[Lamis]

Hi all,
I graduated from college 7 years ago, unfortunately I’m shifting my whole career now by getting my CPA, I passed 2 sections till now and I’m getting very discouraged now as I had a conversation with an audit partner in one of big 4 and he told me that’s very difficult to start now in this career…
I don’t feel like studying anymore, any advice?

[FormerCPA14]

Stay with it. When I was an intern, I knew a guy who was 40 who started as a first year associate. Its not about where you begin but where you end up.

[Bourne]

That's one person's advice. If you want to work in accounting and become a CPA, then finish your CPA. Don't let one person ruin it. You can possibly start at a smaller/mid tier firm and get experience and then move on to Big 4 if you like it. There's no telling what can happen. To completely change your outlook and desires based on one audit partner's opinion is not smart. Go prove him wrong.

[CPYay]

Like @Bourne stated, if you want to be a CPA, do it. You might not get into the Big4 right off the bat, but can definitely transfer in from a mid or small firm. You can always skip public and use the license to boost your private accounting career.

I've never worked public and am currently a Sr. Accountant at a large well-known company and am working toward a management position. There are plenty of doors that will open once you finish.

[TommyTheCat]

Lamis – I agree with posts above, don't let that discourage you from pursuing this career. One of the good things about this line of work is it's not as subject to age being a limiting factor as many other professions.

[Ana]

seriously one person's opinion cannot make or break your plans. if it is then you didn't want to be a cpa in the first place. perhaps assess what your goals are and make sure this is what you want to do.

[mad max]

Do you have experience in accounting/finance at all? Or was all your post-college work experience in a different field?

I kind of agree that if you have no experience in public, you might not want to go work in public, unless it's what you really want & the lower salary from an entry-level position would not put you in an unreasonable position (financially). I got licensed this year, also graduated seven years ago; I have no public accounting experience and no desire to go in to public accounting. I used the license as a tool to negotiate & justify a significantly higher base salary than I earned at my last position. It was not so much out of necessity as much as a way to sell myself in the interviews. You will notice, especially as you move upwards, many job postings will say things like “CPA preferred.” FWIW, I work as a sr. accountant in a large public company.

[Anonymous]

You are half way done with this process-whether you end up in public or not, a CPA distinction is nothing to sneeze at and will be valuable if you plan on pursuing your accounting career.

[Lamis]

Thanks all for your support. I will persist till I pass all 4 and then think about the job.

[Earla Riopel (NYCARE)]

A “CPA” credential is a career for life. Either you're working for an employer or for yourself. My journey has been interrupted so many times since I received my undergrad in October 1985, but I keep going for many reasons.

I could have chosen another route to get my CPA designation, since I am eligible to enroll in two other countries to write my CPA for those countries. But, AICPA has more to offer for a late starter like me. This link has all the specialization you can sign up for, once you received your “CPA” designation:

https://www.aicpa.org/membership/section-credential-membership.html

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Finish your exams, now that you already have 2 passes. Don't listen to anyone's silly comments about “oooh it's too hard to get a job” that you might hear.
There are plenty of jobs out there. I have noticed that what you describe is common amongst B4 folks. I participated in what was supposed to be an informative webinar a few years
ago, wherein they had a panel of people from B4. They all gave these cocky sob stories about “If you're 23 and don't have your first real job yet, you're running behind and the chances of you catching up are slim”, “If you don't have the CPA, you will never go anywhere or make any money”, and a litany of other one-liners. They just want to discourage people in order to make themselves feel useful or something. Do your own thing, develop your own plan for success and…you will succeed.

[Author]

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