Would you commit to a company?

[84porsche]

I don't know where you work but many of you are self-employed from what I have read. If you worked for someone else (small company) would you commit to them to stay and if so how long? I have the feeling that I am required in my company as a necessary piece but I don't know how long I am looking to stay with them. By the way, this is my first full-time employment out of college. Any suggestions/advice??

[DonDavis]

Depends on many factors. If you went into this job with a defined length of employment, then complete the obligation. If not, then tell them you are looking for something else and be an adult about it. I am not implying that you are not, just have a conversation with your boss and be honest. I promise you that in the long run that's the best policy. Good luck!

[FenderGuy]

84 Porsche try to become self empoyed early in life, These days companys see workers as #'s. If I had it by my choice I would rather be self employed then work for a company. I work for a very small company(family run) and I feel I am a pawn for these $$$ people.

[id10t]

I'd commit for as long as they make it worth your while. That being said, I'm 33 and I've had 2 jobs post highschool McJobs - first one had me for 9 years, still at the second.

[Teutonics]

Unless you signed a contract, there is no obligation to the company to stay for a certain time period. Likewise (especially with small companies), they usually don't feel obligated to keep you on should they have a downturn, etc. If that's not the case for where you work, you've found a quality organization for which to work. In the right organization, they will give you opportunities for growth and advancement (if you deserve them) which will make you want to stay with them.

The only obligation you may want to consider is to your resume... if you don't stay with an organization 6 months or more (a year is better), it looks bad to someone that is hiring. In today's job market, that can be a disadvantage you don't want. IF you even get the opportunity to interview with a new company, chances are you will be asked to explain why you left.

HTH.

[Schuey]

Originally posted by 84porsche
I don't know where you work but many of you are self-employed from what I have read. If you worked for someone else (small company) would you commit to them to stay and if so how long? I have the feeling that I am required in my company as a necessary piece but I don't know how long I am looking to stay with them. By the way, this is my first full-time employment out of college. Any suggestions/advice??

what is the line of work? and what is the level of commitment?

[vash]

no way, my first job. i was all guilty feeling when i quit. but now, no way. no hard feelings. adios!

unless i was working for hugh hefner, i wouldnt get to attached to my job. another better gig may come around. btw, any and all job interviews offered, take them. you can never have too much interviewing experience. if you can, make copies of cover letters and resumes that come thru your present job, so you can have a file of examples to refer to, in case you want to fly the coop. my dotcom friends all travel light.

[pbs911]

Anyone who thinks they cannot be replaced is sadly mistaken. All you owe them is an honest days work. All they owe you is an honest days pay. You leave work, that's it, you leave work. Life is too short to owe anything to a company you do not own. Even then, be sure to separate yourself from the company. One of the downfalls of business owers is not being able to separate their personal life/feelings from those of the company.

[84porsche]

The line of work is accounting. I work in the private sector for a small company. I have only been their 10 months so far. The salary is decent and I work for a good person. The rules are fairly relaxed. The owner would like to triple the company in 5 years but I don't know what that means for me and my future in the accounting industry. I don't want to be 30 or so and have to start over at the bottom. I obviously will gain experience but I don't want to miss out on something else if I stay too long.

[cowtown]

Originally posted by vash
no way, my first job. i was all guilty feeling when i quit. but now, no way. no hard feelings. adios!

Same here - quitting is uncomfortable, but there should be no committment by you as an employee, just as the company will never commit to keeping you employed.

Come to think of it, it's not even the quitting that's uncomfortable, it's that damn "goodbye/farewell lunch" that they drag you to. No one wants to be there.

[84porsche]

I think quitting will be one of the harder things when and if I find a better job in the near future. I figured starting out , I can't bounce jobs too often otherwise the resume won't be great. After 2 years maybe I will go back to school for the dreaded Master's degree. Just the thought of going back to school makes me sick. The sad thing is that it is probably necessary if I want to be "successful."

[cowtown]

Originally posted by 84porsche
After 2 years maybe I will go back to school for the dreaded Master's degree. Just the thought of going back to school makes me sick. The sad thing is that it is probably necessary if I want to be "successful."

