Accountant

While being an accountant is an actual job, it has also become a covert way to hide your actual profession because you are embarrassed by it or others won't understand it and judge you because of it. The "accountant" term is especially common on social media, particularly on TikTok.

There is nothing wrong with being an accountant. It is a totally respectable profession. However, it is rather boring. Rarely do people ask follow-up questions when they hear that someone is an accountant. This may be because they are unsure what an accountant actually does or just don't care.

So when people have jobs they don't want to explain to others, they often say they are an accountant. This may be a substitute for all sorts of unique jobs, such as struggling actors, circus custodians, or failed social influencers. It is also commonly used as a cover-up job for sex workers.

Where did the "accountant" term come from?

TikTok user Rocky Panterra, who is a struggling actor, shared a song on the social platform in July 2020 about how it was easier to tell people he was an accountant than explain his actual job. The video went viral and many other Internet users adopted the occupation as their go-to excuse when they don't want to reveal their actual career.