My Accounting Salary From The Past 12 Years

I would like to breakdown my salary over the past 12 years as a professional Accountant working in the corporate world. I wouldn’t say I was the brightest student in my class, but I did enough to graduate with a Bachelor degree. After graduating college way back in 2011, I wasn’t able to land a job like most of the students in my class, but I finally found one 8 month later. This was a defining moment of my life as I finally got my foot in the door.

Now I won’t be disclosing the name of the companies I worked for, but only my position and what industry it was in.

The Starting Point: Cost Accountant ($13/hr)

The first job I landed was a Korean food manufacturing company and I was really excited because I will finally be able to put all the skills I learned in school for good use. My day to day task involved entering work orders and transferring inventory into the ERP system. We also had to do full inventory counts every month as the inventory was a total mess there. None of the inventory in our warehouse matched what was in the system.

It was a pretty laid back job, but there were a few issues. The first being the pay was very low compared to the standard $20/hr. Secondly it was really far from where I live, so I was basically communing over an hour each way. I didn’t move closer to the job because I wasn’t making enough to afford an apartment.

Ending Salary: No Change

Next Role: Purchasing Assistant ($16/hr)

After 4 month of working at my last job, I transitioned into a purchasing assistant role for a family owned fiberoptics business. This move wasn’t a direct accounting position, but it allowed me to broaden my understanding of financial planning and procurement. The $3 per hour increase was a small, but motivating boost that encouraged me to keep pushing forward and it was also only 15 minutes away from home, so that was another plus switching over.

Like my previous job it was pretty laid back as well, but it also had some issues. There wasn’t much to do there as I was able to streamline the purchasing process, so I basically was only working for 2 hours per day. I tried to learn more by asking to cross train in other areas, but the CEO wouldn’t let me. Since this was owned by a family there was a lot of drama – the wife was the CEO, the husband was the president/general manager, the brother in law was the director of engineering, the niece was the AR specialist, etc. Lastly, the pay was still not high enough as the standard rate should be minimum of $20/hr.

Ending Salary: No Change

Returning to Cost Accounting ($21/hr)

I grew tired of my last position as there wasn’t much career growth and I landed a cost accounting position with a medical device company. The work involved managing inventory with daily cycle counts and reconciling numerous inventory accounts.

The position didn’t last long as the company ran into some trouble with how they were operating the business and had to be acquired by another Bio-tech company.

Ending Salary: No Change

Advancing to Staff Accountant ($25/hr)

I decided to transition to a staff accountant role for an automotive marketing company as cost accountant roles were very limited. Earning $25 per hour, I found myself handling all areas of accounting – accounts receivables, accounts payable, sales commission, etc. This was my first real exposure to the broader world of corporate accounting.

I eventually decided to leave as I felt the CFO wasn’t going to let me learn more about the business and there were multiple employees that was annoying me on a weekly bases. Even after filing multiple complaints about those employees they still were able to annoy me.

Ending Salary: $31/hr

New Company Same Role: Staff Accountant ($33/hr)

After moving on from the automotive marketing company I joined a public pharmaceutical company as a staff accountant. I was hired to assist three senior accountants with revenue, but after two month of working there, one senior left for a new job and another one transferred to FP&A. The company ended up converting an employee from procurement team to manage revenue.

It wasn’t longer after the parent company announced they will have us integrate into their ERP system. This basically means we are going to lose our jobs. I didn’t want to wait to see what was going to happen, so I left way before anything was finalized. Last I heard everyone was laid off on June 2020.

Ending salary: $35/hr

New Company, But Same Role: Staff Accountant ($37/hr)

Continuing as a staff accountant with a different company, I saw another salary increase to $37 per hour. I was pretty much doing the same task as when I first started as a staff accountant. I was reconciling bank accounts, invoicing customer, etc. After 4 months into the job, the company announced they were selling off 90% of their business to a competitor. So again, we were losing our jobs.

Ending Salary: $39/hr

Breaking into Senior Accounting ($40/hr)

My transition to a senior accountant role marked a big achievement to the corporate ladder. The company was a start up in the educational platform business. At $40 per hour, I took on more responsibilities in financial reporting. I was in charge of month end close, flux analysis, expense reimbursement, AP invoices, AR invoicing, etc.

I decided to leave the company because it was acquired by Fidelity prior to me joining. I noticed that as employees leave the company, Fidelity would bring in their own team to fill in that role. I figured they would probably replace me eventually, so I decided to leave.

Ending Salary: $43/hr

Biggest Salary Jump: Senior Accountant ($54/hr)

This move was the most significant in terms of salary increase. Jumping from $43 to $54 per hour. I wasn’t even expecting to get paid that much until the HR team reached out to me regarding the offer letter. It was another public pharmaceutical company. The team there was amazing. Everyone was very nice and helpful. I was looking forward to working there long term, but after two months on the job the company announced they were getting acquired by another pharmaceutical company. Again, I would have to find another job.

Ending Salary: No Change

Consistency: Senior Accountant ($54/hr)

For my ninth job, I remained in a senior accountant role with the same salary. This time I was working for a farming company. They specialize in providing a one stop shop for all farming products. While there was no increase, I mainly focused on my daily task reconciling numerous inventory accounts for different subsidiary within the organization. My main goal wasn’t to move up the corporate ladder as I wanted a stable job and a good work life balance.

Unfortunately, after one year of employment the company announced a mass layoff and I was part of the group.

Ending Salary: No Change

Final Position: Senior Accountant ($55/hr)

The last role I had was a senior accountant for a global telecommunications company. I was earning $55 per hour mainly to do full cycle accounts payable and the occasional reconciliations for month end close. The job was fine at first, but after 6 months it turned into a toxic place as there was no work life balance. I was expected to work long hours and even on the weekends. I wasn’t even allow to take maternity leave for my new born child.

At one point I really wanted to quit and find a new job, but I decided to stay and continue working there. Things did settle down eventually, but I lost so much time with my family that I can never get back. In a turn of events the company decided to terminate my employment claiming it was a business decision.

Ending Salary: $56/hr

Final Thoughts

It took me nearly 8 years to finally hit six figure salary and it was by no means easy. I had to constantly find new positions that would pay higher than my previous job. Another thing was most of my position were eliminated due to acquisitions and this has taken a toll on my life. I no longer have a passion for accounting like I did when I first started. I am not sure what I will be doing in the future, but for now I plan on taking some time off to relax as the last company really drove me nuts.