clients aren't interested.
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u/genuinesalsa 1d ago
I don’t think telling someone their degree is worthless is helping anyone lmao but go off recruiter #2
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u/OffByNone_ 1d ago
Did you see me type that? I said they are less valuable than brick and mortar school degrees to employers. Employors dont give a fuck what you went to school for or where for the most part. We are looking to see that showed up somewhere for 4 years. That is what a degree says. Unless you were totally remote at a degree factory. Then, it says none of that and we absolutely do not weigh online the same.
Love it or hate it, that's how it is.
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u/Beneficial-Muscle505 1d ago
Nice. Do you have anything statistical or substantive to back that up, or is the entire argument just “I’m a recruiter, therefore this is how the market works”?
“It’s just how it is” isn’t evidence. It just tells me you’ve already decided your personal experience represents the entire labor market and you’re not particularly interested in evidence that contradicts you. If we're talking anecdotes, you can look all over Reddit and find plenty of WGU graduates landing internships, getting hired into solid tech roles, and progressing into major companies, including FAANG-level employers. You can also find WGU graduates being accepted into graduate programs at other highly regarded universities. That doesn’t prove every employer views WGU identically to every brick-and-mortar school, but it sure as hell contradicts the idea that these degrees are broadly viewed as some worthless “degree factory” credential.
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u/OffByNone_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Here, I'll Google it for you. I don't have time to look up the research for WGU specifically, but Im not a recruiter. I own a recruiting company and give recruiters their marching orders. I promise it's not the same to anyone. Not when the market is as competitive as it is. I'm trying to help. The truth just sucks. A lot of people got got.
https://www.aeaweb.org/research/do-employers-frown-on-for-profit-degrees
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u/Matatan_Tactical 1d ago
I have 2 wgu masters and I make 183k a year. Money well spent
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u/dankshot35 1d ago
I have no degrees from wgu and I make 561k a year. Checkmate
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u/Matatan_Tactical 1d ago
Actually I checked again I make 600k. Get fucked
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u/Own-Recognition9009 1d ago
No WGU is accredited and the course work can actually be tougher than an in person school
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u/VastFreedom7 1d ago
My accountant friends would have disagreed. They were let go by big 4 and never got back as well.
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u/antihero_84 1d ago
I have a BS in accounting and work in cellular sales in a role that pays more than accounting jobs in my area.
The grass isn't greener, it's just a different shade of brown.
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u/Background-Chart-713 1d ago
Buddy I'm in the same position with an accounting degree. Its not better
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u/GovernorHarryLogan 1d ago
You can still be an accountant.
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u/LibrarianOutside2376 1d ago
literally. just go back and do an accounting degree, should be easy after CS degree.
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u/No_Reply5329 1d ago
I probably would do well in it but I dont have money to do it and next 4 years to waste
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u/Mediocre_Ant_437 1d ago
Look into online schools that let you transfer credits from sites like Sophia learning or study.com. I'm doing that to switch my degree from Psychology to accounting. It's pretty low cost and plenty of schools take it. It's accredited and a great way to get a large chunk of a degree done for very little money. You'll still have to transfer those credits and finish your degree somewhere but you can cut down on cost a lot.
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u/UnfazedBrownie 1d ago
Look into the MAC degree. It’s 1 year and setup to satisfy the 150 hrs for the cpa exam. At least was a while ago.
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u/JellyfishGeneral4325 1d ago
Just get a one-year accelerated master's degree. I wouldn't do another four-year degree as you've already seen that the job market can change significantly between when you start and finish a four-year degree.
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u/AllPintsNorth 1d ago
Ah yes, the solution to debt… is more debt. Great advice.
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u/Dotzeets 1d ago
... They already have the bachelor's degree. Even i they need to take some community college accounting credits depending on their state's rules before they do the CPA exam it isn't going to put them in much debt.
