[Anonymous]

Hello to All,
I’m looking for any advice or direction. I have been a Police Officer for 9 years and for the last 2 years, I have managed a restaurant. I have a Bachelors degree, but not in accounting. I am 34 years old and want so start a path toward accounting. Is there one better way than another to go about this? I’m not looking for a short cut, but rather the most impactful way in the long run. I have thought about gaining the necessary requirements to sit for the CPA for my state through Community College courses. I have also thought about just getting another Bachelors degree in Accounting. Being that I am running a restaurant, my schedule is pretty full. So my courses would be taken online. Any thoughts or suggestions are much appreciated.

Thank you

[Missy]

Definitely start with the community college route, your bachelors doesn't have to be in accounting. At least its kind of a less expensive way to get some exposure and see if you truly WANT to do accounting. Its a great profession imho but there are a lot of misconceptions of people just getting into it (one of which is that its easier to find and keep a job than in other professions, its about average in both of those respects).

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[aaronmo]

Hi Blake…I'll tell you what I did…

I was about your age (touch older) when I started this. I had no accounting/business background at all…classes or otherwise. I worked in legal as a contracts manager.

I started taking classes at local community colleges…I stuck to ones I thought were cut and dry as far as acceptance by NASBA/state boards and which would be helpful. 101, 102, 201,202, cost, tax, non-profit/govt, audit…etc. I did NOT get a second degree or major out of it.

The pluses to my approach were that I did it very inexpensively…no debt and it was fast. No muss/no fuss. The negative is that, without the CPA, I have nothing that really says “I'm an accountant.” I applied for government positions that I was (more than) qualified for, but was found ineligible due to not having a major that says accounting. I also don't think I was as well prepped as kids from a more conventional background…and I may have had to work harder for exam prep. A HUGE negative to my approach is that age was already a negative in terms of job entry…and I added to that not having any career resources/job fairs with a school.

If I did it over…I'd have found a way to get a masters out of it…even if it meant another 20 credits and 20k. I might feel differently next year when I do have the letters…but not having anything that said ACCOUNTANT DID hurt me in terms of job search.

If you get the CPA…long term a BA/Masters isn't necessary. But, until you have those letters, it's a handicap. At least that's how I felt.

AUD - 96
BEC - 84
FAR - 89
REG - 86

Aaron and always remember, YMMV

I profit from your CPE frustration. You're welcome.

[aaronmo]

Also – I had to take classes at three area schools, which took a lot of scheduling and prep. Once you're past the basic accounting classes…my community colleges didn't offer much, or have it offered often. Coordinating everything was not easy. One school had audit, but not tax, another didn't have a class available after work hours…etc. Usually you were crossing fingers at the last minute that it wouldn't get canceled.

Thomas Edison State College…thank me later.

AUD - 96
BEC - 84
FAR - 89
REG - 86

Aaron and always remember, YMMV

I profit from your CPE frustration. You're welcome.

[T Rev]

If you choose to go for a CPA license, review the cpa licensure requirements before you start down any path. Know that the requirements to sit for the exam are often different than what is needed for licensure. So many people, myself included, get done with the exams only to realize your state requires an account ethics course, or some other redundant/nonsense course.

[RE2PECT]

I'm in a similar situation as far as being older and not having any accounting experience. I graduated college in 2004 with a degree in Finance, but never broke into the industry. In 2008 I did a complete 180 and became a bricklayer. It was good money with great benefits, but it wasn't always guaranteed work (especially in the winter) and it takes it's toll on your body physically. I left the union and went back to school at a city college in 2014 and began studying for the CPA as soon as I finished. I haven't applied for any jobs yet because I wanted to be finished with all the exams first. I'm hoping having that under my belt would give me a leg up on other candidates. I know I'll have to start at the bottom, but I'm just looking to get my foot in the door and I'll take care of the rest.

My problem is trying to figure out what path to take when I'm done with the exams. Being that I'm older and have a family, a big 4 position might not be the best option. I'll still apply to them and try and use the contacts I have to at least get an interview. These days it's more about who you know anyway.

Whatever you choose good luck to you. It's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication, but it's extremely rewarding when you actually pass these crazy exams.

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

Roger & Ninja

FAR: 75
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, 73, 82
REG: 68, 82

FAR: 75 Roger & Ninja (notes/flashcards/audio/MCQ)
AUD: 73, 81
BEC: 71, retake 8/29
REG:

[SeattleCPA]

I'm in Seattle (probably obviously) and the University of Washington has a ten-week summer school where they run you through an accounting major.