Hey, going back for a master's is great. You can unwind a bit and relive your college days (to a certain extent - don't go clubbing it you're married, etc.). You'll never regret going back to school - just IMO.

Edit - I should have said "going back to school is great, after you have been working a few years and are sick of it." It took me 6 years to get there. No point in going back if you will really hate it, but it will probably look better the longer you work.

[epbrown]

You sound young, so it's pretty much expected that you'll move around after you've got something to put on your resume anyway. My company hires 10 recent college grads every 6 months as new managers, and few of them stick around more than 3 years. The "kids" get experience (which every other place is looking for) and the company gets "cheap labor" (forty grand/year). I've run into some of them after they've left and they're invariably making 20 grand more than we were paying doing the same job, self-employed or (in the case of the women) married and raising their first kids. Loyalty to a company these days is a mistake; the worst of them will kick you to the curb when the going gets tough, and the best of them will kick you to the curb but feel a little bad about it afterwards. Every 3 years, you should check what's out there and re-assess what you want to do. No one's inexpendable (unless you're requesting vacation time ) and the company will manage fine without you.

Emanuel

[nostatic]

2 to 4 and out the door

in general the way you increase your salary is to get another position, not through raises. The days of "the company store" are long gone, and committment on either side is mostly a thing of the past. That being said there are still pockets of odd behavior (good and bad) in different sectors. Academia is one...salaries tend to be lower (depending on the institution), but lots of places seem slow to fire people.

[85eurocarrera]

Fender guy,
You do have a choice. Remember this is America! Dont mean this comment as a flame or anything.

84,
I agree with pbs911's comments, I just have to work on his last sentence.
Joe

[FenderGuy]

85eurocarrera....one step ahead of you...its great knowing you can do whatever you want in america....well at least to a certain point....job hunting again

[911ctS]

This is a very good thread and it hits close to home for me.

84 - I think some good information and opinions were displayed here. Personally I am more or less in the same boat as you. I have a feeling that we are very close in age, making these decisions we have at this point in our life seem very detrimental. I personally work for a decent small company and get treated fairly well, no big complaints. The major disadvantage is that it occupies WAY too much on my time and im just not motivated to do the job (i dread waking up in the morning). Seems as though im loosing touch with my friends and hobbies. Almost like im becoming a slave or pawn and this is what I really dont like. O ya, and my boss wants to just grow, grow, grow. Like he's never making enough money as it is. Here is the controversy... I have grown up as a Porsche kid, my dad works on and restores these great cars for a living. So, obviously its been in my blood since diapers and this is my true passion. I absolutely love working w/ my father and on P cars, its just going to be a financial difficulty for now. so my problem is what do I do?

[GettinHeadStuds]

Chris-

-Your decision and planning depends on where you want to take your accounting career. Do you want to have the job security of being a big swinging dick at a firm? Or wake up at 10am and work a practice out of your home? It is probably too early to decide that yet, but you should think about that as you prepare to make your decisions.

-Your company is expanding, that is great news for you. Typically it takes five years (sometimes four) to reach manager in an accounting firm. Your company isn't going to expand overnight, it may happen over the next few years. Guess who'll be ready to jump up to manager when the expansion really starts rolling?

-Most of the partners at accounting firms I've talked to have been total job-switching-whores. Many of them have experience at multiple Big Four firms. It's very rare for a person to go from staff/associate to partner in the same firm (I've only met one).

-I'm starting out just like you, so take my advice with a grain of salt. However, understand that I have spent alot of time setting up meetings with many (20+) CPAs/partners in order to figure out how they got to where they are today. I highly recommend you do the same if you haven't already. Alot of people have healthy egos and love talking about themselves; if you listen, they'll love you. And you get the information you need to help you make your decisions.

My "goal" list is as follows:
---Sex as many women as I can.
---Pass the *****in exam.
---Expose myself to as many different accounting niches as I can.
---Make manager.
(from here on it gets too far out to plan, but what the hell)
---Consider grad. school
---Target the Big Four, they love people with experience, plus I think it's important to have been associated with one of the big firms at one time or another.

I'm not sure whether you're working audit or tax, but I'd say ride it out for another year --to get your required hours-- then start seriously considering where you want to go.

I'm gonna go study in the sun now.