[round1]

I badly need your inputs; trying to figure out where to relocate. Short story: passed these (insert your words here…) exams and the ethics one too. My college didn’t have a strong carreer center for networking opportunities. Firms do not heavily recruit over here, so I couldn’t land an entry level job while in college with a public accounting firm. At this moment, I almost gave up finding a job in P.A. in my state, thus I’m trying to figure out what state has better job perspectives for accounting grads. I have some limited staff accounting experience; nothing fancy, no SEC or internal controls reporting. Dead-end job in a dry job market. Thus my question: what state should I chose for better job perspectives? Very-very willing to relocate.

Specific question: is NY state a good choice? I know you still have to get that one year of P.A. experience (or under CPA supervision), right?

Any inputs are welcome.

DONE!

[See Pee A]

In the short term you just need to get your foot in the door of a well-known firm so that you can get experience that is easily recognizable. Any state would probably be fine. Your biggest concern is where you would have the most contacts or access to firms recruiting efforts. Any mid-sized to large city will suffice (assuming public accounting is your goal to begin). Within PA, Philly and Pittsburgh are fairly large markets. Outside of that, take your pick of any major city and you will be bound to find a good number of firms to help you build some experience.

Long-term, you may want to consider more than just the firm in that location. Depending on your career ambitions at that point, you may or may not want to or be able to make another move, but if you want to grow with a company then you may want to consider a smaller market or one that is growing or even a firm that has just opened an office in another city. It's a tough choice, but the beginning is fairly similar. Try to get some experience that is marketable so down the road you can make a switch if you want or need to do so. Good luck!

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[See Pee A]

Misread your post, you never mentioned anything about pennsylvania so disregard Philly and Pitt comment. Anyway, good luck.

BEC 86 (08/30/11)
FAR 84 (10/13/11)
REG 88 (11/08/11)
AUD 86 (11/29/11)

Exam prep - Becker self-study

[rknight21]

a guy from PA that didnt even passed the exams got a job at my firm… he was travelling on the train everyday to and from work… after a month or two he rented a place in jersey….it can be done

[Anonymous]

I dont think its a matter of choosing a state with the best opportunities because every state will have different regions with more/less opportunities for accounting. I think if you really are so flexible that you can relocate anywhere, then you should visit the websites for the big four and other regional/national firms. Look for job listings on their individual webpages and see which offices need staffing.

Also check careerbuilder and filter for states that you think you might want to move to. I think the point here is to get a job FIRST and let that be the determining factor on where you relocate. Dont relocate and THEN look for a job.

[round1]

Thank you, guys, for all your answers!

CalCPASoon – I understand what you're saying here: “I think the point here is to get a job FIRST and let that be the determining factor on where you relocate. Don't relocate and THEN look for a job.” But how feasable is to get a job, let's say, in NY, if a person lives in New Mexico… How? How do you get an interview, if most firms would dismiss an out-of-state candidate (with no previous public accounting experience)? I don't think they even read the resumes of out-of-state candidates, if it's for an entry level position. I'm looking for that entry level position, which is touch if you're out of the college, nevermind living in another state. It looks like the trivial “egg-chicken” dilemma. Why would a HR person invite a candidate from another state if there are, let's say, 30 “local candidates waiting at the door to get the same job. I might understand this if the firm is looking for a manager with some 5+ audit experience (I see a shortage of these candidates, based on my job postings' surfing).

Have anyone got a job (or an interview) being an out-of-state candidate? I'm confused about this.

Thank you for the hint to look at local offices' staffing needs.

DONE!

[round1]

“a guy from PA that didnt even passed the exams got a job at my firm… he was travelling on the train everyday to and from work… after a month or two he rented a place in jersey….it can be done”

My daily distance would be 2000+ miles, and that's the problem.

Sorry for the confusion: P.A. stands for public accounting, not PA as a state.

DONE!

[Herbieherb]

Of course NY is the biggest, but also most competitive. Which state are you from?

NEW YORK- DONE

[round1]

Herbieherb, I'm too far away from NY (NM: 2000+ miles distance). I get that it's competitive, but why “most” competitive? Too many Ivy league graduates that want to get into public accounting over there or what? Too many freshly-minted accountants (recent grads)? My GPA was 3.7 (not 4.0) and I don't come from a top school either. My exam grades are very comparable to yours (who cares about these grades anyway).

Can you, please, elaborate more what you mean? Do they (aka P.A. firms) have even stricter standards than in the rest of the country?

Idk, I'd be OK to find a job even at a small firm, not trying to get into Big 4.

DONE!

[Author]

Replies