49 yes old-need encouragement!! - Page 2

jeanoncc you have support in this forum! Anytime you need some encouragement from people fighting the same battle, you should immediately come to this website. I've been at this since 2013 and I will be the first to tell you achievements dont have expiration dates.

Throw yourself into your studies! You may think you have disadvantages, but you do have at least one major advantage over many candidates: experience.

Quick question: do you meet the new 150-hour education requirement for licensure? It's an additional hurdle for many candidates. There are many routes to get this taken care of: MBA, MSc, community college, another Bachelor's degree, non-degree, etc.

Sounds like you're going through a lot right now. To be honest, the best I've ever performed was during times of difficulty. The whole “I gotta get through this” repeating in my head while doing MCQ reps has proven invaluable. Hopefully you'll learn a few things you either forgot or can apply at the workplace.

You won't regret your decision to conquer this. Having your license will give you confidence and more freedom. Like many have said, it's not a golden ticket, but it's pretty damn close.

Good luck!

I am 41 this year. I did not even start studying accounting until age 35 and even then, it was very part-time studies for 2 years, and then another 2 years of intensive studies.
I have a BS in Chemistry, earned in the late 90s. I got my second BS in Accounting just 2 years ago. Due to work and life in general, I have been studying for these exams as my time
has allowed. Have taken a couple, but no passes yet. When I started studying accounting, I never even thought about going for CPA. It wasn't until my final 2 years of accounting/business courses that I decided I'd eventually do it. And…now I am. It hasn't been an easy road, but for some reason, I don't want to quit. I am not someone who quits things just because they're difficult.

Funny story – there's a lady who I've been somewhat of a mentor to who is about your age. I think she's 51-52 now? She started taking accounting courses maybe 4 years ago after 25 years as a bookkeeper. She knows Quickbooks like nothing human….she just never got a degree in business/accounting. She's about done with her coursework now – and I told her all of the courses she should take (she and I went to the same 2 schools – a community college and then a university.) She has a couple kids and owns her own business as a certified Quickbooks user. I think at one point her goal was to go for the CPA but I'm not sure if she still plans on doing it because lately her business has been booming and she wouldn't have time to study I don't think. I hope she does continue because she's now qualified to take it.

As others have said, yeah, those of us who are on this journey later in life do have the disadvantage of not having as many work years to make use of it. We have a lot more miles on us than do the 20-something millenials. But, if the CPA is something you really want, then don't lose sight of your goal. Even if it doesn't land you a better or higher-paying job, that's not a reason to NOT get it. There are many reasons to quit. I know this first-hand. But, in my case, I'm too far into it and have spent too much money and time on it. The credential is a weird one. It's not a doctoral degree (PhD), but LIKE a doctorate degree, it does open doors if you have it! I've never heard of an unemployed CPA.

As I mentioned, there are many reasons to quit. I know one of the almost-breaking points for me was watching a webcast of a live presentation done by my state CPA organization (I'm in California.) They had a couple speakers from the Big 4 on their panel, and both of them were very doom-and-gloom about the job situation. They both said “If you're 24 and haven't landed
a position in public accounting yet, you're behind schedule…because once you're in your late 20s, it's very hard to get hired in public accounting if you haven't had some experience
there yet.” And they also said “Get your CPA. Don't even think about it, just get it, because if you want to move up in public accounting, you won't move up without it.” But public accounting is not for everyone, and it's too bad that the CPA has a reputation for only being something earned by people in public accounting or as a networking tool. You can get plenty of work in private and YES YES YES, Government is a great area to go into. Not many of us on here work in Government. But, regardless, if you have the CPA, you're not gonna be unemployed and chances are that your job and compensation will be way better than someone who doesn't have it…although, I know plenty of people who make excellent money who don't have it (Controllers, senior-level accountants and accounting department managers, etc.)

I wouldn't even say that age should be anything you think about. If you want the CPA, you have but to go for it and get it. Don't look back!! Not unless you end up with a really good reason to quit, and I hope that won't happen!

This forum is a great resource to help you stay motivated. I usually come on here only once every 2-3 months for a bit and then stop but I think a lot of us do that because of our work schedules.

If you can survive raising a couple of kids to adulthood you've got the tenacity to do this. Besides even if you only provided bookkeeping services the hourly rate a licensed cpa can charge are often upwards of double what other bookkeepers can. I've got clients who could easily get a $15/hr bookkeeper to do what I do for them but they're willing to pay me much more than that

okay i saw your divorced so not sure if you have kids but no spouse.

Keep strong mentally because I got 2 74's in a row in BEC and it destroyed me. I have not been able to work up the courage to take an exam since March and have been to the doctor and presribed serious medications such as XANAX and Welbutrin for my anxiety/depression that NEVER existed prior to this process.

I started studying for this exam at the age of 40 and was done at 42. Passing this exam gives you options. For example, Im sitting right now in a small office with 2 other accountants (not CPAs), Im the accounting manager and I feel that the other two accountants who are not CPAs pretty much hate the fact that I passed the exam in my 40s, since they can not do it in their 20s. Both of them have taken the exam and never passed any other part, now they say that since we all work in a private company, they wouldn't waste their time sitting for an exam that according to them, wont open any doors unless you want to work in an accounting firm. The director of accounting is not a CPA either and I think he does not like me very much either. The company recently created an APP for the iphone, and I told him that we needed to account for its cost following GAAP pronouncements. Since the director and the other two morons just expense all the cost, now they all claim that we will just expense all and let our parent company worry about it. They completely brushed me off and this is just an example of what happens here on a monthly basis. I feel like Im a freaking clerk since I can not put into practice what took me one year and eight months to accomplished (CPA). This is why I say that passing the exams gives you options. Since only 30% of accountants in south Florida are also CPAs, now I have options. Pretty soon, I will start looking a job, and Im sure I will get a better job soon.