Is working in A/R and A/P a dead end job?

The only silver lining to your comment lays on those 1% of a lucky bunch that get into big 4. Let me explain the amount of luck and hurdles you need to benefit as an accountant from the big 4:

You have to get accepted into Audit or Tax. Not Advisory or otherwheres. This is not the majority already.

You have to NOT get placed on the usual clients they stick newbies: the shitty 24/7 clients that cause all the aforementioned threads. So no big banks or fucking massive companies with constant changes.

You have to NOT be put on the usual shitty team that doesn't want to teach you. Your seniors, managers, and maybe even partners have to be decent human beings who are happy you're there, while you're still happy you're there, and they have to be able to train you in a way you are receptive to. Even if you are on super-positive-go-go team, they could just not come across to you in a way you're used to learning with.

On top of this you also need to have these in your back pocket within the first month: know-around of their MANY softwares (client engagement software, billing, hours, your corporate card, your new laptop in general, your many new passwords, you probably still suck at excel too.)

Got all that buddy? To top it off, you have to better at doing this than everyone on your team who has climbed the same mountain. Only then may you get noticed by a client and maybe offered a job. Then again, this may be a job at the same shitty client you're now working 24/7 on. How nice!

Not to mention the total outside-of-work life changes that will come too. You're going to have to move closer to the office, find all new stores for your many amenities.

All the while doing this, you'll be thinking about all the industry jobs you could have maybe taken 5-10k less at home for. You think about why you went to school for this. Even if you think you want to stick around for 3 years, by that 3rd year 75% of your new friends starting out will have become miserable and quit. These friends become the much-sought-after "networking opportunities". They're just your fucking buddies who worked in the same plantation as you.

tl;dr think about what you really want in life, play out the steps, and put to the sidelines what anyone tells you. Don't ignore, just consider anyone who isn't you as 2nd in line.

/r/Accounting Thread Parent