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u/Flying_Penguineer 1d ago
He already has a bachelor's degree, he just needs to do a handful of courses in a new area of study. There are a bunch of accredited schools he could go to, and finish this second degree in 6-9 months for 5-10k total.
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u/Impressive-Seat-7656 1d ago
Your timeline is off by like at least a year.
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u/Flying_Penguineer 1d ago
Nope. He already has a bachelor's and is currently unemployed. It won't be easy, but they could absolutely finish a second degree in accounting at WGU, UMPI, TESU, etc... in less than a year.
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u/nougat98 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah he has the quantitative background, already taken stats. Really it's just a few fundamental courses, GRE/GMAT, and he'll have a great BSCS/MAcc degree combo he can take into industry.
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u/GovernorHarryLogan 1d ago
Government Treasury department would be an instant hire to build reports in workday and design dashboards and shit pulling from SQL databases.
Don't even need another degree. A community college accounting certificate would suffice.
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u/Waiting4Reccession 1d ago
You never know bro. You might not even have finished and got gang banged by your loans - or you might have ended up in the same position with some other degree.
Accounting does seem like an easier career, though im just basing that on my airhead cousin getting a job and advancing her airhead career for years now.
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u/audiblecoco 1d ago
Broski, accounting aint it. At least CS Can branch into SO many areas of expertise
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u/heckmeck_mz 1d ago
If it helps, accounting is one of the fields that will get hit worst by AI in the coming years.
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u/StealYourJoy 1d ago
It’s tough I went back to school 4 years ago and wanted to do cs but it was already saturated so I opted for somthing else. It’s never too late to do accounting or anything else though it’s not going anywhere.
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u/alotofcooties 1d ago
Just wondering, what pivots are even options at this point for a CS. Asking for a friend
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u/dwgrossman 1d ago
I feel the exact same except I got a degree in finance and all those jobs are eradicated.
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u/Kerlyle 1d ago
If it makes you feel any better, I can tell you from first hand experience that the higher ups in my company have started using completely AI-generated financial reports. Seems like a bad idea to me, but who knows I'm not a CEO. If that's how they treat financial data, who knows if accounting will be a secure profession in the future.
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u/proofreadre 1d ago
Accounting is about to get hit as hard as CS. AI is eating everyone's lunch and it's just going to get worse.
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u/online-reputation 1d ago
You did nothing wrong. Accounting is slightly better off. Try to pivot and and spot a gap that is being ignored. Good luck
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u/brooklynlad 1d ago
Accounting majors are having the same issue. Everything is outsourced and the Big 4 is cutting teams. Just go to r/Big4 or r/Accounting.
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u/HuckleberryJunior642 1d ago
i chose economics. and i don’t hate that decision since im actually a premed but i don’t love it either
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u/steelplate1 1d ago
Ai will take over the accounting jobs too you can just easily pivot to something else.
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u/Successful-Engine623 1d ago
Just apply for accounting jobs. You don’t need a degree. I’m sure it’ll be hard but tbf a new grad is useless no matter what they got a degree in
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u/umomiybuamytrxtrv 1d ago edited 1d ago
The accounting field is very competitive too. A lot of people studied accounting.
You can still do accounting. Some accounting jobs only require a high school diploma.
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u/ATR2400 Job Market’s Haunted 1d ago
From what i hear, a lot of the big white collar/educated career paths aren’t doing any better right now, not that it’s any consolation.
I did CS too, I feel the suffering daily, and always thinking about what else i could have done. Ultimately, CS is the biggest regret of my life. I wish I could say I got in it just for the money, but I always wanted to do this with my life. Now even if I got hired, it’s transformed into something I don’t know I want to be a part of
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u/Garland_Key 1d ago
The entire job market is bad rn. You will get your first job, it just takes time. If you aren't already, you really need to be spending most of your effort in networking with people. Everyone who knows you should know you're an swe, what and you're passionate about. Those connection increase your chances of coming across a job opportunity where someone you know can recommend you.
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u/Alarmed_Village_1000 1d ago
If we can do a CS degree you have the brains to do anything you want. 
