[1rightanswer]

Man, sorry for your struggles. I felt that way after my first FAR try, when I thought it was so hard that I would never pass. I literally didn't know what I was going to do with my life at that point.
But when you are down, the key thing to remind yourself is to not get too emotional. Emotions positive or negative won't help you pass this exam, to pass you need to understand the materials. And honestly, you only need to understand it enough to beat 50% of your fellow test takers which is far from an impossible task.
Think about good things in your life, or just stop taking passing the test so seriously would relax you and get you out of the negative cycle you are in. With a renewed attitude, critically assess your strengths and weaknesses, then re-read the study materials, do MCQ / sims where you are weak until you feel comfortable.
What you have is a test-taker's mental block, when you reorient yourself you'll be okay.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

@OP, I had the same thought process as you: pass the CPA and then look for work. The difference is you came from college and I came from another industry. It took me from Oct 31 to March 10, 2019 to pass all sections, it was good to pass but I don't think it has helped me on my job search; I'm still searching. To employers experience > CPA > degree/education, get any experience (public/private) you can, it is more important even than the test.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

THE MOST CONFUSED 40 YR OLD IN AMERICA starring Steve Carell? lol

I would not be so focused on going into public. Accounting is big, just find a niche and get good at it. We are all in accounting to make a buck, as long as you are doing that you should be happy. Unless you don't like the work environment or something. Accounting is just a job, private or public all pretty much the same won't find much happiness from either.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

Thanks Recked, good points as always! I will reach out to the smaller CPA firms to see if they need someone for the upcoming busy season.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

Thanks Pete. I believe networking is the best way to find a job too.
BTW I'm not just looking for public accounting work, but any accounting work. I have applied to close to 70 jobs so far, no response. I think there are just too many accounting graduates. Oh well… I hope I will luck into one. Thanks again!

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

@skynet I got it. I have been applying to the jobs you mentioned already, anything to get in the door.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

I know people don't want to train you because when I left my last company, I asked the boss if I can get trained in the Accounting department. The boss left the option with the accounting manager who declined.
If we can't get accounting work experience due to not being able to get hired or people unwilling to have us learn under them as unpaid internship, I guess we are screwed. lol.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

@jimmy Dugan, Obviously I wouldn't quit a well-paying job without a reason. let's just say it was a quit-or-get fired situation, and I left to jump-start my job search. The job was in O&G, this business is feast or famine, people here gets that. I'm sure I can explain this issue to an employer. I realized applying is not efficient, networking/letting people know you are looking is probably a better way. I had thought about taking unpaid internships, but now realized people with paying jobs don't like you shadowing and learning from them, they might perceive you as a threat.

@Malotu I see it now, thanks for the suggestion. I will definitely start using it from now on.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

@MaLoTu I will try following up on Linkedin after applying for a job.
How do you know who the job poster is? A lot of jobs on indeed.com don't show who posted it.

@JRG24 I don't want to go back to school at my age, I just want to find a job and work. If I go back it's another year spent in school, that's in addition to 9 months I've been studying for the CPA and job searching already. I don't know if what I will be learning in the Masters program is new or something I already learned in CPA review course. Is it worth it to go back to school just to be able to attend job fairs twice a year? I have been to job fairs before and didn't get any offers. Thanks for your offer I will email you shortly.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
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[1rightanswer]

@23 I have solely been applying online (craigslist, indeed, workintexas.com, etc), some of the work I have applied for are temp or temp2perm. Haven't talked to recruiters or working accountants yet, I don't have any connections. I tried to friend them on linkedin but not much success.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

Wow, sounds rough. Making money ain't easy that's for sure.
At least there're still jobs in Accounting, that's a reason to be optimistic. Thanks.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

I had a way easier 2nd MCQ testlet and I passed.
Actually my two 90s had easier 2nd testlet, and my C and B had hard 2nd testlet.
How do I tell easy from hard? The questions were shorter, more straight-forward (less second guessing).

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

I'm in the same boat as the OP. I think we even live in the same city (Houston). I'm 38, no accounting experience at all. Took my Accounting courses in 2011, but went back into the O&G industry. In October 2018, I left because I was working for some BAD two-faced companies. That old job was pretty much over, I could either quit or get laid off and I chose the first option.
I studied my ass off and passed a couple of weeks ago. Now the real test of finding actual employment begins. Can you guys advise what did y'all do to get that first Accounting job as a mid-life career-changer?

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

I remember it was like that for me too when I first got my Wiley CPA Excel books in 2014. I was staring at all the inventory costing methods, lower of cost or market, tax assets/liabilities like what are all these? So much so I stop studying until 2017. You need to want to pass these exams to want to really study for them, you need to be zoned in and focused. Also, you need to accept you don't know A LOT of things about Accounting and will therefore get a lot of questions wrong. After you accept that you don't know a lot of things getting questions wrong won't bother you anymore, you will just see it as a learning opportunity. Getting answers wrong and learning from it is how most candidates pass FAR and REG, it was for me. BEC and AUD MCQ's are easier to get right for me anyways.

Accepting I don't know anything was a major step mentally that got me back studying again, if I didn't do that and was still getting angry about every MCQ that I got wrong I wouldn't have been able to get through the almost 1000 pages of the FAR study material. Now, I have passed all 4 sections with an 89 average no less, I can just look back at those initial days and laugh.

AUD - 89
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FAR - 77
REG - 91

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[1rightanswer]

if you are getting 80% on the review tests but only get 60% on the actual exams, it sounds like you are memorizing the MCQ's. You should focus on reading the books for a while. If you read the books you are never wasting your time – you are actually learning stuff, but if you just do problems, are you really learning anything but those problems?

Like what the other posters said focus on your weak areas and relax, CPA exams want you to pass (50% pass rate), just make sure you learn what it wants you to learn and you will pass.

AUD - 89
BEC - 99
FAR - 77
REG - 91

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