[heidi_n_b]

I am actually just a Sophmore in college. I will have my Associates in Accounting by next fall. I plan to transfer schools and pursue my Bachelors in Accounting. I was reading stuff on here and I believe I have confused myself. My plan was to continue and get my Masters in Accounting and get my CPA. Any tips on what direction to go and where the different paths may lead me? Are the any other certifications I should get other than just the CPA? Any advice or input is appreciated!!

[Anonymous]

Tell us a bit more about yourself, your career and life goals, etc., and we'll be able to give you better advice. 🙂 Would you rather work with clients a lot, with your team a lot, or by yourself a lot? Would you rather work 80 hrs/wk and make more, or 40 hrs/wk and make less? Would you like to travel for your job or stay home? Would you rather work insane hours for 3 months a year or heavy-but-not-insane year round? Etc.

Also, what jobs have you liked and why, and what jobs have you disliked and why?

Generically speaking, a Master's in Accounting could be useful, but for most accounting professionals isn't needed. Basically, to be a “higher up” in the accounting department you'll need it, but logically speaking, there aren't going to be more Chiefs than Indians, so most people who get an undergrad in accounting won't need a Masters. But, if you believe that you will be able to have that roll someday and desire to have it, then getting the Masters may be worth it to you. Just think about what the position will require, what it will pay, and if it will be worth getting the Masters. For me personally, I'd love to be a billionaire, but I know that I put too high of a priority on my outside-of-work life to actually put in the hours required to climb to the top of a long corporate chain. Just being honest with and about myself. So for me personally, I think that my devotion to the job is such that a Masters isn't worth it. I'm not willing to work 100+ hours a week to make the Masters pay for itself…it's as simple as that.

As for other certifications, that depends on the accounting-path that you take. If you go into private/industry/manufacturing/etc accounting, then the Certified Managerial Accountant designation may be worth pursuing. It's one that I would consider at some point in the future. If you go into Auditing, there's at least a couple different auditing certifications that I've heard about, but I don't know much about them (auditing has never interested me as a career) – I think one is CIA for Certified Internal Auditor but not sure if/what there is for external auditing. If you go into the financial analyst side of things, then there's a CFA test, but not sure what it stands for. If you look here: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/forum/other-ciacfacgmacfecfpcisaeacitpcpe there's info about more designations, and I assume that all of the abbreviations in the title are different certifications…or at least all except CPE (Continuing Professional Education).

[Anonymous]

Tell us a bit more about yourself, your career and life goals, etc., and we'll be able to give you better advice. 🙂 Would you rather work with clients a lot, with your team a lot, or by yourself a lot? Would you rather work 80 hrs/wk and make more, or 40 hrs/wk and make less? Would you like to travel for your job or stay home? Would you rather work insane hours for 3 months a year or heavy-but-not-insane year round? Etc.

Also, what jobs have you liked and why, and what jobs have you disliked and why?

Generically speaking, a Master's in Accounting could be useful, but for most accounting professionals isn't needed. Basically, to be a “higher up” in the accounting department you'll need it, but logically speaking, there aren't going to be more Chiefs than Indians, so most people who get an undergrad in accounting won't need a Masters. But, if you believe that you will be able to have that roll someday and desire to have it, then getting the Masters may be worth it to you. Just think about what the position will require, what it will pay, and if it will be worth getting the Masters. For me personally, I'd love to be a billionaire, but I know that I put too high of a priority on my outside-of-work life to actually put in the hours required to climb to the top of a long corporate chain. Just being honest with and about myself. So for me personally, I think that my devotion to the job is such that a Masters isn't worth it. I'm not willing to work 100+ hours a week to make the Masters pay for itself…it's as simple as that.

As for other certifications, that depends on the accounting-path that you take. If you go into private/industry/manufacturing/etc accounting, then the Certified Managerial Accountant designation may be worth pursuing. It's one that I would consider at some point in the future. If you go into Auditing, there's at least a couple different auditing certifications that I've heard about, but I don't know much about them (auditing has never interested me as a career) – I think one is CIA for Certified Internal Auditor but not sure if/what there is for external auditing. If you go into the financial analyst side of things, then there's a CFA test, but not sure what it stands for. If you look here: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/forum/other-ciacfacgmacfecfpcisaeacitpcpe there's info about more designations, and I assume that all of the abbreviations in the title are different certifications…or at least all except CPE (Continuing Professional Education).

[Study Monk]

If you would like to go into public accounting you will need to get the degree(s) to get the minimal education requirements necessary to sit for the exam. Some states require a masters, but I believe most require 150 units. The difference is that you might be able to get a minor in something else along with a bachelors in accounting and still be a CPA. Perhaps you like studying history or philosophy?

If you don't need a Masters to get that first public accounting job and to meet the CPA exam educational requirements for YOUR STATE it is better to hold onto it as a career changer wild card or for specialization. Its also important to know that a lot of Masters in Accountancy programs are designed to teach accounting to people who have no background in it. A masters in accountancy will have a lot of overlap with your bachelors in accounting. That statement is generalizing a little bit and I am sure that there are programs that will also kick your a** in difficulty.

I would definitely wait to see what you want to specialize in unless you are not ready to leave school. For example if you end up liking tax and you want to be a partner than a masters in taxation would be better than a masters in accountancy. If you end up wanting to be a CFO, and you have a CPA license, then a masters in finance or an MBA with finance focus would look way better. Hell if you want to be an accountant an MBA would probably look better than a masters in accountancy assuming you end up with a CPA license.

If you have a bachelors of accounting, a CPA, and a masters in accountancy you basically have 3 degrees/certifications saying the same thing. Its also important to note that you will be able to get into a better masters program being an accounting manager with a CPA than a runt out of college, so it might be better to wait. On the other hand if you a have a 4.0 from a top tier college you might as well go on to the next one. If you end up having trouble finding a job out of college this would also change things. Sorry for the long post I had this site blocked for the last 8 hours 🙂

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

If you would like to go into public accounting you will need to get the degree(s) to get the minimal education requirements necessary to sit for the exam. Some states require a masters, but I believe most require 150 units. The difference is that you might be able to get a minor in something else along with a bachelors in accounting and still be a CPA. Perhaps you like studying history or philosophy?

If you don't need a Masters to get that first public accounting job and to meet the CPA exam educational requirements for YOUR STATE it is better to hold onto it as a career changer wild card or for specialization. Its also important to know that a lot of Masters in Accountancy programs are designed to teach accounting to people who have no background in it. A masters in accountancy will have a lot of overlap with your bachelors in accounting. That statement is generalizing a little bit and I am sure that there are programs that will also kick your a** in difficulty.

I would definitely wait to see what you want to specialize in unless you are not ready to leave school. For example if you end up liking tax and you want to be a partner than a masters in taxation would be better than a masters in accountancy. If you end up wanting to be a CFO, and you have a CPA license, then a masters in finance or an MBA with finance focus would look way better. Hell if you want to be an accountant an MBA would probably look better than a masters in accountancy assuming you end up with a CPA license.

If you have a bachelors of accounting, a CPA, and a masters in accountancy you basically have 3 degrees/certifications saying the same thing. Its also important to note that you will be able to get into a better masters program being an accounting manager with a CPA than a runt out of college, so it might be better to wait. On the other hand if you a have a 4.0 from a top tier college you might as well go on to the next one. If you end up having trouble finding a job out of college this would also change things. Sorry for the long post I had this site blocked for the last 8 hours 🙂

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Author]

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