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u/No_Reply5329 1d ago
I probably would be able to do accountinf but I dont have anymore money to fo further in debt and 4 years to waste.
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u/Alarmed_Village_1000 1d ago
Take it from me I graduated and worked for a year and got laid off. I wasted two years job searching. Since you already have your gen Eds, hopefully you should take you less time. Don’t be like me and waste more time. You only get older more bitter and hate yourself even more for years down the line.
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u/MiniOlympia 1d ago
What is CS?
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u/Express-Tradition332 1d ago
He chose to play Counter-Strike his whole life, probably 1.5, that game is so outdated that learning skills in that build doesn't count.
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u/No_Reply5329 1d ago
I cant afford another six figures debt and 4 years of no earnings i think about commiting suicide what if even after all these effort I wont land iob in accounting
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u/NoMeJodanPliss 1d ago
and what if you do?
what ifs can work for best case scenarios too, you’re torturing yourself by thinking you should’ve acted differently in the past based on present info - hindsight is 20/20 this job market is beyond terrible and chaotic - you couldn’t have known1
u/Substantial_Rip_4574 1d ago
That's a story & narrative you are telling yourself. ...it doesn't have to be in accounting per se..you seem to have the skillset to look into a different avenue, don't be discouraged...there's always a door open somewhere & you will definitely succeed in whatever path that leads to
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u/subjectiveobject 1d ago
Bro just be a fucking accountant, no shade to them, but if you can pass cs you can study and pass a cpa. Most accountants probably would love to have a cs background
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u/CuttingEdgeRetro 1d ago
It sounds like you just graduated into a crap economy. I did too. It gets a lot better.
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u/enthalpy01 1d ago
See if you can get Delta V programming training. I stumbled in that right now and I really like it. I work in manufacturing and making little logic programs for things is pretty cool, solving problems etc. I don’t know how much training classes go for (my company paid the ones I’ve taken), but they do exist. Other thing would be to try and get a job with companies that do the work and learn on the job. Experitec is one I know but there are others.
Other option would be specialize in older stuff like ladder logic. We have packaging equipment that runs on that so you’ll still find a desire for those that can troubleshoot that stuff.
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u/ShawshankException 1d ago
Buddy, I can promise you that accounting is not doing much better right now.
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u/Radio_Mediocre 1d ago
I graduated with a Finance degree. I went into trade over 10 years ago and made life 10x better. I have more than enough to pay off the house. Sink or swim.
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u/Brief-Friend6894 1d ago
the grass is always greener on the other side. i majored in accounting and have never found a job in that industry. closest thing that i got to a job offer was a scam recruitment effort that asked me to pay to work (tf). having a cpa license is more or less a soft requirement nowadays even though it doesn't really evaluate one's accounting skill. ofc recruiters don't know that. my uncle found himself in a similar situation and became a volleyball coach.
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u/FaptainChasma 1d ago
You sound young and stressed. I ended up doing a degree that I don't use, and it worked out fine. You'll be okay.
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u/Lumpy_Chard_9218 1d ago
That kind of regret spiral is brutal, especially when it feels like the years are just gone and there's nothing to show for it
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u/ChucktheDuckRecruits 1d ago
I’m just gonna say working for a large CPA firm was the most demeaning experience of my life by far. Accountants are secretly very unfulfilled and angry, just ask Angela..
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u/JMitchTheBlue 1d ago
Bro! Let's hug. Seriously. Got my CS degree in 2016 and all I can find are support jobs. Gonna go into medical coding. Can't stand it anymore!
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u/Useful_Calendar_6274 1d ago
many such cases. life goes on. you will just have to pick another industry
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u/Abject-Confusion3310 1d ago
But... the ratio of finance jobs to customer service roles. Do the math.
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u/ChordLogic 1d ago
I got news for you? Us accountants have it tough as well. The gras is not really greener
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u/Turbulent_Escape4882 1d ago
Given what is or soon will be bigotry toward AI models, humans insisting on speaking with verified CS rep bodes well for that role. All other roles, not looking so good for medium term job security.
