Cost Accountant
(Female, Age 25) from Lemont, IL
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 25 who works as a Cost Accountant in Lemont, IL. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Cost Accountant |
|---|---|
| Salary | $69,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Lemont, IL |
| Years Experience | 3 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
It is a manufacturing plant and I work in the accounting department. There are about 900 people employed at this location.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
entering daily job costs, entering labor hours of employees working in the plant, calculating hours, manufacturing costs, data entry, responding to emails, physical inventory count management.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
2 weeks vacation, 5 days sick pay per year, HMO Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, 401K
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, I have a lot of interaction with working with others. I like the interaction.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I collaboratively work with my boss as our department is very small. There is my boss, myself, and a girl who works under me. Although we interact mostly with each other, the 3 of us, we also interact with other departments especially during physical inventory time.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 2
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 5
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 7
The Actual Work: 4
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Drive to the office. I start at 7:30 AM. When I walk into the building, I swipe in as being here, grab the time cards located in a bin downstairs, walk up to my office. I then turn on my computer, check E-mails, and begin the data entry of the time cards that I picked up in the bin. |
| 8am to 9am | Continue with the data entry. I am done with the data entry by 9 AM. I do put out fires in between this time if there are any that need to be dealt with from managers of the departments in the plant. |
| 9am to 10am | Reconcile the data entry and begin working on a manufacuturing spreadhseet which involves the jobs performed on the time cards. |
| 10am to 11am | Print out the reconciliation report and send to all supervisors in the plant. Begin costing procedures for jobs performed. |
| 11am to 12pm | Begin working on work orders, closing them. Also, check paint run work orders by closing them. These are work orders that are no longer valid that need to be closed. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Finish work orders from 12:00-12:30. Lunch is from 12:30-1 PM. |
| 1pm to 2pm | Take care of any reconciliation or work order questions from supervisors from 1:00-1:30. Begin manufacturing report that gets sent directly to owners of the building. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Work on manufacturing report and then e-mail to owners and my boss. Begin working on shipping orders paperwork. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Finish shipping order paperwork. I leave at 4 PM. |
| 4pm to 5pm | N/A |
| 5pm to 6pm | N/A |
| 6pm to 7pm | N/A |
| 7pm to 8pm | N/A |
| 8pm to 9pm | N/A |
| 9pm to 10pm | N/A |
| 10pm to 11pm | N/A |
| 11pm to 12am | N/A |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
internet
What was the application process?
submitted resume, came in for interview, got offered job, filled out paper application
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, the interview process involved me interviewing with the Human Resource department and then interviewing with my current boss. The 2nd time I came in I just interviewed with my boss again and then was offered the job.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
The questions pertained to my old positions and what I did at them. It was a very informal interviewing process.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
yes
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes, computer training as well as job related task training.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
yes
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I never interned
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Look for open positions at companies offering this position and apply. There are no real requirements for the position if you have a good understanding of computers because there is a lot of heavy data entry involved in this position. The rest would all be up to each individual company on specific requirements and such.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Very good data entry skills, social skills, be highly organized, have a good understanding of computers.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
not education so much but definitely work experience.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
To just always excell in what you do, go out of your way and you will be rewarded.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes, I think this is an exciting career path for me. I will either grow within my current company or use my expertise here to grow at another company.
What are your current career goals?
To either grow within this company into a management position or to use my current skills to grow within another company.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
no
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Office Manager | 1 year | 25000 | handle all office related jobs/tasks |
| Prior Job 2 | Administrative Assistant | 2 years | 28000 | data entry, job labor cards, greeting guests, answering the phone, assisting jobs directly to the president of the company |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
|||
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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