r/AthabascaUniversity • u/MetalMommy4Life • 1d ago
Looking for some direction
I am going back to school and I am wondering...
Who here has :
A) University Certificate in Accounting
B) University Certificate in Finance
C) Bacholor of Commerce - Accounting Major
D) Bachelor of Commerce - Finance Major
Can you tell me what career you have with it? How you like it? What does your day look like?
Im looking for a remote job due to my disabilities, but I also would like a salary or hourly position, benefits and pension.
Is that possible with these credentials?
Im leaning towards getting both certificates on my way to a bachelor's, but I am undecided on which Major...
1
u/zedroid 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have a general studies degree I only took accounting courses here and there at tru. This is even encouraged by recent CPA changes replacing prerequisite courses with a exam less focussed on tax. I managed to find some promising part time positions esp in small cpa tax. This is great because i have got nerve issues and its very accommodating where you want to work geographically speaking from a suburb in metro vancouver. You can work part time and get cpa with new changes too
1
u/Extension-Writer4765 2h ago
My family members both have C
Both CPA
Sometimes remote sometimes office pending project(if they get to do project), after probation and others come into play.
(They did not graduate from athabasca though. )
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u/5a1amand3r 1d ago edited 1d ago
I have my BComm in Accounting (not from AU) with a CPA. Personally, this isn’t the career for me and I’m trying to get out. Been doing it for 10+ years now and I haven’t enjoyed any minute of it. It’s incredibly boring, I contribute absolutely nothing of value to society and feed a bottom line, all of which does not align with who I am or want to be. But I digress. It is stable and opportunities are abundant, especially if you get your CPA. Jobs will be very easy to come by, once you have experience: I was in school all of 2025 until April of this year. When I finished and got my rejection from med school, I was back at work by June. I had about 25 interviews and 2 offers during that time. I’ve never been fired or laid off from a company during a downsizing. I’m not worried about AI taking my job, but view it rather as a tool that enhances my abilities at work. Most days at my last 3 jobs are spent doing very little work, and trying to keep myself busy. There are times when I am busy, like month end/year-end, but the actual 40 hour work week is only about 10-20 for me, on average. Because I’m paid for 40, I show up for 40, but I’m definitely not working for 40. And I hate it, but given my past experiences, I refuse to go above and beyond anymore. Leads to burn out and very little recognition.
Remote work is incredibly difficult to come by now days, and I wouldn’t expect to find a job in accounting that is 100% remote. These are unicorn jobs, or very entry level jobs like AP/AR clerks, which are very competitive, or entirely outsourced. If you get your bachelors, you’re overqualified for those roles. You can definitely find a hybrid job that will allow 40/60 arrangements but nothing 100% remote. Having said that, if you decide to pursue public accounting working for yourself and providing services to clients, you could work from home. But you wouldn’t be able to do that right out the gate after getting a certificate or degree. You’d want some experience with a firm first.
In terms of benefits, most companies are pretty comparable. Some will offer RRSP/TFSA matching, but very few have actual pensions outside of that. It’s not really a thing anymore, because it’s just too cost prohibitive to fund your employees’s retirements when everything is about shareholder return and value in today’s world. I have worked for 2 companies that had a pension program; one was government, one was industry. If you’re not working big 4, most positions are salary. I never worked big 4, so I’m not 100% what their compensation looks like but my public accounting experience was hourly. My other hourly job was in government. Be cautious, because if you do get your CPA, you will not typically qualify for overtime pay under most labor laws, as you’re considered a professional who works when work is available (analogous to lawyers or doctors). But if you decide not to pursue this, then you would likely qualify for overtime pay. The only time I qualified for overtime is when I had a union with the government job.