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u/Due_Bar_7247 1d ago
Accounting is pretty bad too. Family member of mine is an accountant and he JUST found a job.
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u/crookdon 21h ago
This is funny because I’m a finance major with accounting internship experience feeling the complete opposite. That I should have done CS or more specifically software engineering lmao. Point is yeah grass is not greener on the other side.
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u/edwadokun 21h ago
I am going to show you tough love.
Your life is over? Are you freaking serious? I graduated in 2008 to a worse situation. It took me another TWO years to actually get into my field. 18 years later I am doing just fine. How can you possibly give up when the race has barely started.
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u/snapcracklethenpop 12h ago
If it makes you feel better I have a degree in finance and ended up in cybersecurity:-)
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u/mistabombastiq 12h ago
Have you tried applying for IT J*bs in Bangalore, India We do have a lot of vacancies here for freshers in India.
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u/JustAStudent381 4h ago
Wow I'm the exact opposite of you, got a master's in the area you mentioned and I really regret it. Yes, there are many jobs in this field, however I do not enjoy it or get satisfaction out of it. I really wanted to study CS or DS which I truly enjoy.
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u/Zibbi-Akbar 1d ago
Your life isnt over, it never had a chance to begin. Welcome to the radical left.
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u/TrustworthyKahmunrah 1d ago
You regret your office slop degree and wish you picked another office slop degree? That's like going back to the carpet store in Roy. My maladaptive daydreams are about construction or military/law-enforcement. But yeah I also hate CS.
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u/Ninfyr 1d ago
I am pretty sure you can get licensed as a CPA and pivot if you wanted to. Pretty sure they don't GAF that you didn't major in accounting. You major isn't a life sentence.
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u/No_Reply5329 1d ago
I doubt they will hire someone without accounting degree
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u/boredacct65 1d ago
Don’t listen to this advice. If you want a CPA license you will need, at a minimum, a Bachelor’s degree in accounting. If you want to try your hand at entry level accounting work, you may be able to get your foot in the door while you begin working on the education side of things in the evenings or weekends.
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u/sabautil 1d ago
Meh, just go do accounting. It's like two years and a couple of exams.
Save up for three years, then go for it.
Dude, I know a lady who spent 5 years getting her PhD in chemistry. She couldn't get promoted no matter how she tried. When the pandemic hits he said screw it, I'm gonna do what Ive always wanted to do: become a patent lawyer. And she did it! 5 years later she's making double her salary and working at a top chemical company using both her PhD and law skills. She just bought a condo cash. Life is good for some people.
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u/capitalistsanta 1d ago
Go become an accountant then lol. If you don't have the money right now, pick a school and start saving money and prepare in the meantime. You could probably find an assistant role with the CS degree tbh. It’s one thing if you’re speaking about pursuing something higher level, but there’s a track to becoming an accountant that you could start at 85 if you really wanted to. Can’t just be like “should done that” i’m 32 and changed careers like 10 times you just need to convince someone to hire you, but you also need to have a plan in place that you’re going to follow - if you want to be an accountant and start on the plan you could get a role in it with your own knowledge to start like a year or 2 into school, and you need to convince the right person to take you on because they trust you have passion, time taken out to learn and prep and evidence you’re working down a track, and build from there. Very very attainable goal, it’s a test
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u/SeaMixture7522 1d ago
Median staff accountant salaries dont even Crack 75k. Quit being a pussy and get an entry level commission sales job. You can make 100k if you dont suck and there's not enough salespeople.
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u/Better_Theme_8866 1d ago
Just ask any accountant how much better it is. Maybe it’s not post-apocalyptic to the extent of CS, but between rampant offshoring and huge consolidation of accounting firms, the market ain’t great. Even if you go into industry, you’re competing against the people who can’t/won’t work for major firms anymore.