[Anonymous]

Hey Folks,

Well i have been reading posts on here for about a year now, but never posted anything. Graduated in 2007 with a BS in Accounting at this point i decided i wanted to gain some experience before decided what i wanted to specialize in, tax, audit etc. Well market crashed, lost my job and couldn’t find anything for 2 years. I finally packed my bags and moved out East, 4 months later i got a job doing basic bookkeeping/office manager stuff at a body shop, but quit that after 5 months (wasn’t the best environment for a female). 2011 i got a temp job doing billing and collections and worked my behind off and it paid off because that December they asked me to come on board as a FT employee.

Here i am 3 years later, doing the same thing day in day out and feeling completely unaccomplished. Finally i saw a way out when MD changed rules to 120 credits to sit for the CPA. I started studying for the exam last year and have yet to pass one section which is kind of depressing because this might be the key to a promotion or some sought of recognition. Lately I’ve been finding myself very miserable at work and want to quit and get something tax related which is where is i see my career going, but i have very little to no experience. My goal would be to eventually have my own business.

Now that i have bored you to death with my life story, how does someone 7 years out of college(GPA wasn’t that great) and no major experience get into the public arena? Would it be best to go through recruiters? Should i stick it out at this job until i pass and then apply?

Cheers

[Lion_of_the_Rock]

I've been out of the college game since 2006. I've worked in fields unrelated to accounting. Recently I got enough credits to sit for the exams after marrying a CPA and getting interested in the field. That being said here's my opinion (everyone has one):

stick with your current job to pay the bills

study for and pass the exam

volunteer with VITA to see if you actually like doing taxes (if you have no formal experience)

From what I've heard the public route is more for people coming directly out of college or close to it (they're crazy enough to think 80 hrs a week is worth 55K). I think it will be much easier for you to try for regional or smaller firms after you pass all 4 sections. Once you pass your old GPA won't mean too much and employers will see that you're serious about the profession.

BEC - 78
AUD - 75
REG - 74, 79
FAR - 75

You have to buy a ticket to win the raffle.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice @lion_of_the_rock. I actually did taxes for Liberty tax for 2 1/2 seasons and i can say i really enjoyed it. The best part was when i had to determine the FMV of prosthetic legs that someone had donated LOL; I also do my own and my families taxes. As weird as it sounds i love working crazy hours, but i also don't want to die doing it in the name of a career. I also already make around that much where i am and can't really take a pay cut either.

Below are my scores so far

AUD: 48, 72

BEC: 61

REG: 62

[mom23kings]

I suggest staying in your current job until you pass. Do not let the time of being out of school discourage you. I have been out of college since 1995, started taking the exam that year and passed three of the four parts, then had kids and decided I didn't need it. It always bothered me that I ddin't finish up and get that last part, so here I am almost 20 years later. I have to tell myself daily YOU CAN DO THIS! I am entering in my last testing window to pass my two remaining parts (FAR and BEC) before I loose my AUD credit.

Good Luck

Audit - 78
REG - 53, 76
BEC 71, 69 75
FAR - 74, 74, 73, 79!!!

[mla1169]

You're going to need 150 credits to get a license. Assuming that means going back for a few classes you might be able to tap into some school networking events with public firms.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

@mom23kings thanks for the encouragement. Glad to know i'm not alone.

@mla1169 i do plan on doing CLEP to get the extra 24 credits, but that all depends on if i get a promotion after i pass. If so, then i might just go ahead and get a Masters in Taxation and if not then i'll go the “economical” route.

[Skynet]

@CheZheAd – I was in a similar situation too. I graduated in 2007with a decent AP job. Well tthe market crashed and I was out of a job for 2 years. Couldn't really take the exams because I was running low on cash. Managed to get a job in retail, but it only pays minimum wage. Took me a while to save up at that rate. By that time I was already at the job for close to three years. I hated the management there and couldn't stand the supervisors due to their incompetence and mismanagement. I worked my butt off of get my Enrolled Agent's license and managed to get a job during this tax season. I got screwed over at my retail job and they let me go because I finally had enough of the BS that was going on. Now, I'm literally studying lights out for the CPA exams. I may not be working right now, but I know once I pass a few exam section I will be in good shape. I know I will land something soon enough.

It's why a lot of members on this forum are taking this long and arduous journey. We all know that it will pay off in the end. We just have to work hard and continue to focus. There will be setbacks but you cannot let it keep you from your ultimate goals.

AUD - 90
BEC - 78
FAR - 84
REG - 87

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - In Progress
Phase III : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase IV : Form the new Charlie's Angels with Megan Fox, Scarlett Johansson, & Gal Gadot
Phase V : TBD

BEC : 78
REG : 87
FAR : 84
AUD : 90

World Domination Plan

Phase I : Pass CPA Exams - Complete
Phase II : Megan Fox - Initiated
Phase III : Bring back 8-Tracks
Phase IV : Megan Fox & Scarlett Johansson Lingerie Pillow Fight
Phase V : TBA

[Lindrobe]

@CheZheAd, have you tried the small CPA firm route? I got my undergraduate degree in accounting 10 years ago and my MBA in 2012. Until I got my MBA, I didn't have enough credits to sit for the exam. I have worked in non-profit tax at a large University for 5 years now and have been pretty miserable the last 2 years because I feel like I am in a dead end job (not a lot of NFP tax related jobs where I live).

Anyhow, I have been looking for a position in public accounting for the last several months. I applied to regional firms (no Big 4 where I live) and small firms. I got 2 offers (both from small firms) and I excepted one of the offers last week. I find that the small firms are a lot more likely than the large firms to be open minded about the fact that you are not coming straight out of college. I know that there are benefits to working in both small firms and larger firms, but I am pretty excited about my opportunity with the small firm I am going to be working for because I will get to experience a lot more than I would with a larger firm.

FAR 12/3/14, 87
AUD 2/3/14, 90
BEC 4/1/14, 88
REG 5/27/14, 94

Licensed CPA, Indiana

"Successful people do things that unsuccessful people don't want to do"

[Anonymous]

Thank you all so much for the advice. @Skynet this job was ok until my boss quit and my co worker got promoted and now they feel like they have to make their presence known and want me to change the way i do things because they have personal pet peeves about certain things. I've never hated waking up to go to work like i do right now, i can't exactly quit until i have something else lined up.

@lindrobe i just started looking into different companies around here (MD), but not really seeing anything “entry level” in tax besides the tax preparer stuff with H&R and the like which i have already done. Also, i haven't had to interview for any of the jobs i've had so i am quite rusty which might have a little to do with why i haven't gone in full force with the job search. Another thing is that i can't really take a major pay cut which i believe comes with entry level jobs, but i could be wrong.

[Anonymous]

@Lindrobe – I am in the same boat as a lot of people who are thinking of giving the CPA exam after years of not being in school.

Please could you tell me how you studied for the CPA. I am extremely impressed with your score. Congrats on completing it in one year and in the first shot.

I too, would like to attack the beast and be done with it.

Please advise.

[Author]

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