u/y98s

Anyone else feel behind in life after setbacks in their career? Should I finish ACA or try pivoting into something completely different for better money?

28M, ACA finalist (12/15), ex-Big 4 audit. Had a rough period, left after missing an exam booking, ended up with a long gap, and recently got back into audit at a Top 30 firm.

Honestly feel really behind in life compared to other people my age financially and socially. The pay feels low for the workload, I’ve had to rent a Mon–Fri room in Surrey for work, and I’m questioning whether audit is even worth continuing long term.

Part of me thinks I should just finish ACA because I’m this close, but another part wonders whether I should pivot into something else entirely like sales or another higher-paying field while I’m still in my 20s.

Would appreciate honest advice from anyone who’s been through something similar.

28M, working full time in accounting with professional exams on top. I come from a Big 4 background, so I have decent transferable skills, but I honestly have no idea how to monetise them outside of a 9-5. Salary barely covers rent and bills, so there's almost nothing left at the end of the month. Not a big spender, just genuinely don't earn enough right now and need to change that.

The good news is I do have time. Weekday evenings after work to midnight and full weekends. That's actually a decent chunk if I use it right.

I've thought about tutoring, freelance bookkeeping, content writing, reselling - but I genuinely don't know what's realistic vs what sounds good on paper. I'm based in London, which probably matters for some options.

What would you actually do if you were in my position? Not what sounds good in theory - what has genuinely worked for you or someone you know?

28M - Left Big 4, now renting a room away from family just to finish ACA. Feel completely lost.

Not really sure why I’m posting this, maybe just need advice from people who’ve been through similar.

I worked in Big 4 audit for just over 2 years but ended up leaving after missing an ACA exam booking deadline during a policy change period. It sounds stupid looking back and honestly I still beat myself up over it. I already had 12/15 ACA exams done, so being that close and then ending up out of the firm really messed with my confidence.

After leaving I had about a year gap. I travelled a bit, tried to reset mentally, helped family, went gym etc., but the truth is I didn’t come out of it with savings or some amazing life transformation. I just feel behind.

I recently got a new role as an Audit Senior at a Top 30 firm because I want to finally finish the ACA and move on with life, but financially and mentally I feel awful.

I’m from East London and had to move into a Mon–Fri rented room in Surrey near work because the commute was too much. So now at 28 I feel like I’ve gone backwards in life:
- renting a room away from family
- barely seeing friends
- no social life
- scrimping just to save money
- rubbish pay for the stress/hours
- gym consistently but still not in the shape I want
- haven’t dated in years
- feel isolated in an area where I know nobody

What makes it worse is I graduated during COVID and my original graduate role got rescinded because of lockdown, so I already felt like my career started on the back foot compared to others my age.

I know logically I’m not doing “terribly”:
- nearly ACA qualified
- employed
- decent experience
- Big 4 background

But emotionally I just feel broke, behind and exhausted. I look around and people my age seem to have relationships, money, houses, social lives, confidence etc., while I’m stressing over meal costs and train fares.

Part of me wants to stick out audit another year, qualify and then leave for industry/FP&A/internal audit/etc. for better money and work-life balance. Another part of me feels like I need a side hustle or complete career pivot because I genuinely don’t know if audit is worth it anymore.

Has anyone else felt like this in their late 20s? Especially after setbacks/gaps/career delays?

Mainly looking for advice on:
- whether qualifying ACA actually changed things financially/life-wise
- moving out of audit into better-paying industries
- rebuilding a social life in a new area
- dating/confidence when you feel behind financially & mentally
- side income ideas that are realistic alongside audit
- generally getting life back on track mentally

Would appreciate honesty more than motivation speeches.

Starting a new hybrid job soon in South London. Current commute would be around 2 hours each way.

Officially it’s around 2–3 office days a week, but realistically the pattern will probably vary depending on workload/client sites, so some weeks could end up being more.

Financially staying at home makes more sense, but potentially doing 4 hours travelling multiple times a week sounds exhausting long term. I’ve also considered occasional hotels/Airbnbs at first while I figure out the actual work pattern.

