[John Doe 15]

I am rehashing an older post because I need some advice as I feel lost with where to look to start a career.

I am switching to accounting after having tried a career in healthcare.

My degree is in accounting and I am CPA eligible. I am currently studying for the CPA exam.

I have zero accounting work experience…absolutely no background other than my coursework.

Where do you recommend I start looking for that “first job?”

Every entry level position is asking for two years experience. I was on Glassdoor the other day and I found a few positions for graduating students with a 3.0 and the 150 credits. I didn’t know if this was for 20-somethings and or what the position entails but should I be looking for a position like that or something else?

I want to start a job and get a lot of experience there while completing the CPA exam. After a few years there, I then hope to move forward.

What are your thoughts about places to look?

[Recked]

My suggestion would be a smaller firm. You are pretty much screwed without having any experience.
You might have to start out at an H&R Block type place to get some tax prep experience before any other firm will touch you.

It's tougher for “non-traditional career path people” but its not impossible.
Hurts to say it, but take ANY job that gets your foot in the door.

Memento Mori - Kingston NY CPA & EA (SUNY Albany 2002)

FAR-93 11/9/17 (10wks, 250 hrs, Roger 1800+ MCQs, Gleim TB 600+MCQs, SIMs)
AUD-88 12/7/17 (3 wks, 85 hrs, Roger 1000 MCQs no SIMs hail mary)
REG-96 1/18/18 (6 wks, 110 hrs, 1400 MCQs, no SIMs)
BEC-91 2/16/18 (4wks, 90 hrs, 1240 MCQs)

[ruggercpa2b]

I would apply for the jobs you assume are for 20 somethings and be ready to sell yourself.

When I graduate from College I had a finance degree but the market was awful. So I decided to go into nursing because I would be guaranteed a job. I got a job in audit with a local company and relocated. I was in my late 20s. I ended up leaving after 5 years for a Big 4 firm. Just throw you name in the hat. One thing I was told was to remove my graduation date from my resume. Occasionally I would have recruiters ask when I graduated but that stopped me from the age discrimination.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

AUD - 1/6/18
FAR - TBD
REG - TBD
BEC - TBD

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[Tim]

I can't speak about public accounting as I have little experience there.

In regards to private you'd probably have to go for entry level positions doing basic accounting functions. These pay horribly but it's needed to get in the door. Excel at what you do, try to get around to a couple different departments for experience, then try to get into a management or staff accountant position. Then if you have CPA and built your skill-set up properly you can get into assistant controller or senior management positions. It will take a lot of hard work and a lot of luck to get very far starting at that age. I started into accounting at 29 (undergrad was electrical engineering, then was in Navy for a couple years) so I know the pain. Lack of experience is killer, got passed up for a lot of promotions because so-and-so had more years at the company/in the field than I did even though my qualifications were better. Still working on my CPA so I'm hoping that will open up a lot more doors for me. I'm 37 now by the way.

FAR - 97 (10/12/17)
BEC - 95 (01/15/18)
AUD - 88 (04/06/18)
REG - 89 (11/16/18)

[cpabound]

Don't underestimate yourself before you even start. I took a long winding road to achieving my associates degree. I like to call it my 14 year associates degree. I took a class here and a class there while I was starting a family and holding down the home front for my military husband. I jumped in to obtaining my bachelors degree and finished it along with obtaining my 150 hour requirement in 2 years.

Like you I knew it was going to be difficult to get my foot in the door somewhere, but that didn't stop me from applying everywhere! I do have a strong GPA, which I am sure helped. I really wanted to go into auditing. While the “Big 4” obviously wasn't interested in someone with as much life experience as I have, I found the firms just below them and smaller regional firms were! I landed numerous interviews and went with a smaller firm. That smaller firm balanced with my home life the best. I have been there just over a year and have advanced quickly. Be confident in your life experience and sell it! 🙂 I turn 36 next month!

BEC - 72, 80 May 2017
FAR - 69, 80 Feb 2018
REG - 72, 5/7/2018 - Maybe I will get an 80 on the retake?
AUD - 6/8/2018

[noclady]

Definitely don't discount any opportunities. You have one thing that I didn't have when I changed to accounting when I was 34, and that's an accounting degree. Make sure you highlight the skills and experience in your previous field that apply to accounting. Also, I never put my graduation date. Honestly, I really do feel like there's a lot of luck and being in the right place, at the right time. But there is also a lot of having to prove yourself way more when you do finally get a foot in the door.

I knew I had my work cut out for me starting with no experience. So I was willing to take any kind of job in accounting. My first job was as a commercial collector. It was fun, and because I had decent Excel skills, I did a lot of reporting that my boss didn't want to do. That got me noticed by one of the accounting managers at my company who encouraged me to apply for a staff accountant position (even though I NEVER considered it because of my lack of experience). Surprising to me, they hired me. And after 2 years, I was promoted to Sr. Accountant. Then to Accounting Manager. I've been working in accounting now for over 10 years (primarily for large, public companies), and am now a Controller (in a public company), and will be taking my first CPA exam in April. It's definitely not impossible to make a career transition at 35. I changed my careers 2 times before I decided on accounting!! Believe me, I was CONSTANTLY asked why I changed careers so often. But, apparently, that wasn't a big enough negative for hiring managers. Good luck!