It is intense. I've had a friend do it in his 40s. But if you have a BA and then you go through their program and then you take a CPA exam study course, you can pass. (The class BTW is 40 hours a week hardcore…)

FWIW, my CPA firm has also fully paid for employees to simply get their BS accounting degree at the online college Western Governors University… (The cost to the firm is about $500 a month and students can go as fast as they want… so it works well with seasonality of tax work.) Only one of those students was actually able to pass the exam after going that route though and then following up with a CPA exam review course… Which makes me think this WGU option is probably a harder one to make work.

I don't really remember my CPA exam scores. I've been a CPA for decades... I run a four CPA firm in Redmond WA. I'm the author of a bunch of books about small business accounting including QuickBooks for Dummies and Quicken for Dummies.

[mckan514w]

Another older with no accounting experience here- I start this right after my 40th birthday- call it my mid-life crisis- and now I'm wishing I had gone for the get drunk and run off to the islands with a man half my age route instead :-)….

I was a liberal arts undergrad then worked in finance after college. My first step after I couldn't get “I think I want to be an accountant” out of my brain was I decided to enroll in an intermediate accounting class to see if 1. I really did have interest and 2. if I could hack “going back to school” at my age. I will be honest it was a hard semester primarily because I had not studied in so long, it is always hard being the “old person” in a class full of 19year olds (hello no one wanted to partner with me for our project 🙂 ) and technology/classrooms had changed since my first go round.

however I ended up loving the class and realizing that I did truly want to be an accountant (now I ask myself why)- I looked at a lot of options after that including just taking enough classes to sit but decided that since I had zero practical accounting experience and I was going to be 40+ once I hopefully got my license I needed every advantage I could get- so I went the MACCY route…and here I am now… (Is it too late for running of to the islands).

No matter what you choose you really have to be dedicated to wanting to do it- it is not an easy road but it is completely doable! I would suggest taking class or two to see if you really are interested in this career path before committing to anything. If you still are there are a few really good and reputable online programs out there including LSU, Auburn, University of Maryland, Villanova

I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide! I will agree with @RE2PECT it is NOT easy- but it really is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done… now if I can just pass FAR!

And they ask me why I drink

BEC 71, 82
AUD 75
REG 75
FAR 61, 69, 83

and they ask me why I drink...

FAR- 61-next time I'll ask for lube instead of a calculator
REG-75- Never been so happy to see such a low grade
BEC- 8/11
AUD- 9/2

[tg7174]

I graduated with a useless liberal arts degree and then immediately went to grad school for a masters in finance. I took my accounting courses all through LSU ODL online. It was cheap, fast, and good quality courses. I always recommend this route since you can take the courses at your own pace. I was able to do intro to financial through intermediate II in about 8 months.

AUD 83
BEC 78
FAR 78
REG 74, 79

[ultrarunner]

I am one of the older candidates with no accounting background (or with useless liberal arts degree). I started my accounting journey in my 30s. It took me a while to sit in (I took all my classes at CCs for several years due to the full-time jobs that I've had). I finally finished last year. If you start with CC, it will be a very long journey. Don't get distracted or discouraged. Be focused.

CPA/ MST/ Roger CPA Review

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[Track55]

I started at 32 with no acct experience, working full time. I took 1/3 classes online and 2/3 live at a cc. Theres no way I would have passed Calculus and Stats online. From there I transferred to a CalState where unfortunately I took 2 online and 18 live. I recommend going to cc, but do get the bachelors in acct. Take classes that will transfer. Took me 6 years including winter and summer.
It took me a year to find work after graduation cause of my age, so try to put some away while u are working. By the way, u may hate acct and switch to something else. No shame in that but do get a business degree. No Italian Medieval Studies or any of that.

AUD - 99
BEC - 83
FAR - 86
REG - 92

California - Internal Audit

CPA since December 2016.

(took seven tries, 1 year 10 months).

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[Anonymous]

Thank you to everyone for your responses. I have gone back and forth between another bachelor degree , but in accounting, or a masters in accounting. I want to learn all the foundations of accounting, so I'm leaning with the bachelor degree. That route will also give me the necessary requirements to sit for the CPA exam in my state of Virginia. Where as the masters program will not give me enough credits to sit for the exam being that I have no accounting classes in the past. I also don't believe it will give me the foundation that I'm looking for to switch careers to accounting.

Do small/medium sized firms care if you get a degree online? I'm not in the position to stop working to go back to school and my schedule does not allow me to go to a brick and mortar school. So when I pursue this, It would need to be done online.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

[Author]

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