A New Job

Well, there are some relatives who seem to think that after Wednesday's false start that we'll somehow forget to announce when the baby is born. Rest assured, you are not forgotten! When something happens, we will be sure to post on both blogs, send photo Christmas cards, make telephone calls, send e-mails, and perhaps dispatch messenger pigeons to all those concerned.

In the meantime, I've had to make a choice about where I am going to work after school begins. It was down to CBIZ (an accounting firm) and the DCAA (a government agency). After hearing from the DCAA that the budget was a bit mixed up to proceed with the hiring process right now, the decision was basically made for me. I will be starting at CBIZ as a Tax Associate on January 2. On January 6 I will be flying to Kansas City for a week of national training.


Here's a bit of info about CBIZ. They are headquartered in Cleveland, OH, and are one of the ten largest accounting firms in the U.S. CBIZ itself is a publicly traded company that provides mainly tax, benefits, and business consulting services. As a public company, they are prohibited from auditing other public companies. To achieve this, they are somehow teamed/partnered with Mayer Hoffman McCann (MHM), an independent accounting firm, that can provide these services. The two companies employ over 5,000 people in 160 offices nationwide.

While I am worried about the state of the economy and the possibility of layoff down the road, I was invited to attend the company's Christmas party last night. The president of the Salt Lake office still sounded happy to have me and the other new recruits when I spoke to him, so I should at least be able to make it for my first day (though I suppose that anything can happen).

I am very excited about the new job in some ways, and very nervous in others. It will mean very long hours from late January to mid-April, and I will be expected to put in the equivalent of up to 300 hours of overtime as part of my normal salary. Still, it's a job, doing what I like, and the pay is actually pretty good. In these times (or any other for that matter), I can't ask for much more than that. I really do feel blessed to have this opportunity.