After Passing the CPA Exam: Having the Raise Talk

Serena is a NINJA CPA Blogger.

I just returned last night from another business trip to the northwest. This one was shorter than usual – flew out at 8 AM Tuesday and back home at 11:30 PM Wednesday.

Needless to say, since it was such a short trip there was no studying to be had except reading a few pages of the NINJA Notes on the plane. I really don’t focus well when I am not in my normal study environment.

There are so many distractions while traveling, not to mention the long hours [and many beers once the day is finally over]. I didn’t have much in the way of CPA exam studying to talk about (or motivation to study much longer than an hour tonight since I am still recovering from my whirl-wind trip), so I went onto the Another71 Forum to try to find motivation.

I came across a thread that I have been giving a lot of thought myself and obviously someone else is too. zizou10 wanted to know how he/she should approach his/her manager about a raise after passing the CPA exam.

I don’t want to re-create the thread here, but merely get everyone else thinking about this topic—so if you want to see my response my forum name is spotter86. Of course, approaching your managers about pay is always easier said than done (for me at least), and it takes a lot of tact, planning, and building up of a good case to prove that you deserve a raise.

Every day you spend in your job is an opportunity to keep building on that case. Ultimately if you know you have performed to deserve a raise and your managers don’t recognize it, there will definitely be a company or firm willing to take you in and pay you what you’re worth.

That being said, no one should act entitled or as if they are irreplaceable, because there is also always someone else looking to gain experience and willing to be paid less than you.

Good luck to anyone who is having that conversation in the near future, and to those of you who aren’t quite there yet: perform as if it’s right around the corner (no matter how exhausted you are from studying).

Ah… now I am motivated to study. Raise—Here I come.