is 1.5 months enough time to study for REG while working full-time?

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  • #1371383
    Aguilar9370
    Participant

    Hi everyone, I just scheduled for REG for March 5th. I plan to start studying Mid-January upon testing for BEC. I will be starting my full-time job in January as well. I am in the audit service and thankfully I will not be in busy season until October 2017. For those of you who have taken REG, is 1.5 months enough study time for this exam? I would also appreciate any study tips.

    Best,

    Aguilar

    AUD - 84
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. -PC
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
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  • #1371410
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    How long did you study for AUD? How long are you planning for BEC?

    Generally, I'd say a month and a half is plenty for REG. However, if you've taken 2 months not working for each of the others, then deducting 40 hours a week from your study schedule will make a month and a half too little. đŸ˜› I think a common recommendation is around 80 hours for REG, so that's 15 or so hours a week for a month and a half. If you can do that, then you should be good.

    Note: auditors usually have busy season at the start of the year as well as the end. Are you sure your busy season doesn't start till October? I probably wouldn't count on it being non-busy, just in case.

    #1371554
    Jdn9201
    Participant

    Congrats on the new job. Regarding Reg, what's your background in Tax? Have you ever worked in Tax or did you do well in Tax in college? Your timing is pushing it, but possible. I did Reg in 6-7 weeks working about 50 hours a week, but I've been in tax for 8 years up to that point. If you are good at tax and can study some at work, it's doable. I listened to many lectures while working – I didn't remember it all the first time of course, but it was great because I could spend a lot of time at home diving straight into questions.

    BEC - 88 8/29/15
    REG - 82 11/14/15
    AUD - 83 1/8/16
    FAR - 80 2/29/16

    #1371560
    Namstut
    Participant

    @Aguilar9370,

    I am taking REG on 12/8 and I gave myself 8 weeks to study. I am working full time, 50+ hours a week. The study time is tight (I also have a family), with a full time job you might be pushing it. Ideally, you should give yourself at least 2 full week to review, which leaves you with only 4 weeks to cover 8 chapters, that's 2 chapters a week and there is a lot of material and detail to cover. But at the end of the day it all depends on how you absorb and remember the material. It is doable but it definitely is intense.
    Good luck on your studies and congrats on the new job!

    When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

    All Done!!!

    AUD 7/6/16 Passed
    BEC 9/3/16
    FAR TBD
    REG TBD

    #1371563
    Meg267
    Participant

    I think 6 weeks is pushing it. I take about 8 weeks. 6 for working through the material and 2 for review before the exam. I work full time as well. I do the ELL method: early, lunch, late. I get up at 5am and study for an hour. I take an hour lunch to study. Then after supper, I study at least an hour. Sometimes two. Helps break it up, and I'm getting in 3-4 hours of studying per day. I then shoot for 4 hours on both Saturday and Sunday. Everyone is different, so I might need more study time than you, or or methods might be different.

    If you think you can do it, go for it. If you don't pass the beginning of March you can retake first week of April. Personally, I'd go for it.

    BEC - 57, 68, 78
    REG - 62, 82
    AUD - 61, 76
    FAR - 79

    Licensed.
    No one ever fails the CPA exam, there are only those who give up.

    #1371575
    Missy
    Participant

    It's definitely enough time for some people depending on how many hours a week you can study. But starting a new job can be a lot more draining than you'll imagine and you may need to give yourself more time.

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #1371624
    RE2PECT
    Participant

    Everyone's different and it depends if you have any tax experience. I just took REG and studied a little over 200 hours in 7 weeks. I felt I needed more time, but my NTS was expiring so I had no choice but to take it.

    I had a lot going on in the last couple weeks leading up to my exam and didn't get many quality study hours in towards the end. My son started waking up every night in the middle of the night and I was barely getting any sleep. Even though I was still putting in hours, they weren't very productive since I was constantly exhausted.