Torn between:
- staying home and testing the commute first
- getting a house share closer to work
- occasional hotels on office days

Questions:
- Is a 2hr commute manageable long term if it’s not always a fixed hybrid pattern?
- Would you move out in this situation or save the money?
- Would you try hotels first before committing to rent?

Also if anyone knows decent affordable house shares around Sutton, Morden, Wimbledon or nearby with good transport links, I’d really appreciate recommendations — budget around £650–750 bills included.

Thanks

Worked at PwC in external audit for just over 2 years and completed 12/15 ACA exams. I ended up being dismissed after failing to book one ACA exam sitting after a last-minute process change around bookings. Obviously still my responsibility in the end, but it derailed my confidence quite a bit at the time.

After leaving, I spent around a year travelling and also helping look after my mum while she recovered from an illness. Thankfully she’s doing much better now.

I’ve recently secured a role at a Top 30 audit firm and accepted it because:
- I wanted to get back into audit ASAP
- I didn’t want the employment gap getting larger
- I wanted ACA support again and to qualify as quickly as possible

The downside is the office is almost 2 hours each way from where I live (other side of London).

Now that I’ve accepted the role, I’ve suddenly started getting approached by recruiters again and seeing a lot more opportunities being posted — some of which genuinely seem significantly better in terms of:
- location
- pay
- progression
- client portfolio
- long-term fit

I already have an initial interview lined up for one role that honestly looks much stronger overall.

My concern is:
How bad does it look if I potentially move very early into a new role (even during probation/early stages) because a substantially better opportunity came up?

I’m not trying to job hop for the sake of it. I accepted this role because I needed to rebuild momentum and get back into the profession, but I also don’t want to ignore opportunities that may objectively make much more sense long term.

Would appreciate honest advice from recruiters/managers/people in audit.

TL;DR:
Accepted a Top 30 audit role after a 1 year gap because I needed to get back into work, but the commute is nearly 2 hours each way and now I’m suddenly getting approached for much better London-based opportunities. Would it look terrible to move very early on if a significantly better role came up?

Full context:

I worked at PwC in external audit for just over 2 years and completed 12/15 ACA exams.

I ended up being dismissed after failing to book one ACA exam sitting after a last-minute process change around bookings. Still ultimately my responsibility, but it knocked my confidence quite a bit.

After leaving, I spent around a year travelling and also helping look after my mum while she recovered from an illness (she’s doing much better now thankfully).

I recently accepted a role at a Top 30 audit firm because:
- I needed to get back into audit ASAP
- I didn’t want the gap growing larger
- I wanted ACA support again and to qualify quickly

The issue is the office is basically on the other side of London from me — almost 2 hours each way.

Now that I’ve accepted, recruiters are suddenly contacting me again and I’m seeing roles that genuinely look much better in terms of pay, location, progression and portfolio. I’ve already got an initial interview lined up for one.

Would it look really bad if I potentially moved very early into a new role if something substantially better came up?

I’m not trying to job hop for the sake of it — I just took the first solid opportunity to get my career moving again.

TL;DR:
Accepted a Top 30 audit role after a 1 year gap because I needed to get back into work, but the commute is nearly 2 hours each way and now I’m suddenly getting approached for much better London-based opportunities. Would it look terrible to move very early on if a significantly better role came up?

Full context:

I worked at PwC in external audit for just over 2 years and completed 12/15 ACA exams.

I ended up being dismissed after failing to book one ACA exam sitting after a last-minute process change around bookings. Still ultimately my responsibility, but it knocked my confidence quite a bit.

After leaving, I spent around a year travelling and also helping look after my mum while she recovered from an illness (she’s doing much better now thankfully).

I recently accepted a role at a Top 30 audit firm because:
- I needed to get back into audit ASAP
- I didn’t want the gap growing larger
- I wanted ACA support again and to qualify quickly

The issue is the office is basically on the other side of London from me — almost 2 hours each way.

Now that I’ve accepted, recruiters are suddenly contacting me again and I’m seeing roles that genuinely look much better in terms of pay, location, progression and portfolio. I’ve already got an initial interview lined up for one.

Would it look really bad if I potentially moved very early into a new role if something substantially better came up?

I’m not trying to job hop for the sake of it — I just took the first solid opportunity to get my career moving again.