How I Became a Bean Counter

I am in a career that I didn’t want – Accountancy aka Bean Counter. In fact, both my parents are trained in this field. My mom is the one who pushed me into it because that’s what she knows best. I hate it. I know most of you when you were kids, you would dream to be a lot of things based on what you observed at that time. For me, I wanted to be an author because I loved reading story books; an astronaut because who doesn’t want to be in a rocket ship looking at all those stars at around you?; to form a girl band with my then friends so that we get to tour around the world together just like what we saw on TV and teen magazines. I can’t sing for sh*t though, haha!; an agony aunt so that I would help all the girls who were having problems, for example, why did my best friend gossip about me to other people; a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer, the list is long. However, I never wanted to be an accountant.

It was not fascinating to me. All I saw was a tired mother who would sleep on the couch then later wake up to sign your homework and go straight to bed. She was grumpy all the time and used to beat me up at the slightest error, be it knocking over a glass or adding volume to the TV. I feared her. I swore never to want that job if it meant I would be that miserable in my whole adult life.

Before I joined campus, a family friend was kind enough to pay for a couple of those psychometric tests which tell you what you may excel in.  The results were ok. Most of the answers I got were business related courses, architect, lawyer and even a factory worker. That last one made me laugh because I had never pictured it. Not that it is a bad job or anything. I can’t draw so architecture was out of the question. Therefore, I resigned my fate to the two left.

Fast forward to college time. My mom made me apply to two private universities – Bachelor of Commerce and the other in Law. I prayed to get the law one since to me, it was the lesser evil. Unfortunately, the letter for the former one came and within a few days, my mom had paid a full semester’s fees without my knowledge. Tactician right there. Thus, my journey started.

In my third year, I majored in something else but mommy dearest had anticipated this and in the previous year made me start an accountancy professional course citing that it will improve my marketability in the job market.  After I finished my degree, I tried to get a job in other fields but the beans man, the beans did not want to let me go that easily. Right now, I am in an accounts job, trudging on. Surprisingly, I am actually good at it but it’s just like school, I have to do it because I have to. My motivation is I cannot eat stones.

I would want to change careers but to what? I simply do not have the zeal to even think of what to change to because my mind is blocked. I do not even know what I’m passionate about. I do not know what I am good at except what I do currently. Any hobbies? Does sleeping in and watching a copious amount of TV series count.

So hey, do you like what you do? Was it what you always wanted to do or did you have far-fetched dreams like me?