    I only had 1 week to review and that was no way near enough time. I think you need at least 2 or maybe even 3 weeks for REG, depending on how comfortable you are with the material. Make sure you practice a bunch of sims because no amount of mcq's will prepare you for what they'll throw at you. You might think you know something inside and out, but when you see it formatted a different way on a sim, it will make you second guess everything you thought you knew. I know I bombed mine and I'm already studying for a retake in January.

    "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:

    #1371737
    George
    Participant

    I work full-time and my test is this Friday. I only had 5 weeks to study and just basically hammered MCQ nonstop. I have a pretty good general idea of the concepts, but an extra would have definitely helped.

    #1372007
    ultrarunner
    Participant

    I started a new job when I started studying for REG. I studied for 3 months but didn't pass. I was so overwhelmed by a new job and went home late every night. I think 1.5 month is short, but everyone is different. BTW, I had no tax background. That's another reason why I struggled.

    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

    #1372017
    Ginja_CPA
    Participant

    Like others have said, it completely depends on you and your situation. I worked full time, and studied a ton, passed in 5.5 weeks. A month and a half might be more than enough for some, and not nearly enough for others. It depends on if you know how the most efficient way to study for you is also. I personally don't like watching videos, as I get nothing out of them typically.

    Good luck!

    AUD - 83
    BEC - 78
    FAR - 80
    REG - 80
    If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried!

    REG: 80 (02/19/16)
    AUD: 83 (04/11/16)
    BEC: 78 (05/28/16)
    FAR: ?

    #1372631
    bhunt815
    Participant

    I studied for 6 1/2 weeks and barely passed while working FT. I had no background in tax at all so much of it was new to me and I hadn't been in school in more than a decade. If some of this is fresher for you then you might not need as much time. I feel like the answer is yes, it can be done. But you better bring it.

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 81
    FAR - 84
    REG - 78
    Becker Self Study supplemented with Ninja MCQ's for BEC and REG.

    Licensed CPA in Louisiana.

    FAR 04/11/2016 - 84
    AUD 05/12/2016 - 79
    BEC 07/06/2016 - 81
    REG 08/29/2016

    #1374077
    neaux
    Participant

    1.5 months is plenty of time. The question is, How efficient are you at studying. To me this may even be overkill, unless you only study for 1-2 hours a day.

    FAR - 81, 7/4/16
    AUD - 77, 7/11/16
    BEC - 83, 7/23/16
    REG - 63, 8/12/16; 87 11/4/16

    NINJA saved my working life!

    #1374353
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I work full time and I passed REG in 1.5 months. I put in at least 20 hrs a week, didn’t really have much time to do anything else besides work and study. BUT I also work in taxes, so a good part of the material I breezed through. Also, Business Law was a strength for me, I did pretty well in it in my Masters program. As many people have stated here, it all depends on your situation.

    #1374638
    NeedsA75
    Participant

    So funny that some people only put in 80-100 hours of study and they pass with flying colors. Then there's me….200+ hours for each exam and always leave feeling like I got my ass kicked and didn't study enough.

    AUD - 96
    BEC - 86
    FAR - 76
    REG - 92
    PETH - 92
    Licensed in California

     

    #1374800
    Aguilar9370
    Participant

    Thanks to everyone who took the time to give me their input. After all the feedback and thinking thoroughly, I decided to rearrange my testing schedule. I realized that Q1 will be my first and last chance to test for BEC before the changes go into effect (since I can't re-take during the same testing window if I fail) . With that in mind, I decided to extend my review time for BEC and play it safe. I will no longer have enough study time to tackle REG before the changes. Again, thanks to all who replied to my post. Best of luck to all of you during this journey.

    We can do this!!!

    Cheers,

    Aguilar

    AUD - 84
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. -PC
    #1374903
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    To answer your question…I just passed REG with no tax experience, no tax education for the past few years, and only 3 weeks of study time.

    55 hrs/week for the 1st 2 weeks to get through all of Becker's REG material, 105 hrs during the 3rd week to review using Roger's MCQs (15 hr days, 1400 MCQs… I took the week off). My sanity would've probably been better off I did it in 4 weeks, though.

    AUD: 91
    FAR: 90
    REG: 89
    BEC: 84

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