I Should Have Been an Accountant

Last weekend, I realized that I've been in the wrong career for the past four years. I mean, sure, as a teacher I get summers off, endless entertainment from my students, and a candy bar during teacher appreciation week. None of these perks, however, can hold a candle to the vast lengths accounting firms will go to in order to convince potential employees to sign over their lives to the world of numbers.

On Saturday night, I went to a recruiting event at BYU for Ernst & Young, one of the big four accounting firms. No, I was not contemplating a career change (though, now that I know about the perks, I'm thinking about it), I was just keeping a friend of mine company. I had never been to such an event before and was floored by the lengths to which the company went to ensure they got their pick of the best employees (though I'm not sure who picks their career based on a coffee cup).

The event was a private concert by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, which was cool all by itself. We sat in the second row and the band sang right to us! They are great entertainers, and sing one of my favorite songs, "Dream Big." Still, not to be outdone by the sweatshirts, backpacks, wireless mice, and myriad of other toys given out by the other big three firms, Ernst & Young sent their potential employees (and infiltrating English teachers) home with a free CD of the band, a bag of Halloween candy, an orange (random), and several cookies from Smart Cookie (the best ever). All in all, I felt like it was a productive evening. As I looked around at all the people and thought of how many other recruiting events they must go to, and all the goodies they must get at those events, I couldn't help thinking...I should have been an accountant.