Still Searching

As the economy continues to sluggishly plod along I continue my search for a full-time job. I currently have work I actually enjoy, but it consists primarily of consulting projects that will last two to three weeks at a time. This definitely isn't job security and they also don't pay as well as full-time employment probably would. To make up the difference I'm still doing some nights and weekends at the Walmart pharmacy; watching lumps of people wander aimlessly through the store then bother me for narcotics.

Not sure about this one

Working 50-60 hours a week and trying to study for the CPA exam on top of it isn't too crazy, right? I'm two weeks into pulling a full-time 40+ hour schedule at the accounting firm while still picking up some nights at the pharmacy. I'm determined to stick with it for now, but damn I'm exhausted. At least I'll be able to afford a new computer in the near future. Off to bed...where I will have about five to maybe six hours of sleep before I get to rise and shine for another day at the office.

Finally, Some Real Job Experience

In an effort to make my life even busier I've taken a full-time position with a local CPA firm at least through tax season. I already know that this won't be a permanent position so I'm still looking for something in Chicago, New York, or some other large city (hopefully where it's warm all year). What this new job will really do is give me some real world work experience that I had been lacking for my field when I was doing interviews for jobs late last year. Time and again they would start to ask about relevant work experience and all I really had was a few semesters of volunteer tax work while I was still going to school. I was, unfortunately, shut out of most internship programs because all the big public accounting firms in the region contract with our masters program to get candidates. Thus leaving only a handful of industry opportunities for those of us not taking the program because we'll have all the credits we could possibly need for the CPA exam.

I also opened a rather large box from amazon.com today which included all my study materials for the CPA exam. I'll be applying for my notice to schedule sometime this week and I'll hopefully have my exams taken care of by the time my lease is up at the end of the summer. Doing well on these and the GMAT, which I plan to take sometime this summer as well, will probably be deciding factors in my plans for at least the next few years.

The Job Hunt

With only two months to go in my last semester of college I'm beginning to get a little worried about my job prospects for after graduation. I've had a handful of interviews and even got invited to two second round interviews in Milwaukee and Chicago. Problem is I've already been rejected by the firm in Milwaukee and I'm stuck playing the waiting game with the Chicago office. I can console myself in the thought that I really didn't want to work in Milwaukee anyway, but it would have still been nice to at least get an offer.

I guess I should count myself lucky as I still have my part-time job I can get bumped back to full-time while I'm looking for a real world job. Unfortunately, I hate where I work now and was counting down the days to where I could quit and be reasonably secure in at least my near future.

If all else fails I'm planning on making a sizable capital contribution to my investment partnership and concentrating on that while working the pharmacy gig part time. I've done a decent job this year on my own, but having those efforts work toward the success of the partnership I helped form would look even better on a resume than personal portfolio success.

The job market is not looking so good for my friends either. Most are in the same situation I am in trying to make part-time work flesh out to fill a full-time schedule after graduation.

If anyone knows of mid to large size accounting firms hiring corporate tax accountants let me know.

New Title

While hardly exciting I've finally decided on a new, non-location-specific name for my blog! Combining my love of things medieval and free markets I have created the "Errant Capitalist," a fun-filled, rarely-updated blog about all the stuff that goes on in my life.

It's been awhile

So it's been awhile since I last posted anything. It's been for good reason though, and it's not like people are actually reading this anyway.

Since my last post I've moved, gotten well into my last semester of college, started looking for a real person job, and a some other stuff along the way too. Also, because of the move I think I'll need a new name for the blog as I no longer live on Mound Street. Any suggestions from non-existent readers?Guess not. By the time I post again I'll have thought of something and "Notes from the Mound Street Bar" will be a thing of the past.

Vehicle Woes

After my five years of ownership and a total of over 203,ooo miles my car is finally starting to buckle. New problems seem to arise as soon as I get the last know problem fixed. Now I'm stuck fixing these to the tune of almost $200 a pop. It's getting to the point where I really need to start considering my options for a new car. Unfortunately, until I get a real job those options are limited. I just need this car to last for another six months and I'll be set. In the mean time I'm scouring eBay and other sources for deals. If anyone has a Subaru WRX sti, Mini Cooper S, or Jeep Wrangler for sale let me know.