Why do I feel so far behind in my career compared to others?
Starting a late career or staying in the same role for years can make you feel like you have wasted time while peers progress faster. This lack of advancement and low salary breeds self-doubt, stopping people from confidently applying to higher-paying positions.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 12.8× more often in r/Accounting than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1seeking reassurance from older teachersDid this help you?
- 2taking the full internship option to accelerate certificationDid this help you?
- 3looking for senior accountant or assistant controller roles at mid-size firmsDid this help you?
- 4getting a CPA licenseDid this help you?
- 5looking for a junior role with a clear career pathwayDid this help you?
- 6Switching careers to get out of teaching entirelyDid this help you?
- 7Putting in more effort at the start of the school year to improve overall teaching performanceDid this help you?
- 8Trying to stay out of team gossip and avoiding contributing to a negative cultureDid this help you?
- 9Having a conversation with a supervisor about growthDid this help you?
- 10Considering a move to a different organization under a different arm of developmentDid this help you?
- 11Dismissing the comparison by noting that the person benefits from family ownershipDid this help you?
- 12Focusing on the long-term career ceilingDid this help you?
- 13Reminding oneself that comparison is the thief of joyDid this help you?
- 14Developing very strong social skills or technical skills related to AI and ensuring your work gets acknowledgedDid this help you?
- 15Applying broadly to as many internships as possible and accepting all interview offers.Did this help you?
- 16Getting a CPA license while working a relaxed corporate jobDid this help you?
- 17Taking a high-stress controller or accounting role at a small company or plant to rapidly gain hands-on experience and clean up messy booksDid this help you?
- 18Jumping to a new company after a year of intensive experience for a better title or compensationDid this help you?
- 19Ask for a new titleDid this help you?
- 20changing jobs for a compensation bumpDid this help you?
- 21leveling up technical skillsDid this help you?
- 22Accepting that IT audit allows you to skip the intense burnout and long hours associated with traditional financial auditDid this help you?
- 23Reassuring yourself that audit is audit and trying not to care about prestige distinctionsDid this help you?
- 24journalingDid this help you?
- 25trying to avoid comparing life to othersDid this help you?
- 26Embracing being average or 'mid'Did this help you?
- 27Focusing on caring for students rather than being perfectDid this help you?
- 28Reminding oneself that everyone is only human and perfection is impossibleDid this help you?
- 29Accepting an offer from a midsize firm and building a career thereDid this help you?
- 30Networking independently for alternative opportunitiesDid this help you?
- 31Planning to transfer to a Big 4 firm later as a senior after gaining experience elsewhereDid this help you?
- 32Using recruiters to secure higher-paying job offersDid this help you?
- 33Strictly budgeting every cent to cover rising expensesDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I go to a target school and the majority if not all of my classmates got offers from big4 while I’m sitting here applying for 3 years straight and nothing.”source ↗
“I have an offer from a midsize firm but compared to everyone else it just doesn’t feel like enough. feel like a failure especially being from a target school.”source ↗
“Clarification, I’m applying for full time and just lost my last shot at big4 before graduation. Everyone’s got return offers or ft offers. I know I’m lucky to have a job in this economy, but when everyone else around me with the same resources can get big4 so easily, it becomes a reflection of me. I don’t need to be outstanding, I just want to be like everyone else.”source ↗
“I also go to a target state school and didn't get a big 4 audit offer. Honestly it's pretty depressing I wont lie to you.”source ↗
“I do feel a bit defeated here.”source ↗
“If you were in your late 20s, extremely ambitious but badly positioned career-wise, what eventually got you unstuck?”source ↗
“Basically spent the first 7 years of my career happily employed as a entry-level -> senior financial accounting analyst for a F500 company, basically coasted as a relatively mediocre accountant who enjoyed a decent work-life balance and salary for a HCOL city. CPA-eligible, but never bothered to get the license.”source ↗
“However, I didn't get much traction in any of the manager-level roles with my resume, so I decided to apply to lateral roles, and I am now once again in a senior staff financial accounting role at another F500 company”source ↗
“I'm very grateful for the new role I have, but now I'm pretty set on "making" up for the lack of career progression and trying to start building a resume and skill-set that could make me eligible for the managerial roles that I was unsuccessful in landing.”source ↗
“Moving from 50k to $80k+ should feel like a win, but imposter syndrome and online prestige chatter are keeping me up at night.”source ↗
“I’m full of doubt and that I made the wrong move for being desperate.”source ↗
“I feel incredibly behind in the field and find myself comparing with others.”source ↗
“I have been with my current company for about 6 years in the same role, which is AR, AP, and general bookkeeping.”source ↗
“The company I work for is very small and there are not any current opportunities for advancement into a controller or higher position”source ↗
“My current salary is about $52k, which intuitively feels low given my experience and level of education”source ↗
“I somewhat lack the confidence to apply for positions that I haven't yet gained thorough experience in”source ↗
“what kind of role should I be seeking if I want to earn more money and advance my career?”source ↗
“Now that I've graduated it's even more difficult. All I could get was an IT Audit internship and even then they seemed like they just begrudgingly took me on because they legitimately couldn't find anyone else. Basically I'm just one big failure 😪”source ↗
“whenever I would introduce myself to people as being in "IT Audit" I could just see the color drain from their face as they pitied me”source ↗
“My personality gave me job security but not upward mobility.”source ↗
“I’ve been in HR for 12 years working my way up from the bottom and I can’t help but feel like I’ve had some major setbacks or made bad decisions due to where I’m at today.”source ↗
“At this point I’ve had no management experience and know how to do many things but I’m not an expert in any one thing.”source ↗
“While my duties/level of responsibility and knowledge have increased, my pay and title have not.”source ↗
“Shortly after this hire, i noticed the director (my boss) gave her the title of HR Generalist.”source ↗
“Now, I know titles in general don't mean a whole lot, its the what is actually done, but i can't help but feel a certain way about this.”source ↗
“Just feeling undervalued, unappreciated, you know - all the other feelings that come with that.”source ↗
“I just feel slighted.”source ↗
“I am in development operations and I feel extremely undervalued and gate-kept from learning from our experienced grant writers, annual giving, and major giving teams.”source ↗
“I am really great in my role and I feel that it speaks to me being able to do more, but I’m not given that opportunity (at least not in 3 years, which I find ridiculous)”source ↗
“I'm not the perfect teacher and at times I brush it off but damn if that doesn't sting sometimes.”source ↗
“I'm a delightfully mid teacher. No ambition to do what I can and want to do.”source ↗
“I feel like a terrible teacher and compared to my team, I objectively am not good. This hurts and I feel like I'm not doing right by the students.”source ↗
“I hear them trash talk other staff members as bad teachers/interventionists/specialists and I just know they are thinking the same about me and maybe saying it when I'm not there.”source ↗
“Comparing yourself to others isn't the best. Just do what you can and remember we're all only human.”source ↗
“I’m worried that I’m far behind and have wasted my life setting up for a late career.”source ↗
“Anyone expecting perfection is going to be burnt out before they even start.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 10Why do I feel so financially behind everyone else?
- 3Does keeping to yourself at work hurt your career?
- 15How to change careers when you are stuck in a niche
- 6Should I give up a comfortable remote job for career growth?
- 2Feeling like the youngest and least experienced at work
- 6Passed over for a promotion because I'm too valuable