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ―Aristotle

[jenpen]

For what it's worth – I switched to accounting at the age of 30 after working as a legal secretary for about 8 years. I was bored at that job and just kept gathering education until I decided to get an MBA with an accounting concentration and prepare myself for the CPA. I started applying for jobs right at the end of my MBA program. I applied to everything that even looked remotely interesting. I just needed one person to give me a chance.

I got hired on at an extremely small, and fairly new CPA firm. I was the first full-time employee besides the 2 founding partners. My admin experience was a big help to me getting hired on. I didn't make a ton of money before, so I didn't have to take a pay cut which I was worried about.

So my advice is to just keep applying. Apply for absolutely everything you find that looks like it will fit, even if you don't have all the experience required. Someone, somewhere, will finally give you a chance.

AUD - 85
BEC - 84
FAR - 82
REG - 78

Ethics - 95
Licensed in IL & MO

AUD - 56 - 68 - 61 - 9/8/16
REG - 75
FAR - 7/15/16
BEC - TBD

Wiley CPAexcel and NINJA 10 Point Combo

[Me.]

Have you thought about government? There are opportunities in State, Counties, Cities and Federal.

REG - 50, 64, 73, 76
FAR - 67, 65, 67 Ugh!!!
BEC - 65
AUD - November 30

"You just can't beat the person who never gives up." -Babe Ruth

[Anonymous]

As a 44 year old struggling to land that first job (been trying for over 2 years), I can attest that it's tough.

My career advice:

1. Network—People will often hire on who they know as opposed to the best person for the job.
2. Pass several sections of the CPA exam—Your best bet to get firms to notice that you exist.
3. Keep researching new things—Swapped out my resume and looking into a career outline in hopes of changing my career trajectory. Learning doesn't end with that degree.

[Kodiak]

The problem isn't age so much as it's entry into the market through non traditional means. I went back to college to finish my degree at 43. I got my BS in Accounting, joined Beta Alpha Psi, did an internship during my last year, went through fall recruiting and secured a job at a top 10 firm in the location we wanted to relocate to (back home). What secured that job – the fall recruiting that was open to me via Beta Alpha Psi.

If possible, could you go back and do a Master's program just to get access to recruiting? I don't know of anyone who wasn't getting offers, other than possibly the 60+ retired military vet. She might have secured something too, I didn't hear for sure. I do know the other woman older than I, in her 50s, was able to secure a job with a local firm. College recruiting is the doorway into entry level public accounting. It's a tough road any other way. These firms just don't typically look anywhere else for that level.

In my firm's local office, I'm not the oldest entry level either, and I'm 45. There's a few of us in our mid 40s. So, the opportunities are there, it's just the path to get to those opportunities is pretty limited.

AUD - 85
BEC - 86
FAR - 83
REG - 84

Coffee is my favorite coworker.

[Radez]

If you want to go industry, try working with Robert Half's Accountemps. I was in a similar position after my undergraduate education. B.S. in mathematics, no work experience whatsoever, and was able to get entry level jobs through them which provided the experience and references needed to get better jobs later.

AUD - 98
BEC - 93
REG - 84
FAR - 91

[John Doe 15]

Hi guys,

Good advice. I tried Robert Half when I was still in school. They put me in this hell hole that had a 1.0 rating on Glassdoor and I left in two weeks. Never using Robert Half again.

I think it is going to be a hard sell for a 35 year old guy with zero experience and 150 credits to get an entry level position that is a good fit for me.

What do you think about going back to school to get a MAccy? I already have 150 credits and a lot of people get a masters degree to get to the 150 but I was thinking of doing the MAccy for the networking and career services opportunities. Is that crazy? If that plan were to work, I'd have a master's degree but also an opportunity to land an entry-level position that might be better than the opportunities currently available to me.

My state school is waving all requirements since I graduated with >3.0. So no GMAT, no letters, just apply.

[John Doe 15]

@kodiak

I typed my last post w/o even looking at what you wrote. What a coincidence! Maybe this is a sign.

[Missy]

How many entry level jobs have you applied to and how many interviews have you had? I can almost assure you very few people getting these jobs actually have two years experience. A master's has its place but not for landing a first job.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[John Doe 15]

Is it a wrong strategy to look at the MA as another tool in the job search? The jobs that I am getting positive replies for are temp positions or accounts payable. I feel that I could get those jobs even without the accounting degree.

My theory on the MA is that it lets me brush up on some accounting which will be useful for the CPA anyway and it opens up some recruiting and networking that could possibly land me a better job than a temp position.

What do you think?

[Missy]

A MA “may” be helpful when it comes to recruiting but it's no guarantee. It's a gamble and for most a pretty expensive one. Poke around on this forum and you'll see folks with a master's who are struggling with a job search and others who easily find positions. Have to remember that job sewrches are as much about being a better candidate for a position than the dozens of others who have applied to the same position as meeting the minimum requirements for a job.

Despite being in another field there must be some soft skills you've got that translate well to accounting. Don't put on your resume that you can run the latest and greatest CT scan machine but do put your ability to prioritize tasks and manage multiple deadlines. You can spin your skills and experience in a way that makes you desirable in an entry level job especially since you've been in the workplace many years.

Hands down the best way to get a job is any relevant experience. If you're looking at public a foot in the door at any firm is positive even if not big 4. If you're looking at industry even an AP job is better experience than an unrelated field.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

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

[Author]

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