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What was the biggest challenge you faced when transitioning from college to your first accounting job, and how did you overcome it? #Spring25

I’m a sophomore at the University of Texas at San Antonio, majoring in accounting and planning to graduate in May 2027. I’ve enjoyed my business and finance classes while developing leadership and problem-solving skills as I work toward becoming a CPA. #Spring25

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Najda’s Answer

One of the challenges here is figuring out how to take what you learned in school and use it in real life situations. This gets easier with time as you gain more experience, so be patient with yourself. Another thing college often doesn't teach is corporate/office etiquette, like being professional and showing up on time. Being thoughtful, respectful, and working well with others can really help. Handling pressure and stress can be challenging too, but finding a balance, taking breaks, and staying organized can make it easier.
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Erin’s Answer

Hi, Avery. Great job knowing what you want to do after college. That right there is the first sign of "real world readiness". The one thing I would look out for when transitioning into your Accounting career after graduation is just how many new concepts you will have to learn that were not taught in the classroom. A lot of what it'll take to be successful, like having great time management and holding yourself accountable (no pun intended hahaha) to get tasks done by deadlines will be valuable skills that you learned from your business and finance classes, but more nuanced things like corporate etiquette, learning how to receive feedback but also be able to defend your actions will be skills that you will only be able to learn in your new career. I would say feel confident that you are exhibiting good signs of being able to make a smooth transition from college into your career, and just tell yourself that while you learned enough from college to prepare you well, just expect that there will be things could have only learned after college, and allow yourself the space to grow and learn from mistakes or any "gaps" you carry out of college into your career as an Accountant. Best of luck!
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Brad’s Answer

Hi Avery
What a great question. I graduated in 1982 and went straight into public accounting. I think the biggest surprise was how little I felt like I knew when I started in Public. I think I learned more my first year of Public Accounting than I did in 4 years at UF. School gives you all the background knowledge that you certainly need to be a good accountant but putting that knowledge to practical use was a whole different level of learning experience. Please don't worry about that too much because when you first start out in the real world people understand that you are still green behind the ears and they should help you along and show guidance where needed. If your education gave you a good basic knowledge the real world experience will come along quickly. The biggest thing I noticed was just getting real life experience in how it all fits together. You will be fine as long as you have confidence in your abilities and don't forget that all important work life balance.
Good Luck!
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Gus’s Answer

I think my biggest surprise was the quantity of writing that occurs in public accounting. In school you learn the technical aspects of accounting, but you quickly learn how to “document” everything in the accounting world (through memos, workpapers, etc). Upskilling your business writing skills is a great way to prepare for this post-grad!
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