[Anonymous]

Hello, very excited to join this forum. I have been surfing over different threads and already picked up lot of great information. So cheers to that. I was wondering what is the best possible strategy for my situation:

I am 29, I took my sweet time with my BBA in Accounting. I just graduated in Dec 2014 and was working a low paying Staff Accountant job before graduating for less than a year. After graduating I decided to quit my job and apply for better positions, and of course I am not getting any legit ones as of yet. I went to 3 interviews already and did not get any offer. I still am getting more interviews but I feel discouraged at the moment plus I know I want my CPA sooner or later. So I figured screw applying and just go for my CPA. It can only help right? I have 4 classes left to be CPA eligible in Texas so I plan on knocking those 4 classes in the summer and apply to sit for CPA early August. I hear it takes a month to get approved so let’s say my first exam (FAR) in October. Can one take a test any day in October?! Now since I will not be working, would this be do-able? My full time job will be studying. I have no wife/kids/dinosaurs, etc. Then do AUD in January, follow it by REG and BEC in April.

So basically 2.5 months studying full time for FAR, 2.5 months for AUD, 2.5 months for REG and BEC.

How does this sound?

[mla1169]

As for passing the CPA it will work. You're going to have a hard time finding a better job without experience. I'd highly recommend looking for work ASAP because a CPA with no experience isn't going to walk into a senior job.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

If you are financially able to support your expenses while you are studying for the exam and to pay for it, go for it. Now, just consider that things may not go according to plan and you may need additional time or you may need to retake a part. I believe that your plan is duable as long as you stay focused and committed. However, you still need experience to be able to obtain your license.

And yes, you can take the exam any time in October. You just need to schedule your exam with at least a month (or earlier if possible) of the date you want to take it so you have better options of dates and time. Remember that the third month of every quarter is a blackout month (i.e., March, June, September and December) in which you cant schedule/take your exam due to maintenance/updates in the system. Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[Anonymous]

The only thing more valuable than a CPA is a CPA with experience (which the majority have). At your age I'd really reconsider the whole not working thing. And even with working I feel like you could have a more aggressive timeline.

[TNCPA16]

Your plan is definitely doable, but I would strongly encourage you to keep applying and looking for a job while you are studying.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your input. I do have working experience but in finance industry(3 years internship) and few years of management experience i real estate management. Not much in accounting. I do have some tax season experience in the past. I know I won't get a senior role after CPA with less than a year of accounting exp. I just want to be able to move around USA anytime, and I feel like CPA will help me with this. I know myself and I feel like it's ideal if I just finish it off when I have the luxury of not working. Also, I am debating between Becker and Roger, I am leaning towards Becker..

[Anonymous]

Ok I think your plan is pretty solid, with a few tweaks. I am actually in my last semester of my MBA program and am not working so I basically study full-time. I don't think you will need 2.5 months for each exam. In fact, if you do study that much for each test you might burn yourself out. I think that Audit can be done in a month of full-time studying. I did all the lectures and homework on Becker in 3 weeks and had a full week of review. Granted I don't have my score yet, but I don't think having another month and a half would have been worth it. I am in the process of BEC right now. I am taking this one a little slower because it is very formula-heavy. I am through about 3 chapters of material in about 2 weeks. I will try to get through the remaining chapters in a week and a half and leave myself 3-4 days for review. As far as REG, I can't speak since I have never taken it. FAR is a monster. I haven't sat for that either, but I plan to give myself about 2 months for that one.

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't need anywhere near 2.5 months of truly full-time studying for any of the exams. If “full-time” means 40 hours a week, then 2.5 months would be over 400 hours of studying. I think most hours-based suggestions I've heard range from 150-200 hours per exam, so 400 is way overkill. Many people don't need the whole 150-200 hours (I think when I figured it up, my study time was around 200 hours for all 4, but that was with no lectures – lectures take a lot of time), some people may need more than the 150-200 hours, but as a recent grad you should have a solid enough foundation to be at or below the 150-200 hours.

As far as materials are concerned, listen to demos and get the one that you think you will learn the best from, based on teaching style, voice, etc. I've heard some that I know would've driven me crazy after 5 minutes, and some I think I would've enjoyed the lectures…all personal preference.

.

I do agree with the people saying you'd be better off working while studying in order to get a decent job, cause being unemployed without a great reason is not a good thing (like, if you are unemployed for a year cause you were fighting cancer that's understandable; unemployed cause you didn't think the job paid enough is *not* a story you want to tell in an interview). Taking advantage of your time unemployed to study is smart, but working hard towards becoming employed again would be smart, too. (Oh, and studying for the CPA exam for 10 months is *not* a reason to tell an employer in an interview either – given that many people pass in far less time while working full-time, to say that you put off the job-hunt to study will make it look like you're incompetent. I'm not saying you are, I'm saying it will look like that.)

[Anonymous]

Sounds like my plan. 200 hours of true study time (lectures, reading, MCQ) for each exam is all you need to basically guarantee passing.

[mw798]

Realistically with no job you could probably knock out all the exams in 5 months.

1.5 months for FAR

1.5 months for REG

1 month BEC

1 month AUD

You could probably do it all in 4 months actually.

I definitely do not recommend staying unemployed for 10 months. Are you going to tell future employers that you were unemployed 10 months to study for the CPA exam? That's a red flag for any potential employer telling them that you can't balance priorities. I know if a candidate told me that, I would probably not hire him/her even if he or she has passed the exam with all 99s as anyone can do that studying full time for 10 months.

[fuzyfro89]

That's way too much study time. You can do that, but it's not efficient.

Unless you want to basicalky take 6-8 months off work to relax and chill out before starting full time work, you should definitely be able to get through each part faster. Depending on your knowledge in each section and comfort level, you should be okay with 100-200 hours of studying per section on the upper end (varies for each section). If you are studying 5 days a week for 4-6 hours per day, 3-5 weeks per section should be appropriate.

Any reason why you came up with those time frames and that plan for finding work afterwards?

[Anonymous]

I am pretty sure I can get a job even if I don't work for a year. Just because I am unemployed for a year does not mean I can't get a job. I have plenty of ‘excuses'

For example, we have a family business, so I can just say I was helping the family out, etc.

[Anonymous]

FuzyFro-

I am trying really hard to move to Florida from Texas asap..for personal reasons and I feel like a CPA will help me stand out, even if it's entry level accounting I don't care..and as for time frame..I just came up with it. Perhaps I will recalculate it..but I feel like I should knock out FAR by itself first.

[mw798]

At the age of 30 and being unemployed for a year it's going to be rough to tell you the truth. You'll be competing with entry level graduates for entry level staff accounting jobs. Passing the CPA without public experience isn't going to get you any higher than staff in public accounting. For entry level jobs, firms love to hire fresh graduates so being out of school for a while is not going to help. And in industry, just passing the CPA won't help you at all.

[Anonymous]

Right, I don't mind a Staff Accountant role. The thing is I already had two staff accountant roles here in Texas, it was not long though(few months each). The main reason I don't want to start another accounting job here and quit soon is because like I said I have to move to Florida..and it will look bad on my resume job hopping every few months..I already did that twice..I already am in touch with a few recruiters in Florida though, so perhaps I should just keep networking til I am ready.

[mla1169]

I agree with MW. Your excuses might fly if you were a 22 year old but when you tell an employer you took your time getting your BBA, left a job in accounting for any reason other than another job offer, and took time off to study for the CPA you will be perceived as a slacker even if you proclaim to have been helping a family business. Besides you say after 3 interviews you're already frustrated with your job search and discouraged. That feeling of discouragement will be magnified when you're interviewing after finishing the exams.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Author]

Replies