[Smartcpa]

I passed all 4 section of cpa exam. I have been looking for the job within 4 months now and still not getting any job interview. I am living in orange county, CA. I have called/ emailed to partners/ hiring managers in my area but no good news coming up. I am really disappointed and thinking whether CPA designation is a good choice for me. I am really stressful with my current situation. I am thinking should i change my career to another industry (medical likely) so that I can find the job easily. Is there anyone having the same problem with me? how did you do to overcome it?

[Track55]

Good catch by Lilla! Dont put cpa on ur Linkedin unless ur a cpa. What I did was put CPA candidate as my heading and list test scores under scores. I also listed CPA candidate and scores on my resume on Indeed. Suddenly emails started and I got an Industry job that month. Whats wrong with Industry? 2000 hours is 2000 hours right? Youll just need 2 to sign off your cpa hours.
I did what one person suggested. I got the LA and OC Business Journal and applied to the top 50 firms in each. 2 measly stinkin interviews with a 3.8. Thats the bad part about the OC. Everyone in college got all A's and is in excellent shape so its hard to stand out. After a year realizing firms were not an option, I went Industry and never looked back.
The bad part about an AP AR job with the exams passed is that they know youll quit the second a better thing comes along. I interviewed with a So Cal school district and a professor at my school was on the interview panel. He flat out asked why I would stay with an exam passed (before i passed all 4).
Well that is my rant. Best advice- search Industry, fix ur Linkedin and Indeed, and dont panic. If it takes a year, it takes a year. U can always get a temp job in the meantime.

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[Anonymous]

@Jakecpa You sound like you live where I do. 🙂 quickfacts.census.gov says about 10% of people in my county over age 25 have a Bachelor's, only about 68% over age 25 have a highschool diploma, and those numbers are actually up quite a bit from a few years ago. (When I was in college, 5 years or so ago, it was about 8% Bachelor's, so 25% increase in 5 years.) So, around here, when a job requires a Bachelor's, that's already knocked out 90% of the community. Then if it requires a degree in accounting, if we're generous and say that 10% of people get an accounting degree (I know that's super high lol), that'd mean only 1% of people in town qualified for the job based on education alone. Then since only a small number of people are job-searching at any time, it means the pool of applicants is pretty small, especially since there's only 31k people in the county to start with, compared to over 3m in OC. So, maybe you're one of 10 applicants at most. Odds are much better of getting the job! Flip side is there's not as many jobs posted, but I still like the odds. I've only applied to I think 2 jobs locally that I didn't get interviewed for (did a lot of cold-calling I didn't get interviews from, but they didn't have job openings, so I don't count that the same). If you've got 10 applicants, and want to interview 5, then getting an interview just requires being in the top 50%, instead of having to be in the top 0.5% out of 1000 applicants. Then you look at income – per capita income here is 44% of per capita income in OC, so a job here paying $44k is the equivalent of a job in OC paying $100k, and has the buying power of a job in OC paying $100k as far as standard of living. If you look around, you can rent a 3 BR 1 BA house with some property (1/2 acre easily) for $400/mo. I might never make 6 figures, but I still might be able to save enough to retire at the age of 45, whereas someone in OC making 6 figures might barely be able to afford rent on a studio apartment (OK that might be a stretch, but it's the point that counts 😛 ).

P. S. Regarding recruiting agencies and such – my dad works in a different field, but I know at least for awhile, he'd stopped hiring directly and only hired through recruiting agencies because he was having issues with employees in their first couple weeks in the job, and decided it was easier to go through a temp agency so that he could have a “try out” period before they were his official employee and he had to go through the whole red tape required to fire someone. So, I have personally known people in management roles who hired through temp agencies with the goal always being for long-term employment, but wanting the flexibility to see how someone works before committing to permanent employment.

[Mayo]

The cost of living is also very low, do yourself a favor and leave OC, LA, riverside, etc.

This. I'm in CA right now, and I can't wait to leave. It's a great place to great tremendous experience, but the cost of living is brutal.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[.]

Yeah, everything is more competitive in big cities where everyone wants to live. The problem with leaving California though is that most of the rest of the country has a horrible climate. The mid-west and the north-east are hot and humid in the summer and freezing in the winter. Texas and much of the south is uber hot and humid over 8 months of the year. So you end up spending more money on air conditioning and heating your big house/apartment. And you can't go outside for much of the year.

I'm considering Seattle but the rent isn't that cheap there either….and I'd have to buy a car and learn how to drive. I'd really rather just leave this country and the crazy working hours/crappy short vacations but getting a working visa easier said than done…

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[Accountant183748]

@cicardian malfuction Exactly! And all my work experience are in small companies with no international experience so I doubt I could get any job abroad anyway.

[hasy]

The cost of living is also very low, do yourself a favor and leave OC, LA, riverside, etc.

This. I’m in CA right now, and I can’t wait to leave. It’s a great place to great tremendous experience, but the cost of living is brutal.

If I didn't have a mother who was so ATTACHED to this house and school loans (also the matter of finishing my exams), I'd totally like to live someplace else. It offers such a unique perspective to live in another state. I understand the idea of Californians getting bored elsewhere, but I'd like to think of it as the challenge to THRIVE someplace else, rather than just merely surviving here.

I've discussed this issue with several of my friends, and none of them want to move, ever because they love SoCal too much. Also, they think it's boring anywhere else. >.<

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

-

BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[Anonymous]

@circadian I think you over-estimate the cost of heating and cooling… I have a 1350 sq ft house, 3BR 2BA, and our electric bill – which includes heating, cooking, 2 gaming computers with big power supplies that are on 24/7 and used quite a bit, water heater, etc. – runs $150 a month in the bad months, less most of the year. So, it's not that expensive. Now if you get an old house with bad insulation, it's worse, and some parts of the country have expensive electric (like the KW/H prices in CA are probably bad lol), but my electric isn't expensive at all. I've lived in SoCal – about 45 minutes outside of LA – and it was a different climate, but not necessarily preferable. But, I've lived all over the country, and come to the conclusion that it's all about the same, which is why I stayed in the state where I turned 18, rather than following my family as they continued to move all over…not necessarily cause this state was any better or worse, but cause in my mind, they're all about the same.

I do have to have a car, though, and am slightly envious of the public transit options in bigger cities. Yeah, bus fare and such adds up, but I don't particularly like driving, and I'd like the option to be able to go places (work, store, etc.) without driving. Though, at the same time, I've never *not* had a car and driving available, so perhaps I'd not like it if I actually didn't have one!

[Mayo]

In Texas I used to pay $930 for a 2 bedroom apt on the first floor, in a nice apartment complex, which was built relatively recently (late 90s).

In CA I pay $2270 for a 1 bedroom, kind of meh apartment close to the semi-ghetto.

Trust me, there's a big diff. Oh, and state taxes are a hard hit as well. 🙁

Weather is absolutely fantastic though. Can't compete with that.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[.]

$2270!! Why would you pay that much for an apartment? You can get a studio in Long Beach for around $1000-$1100. Even in NYC (not Manhattan) you can get a 1 bedroom for $1500, less than a 10 minute walk from a subway station.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[hasy]

We pay the sunshine tax…..

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved - Helen Keller

-

BEC 80 (10/23/15)
FAR 72 (4/2/15); 83 (7/11/16)
REG 52 (4/28/15)
AUD (9/9/16)

Roger + NINJA MCQ + WTB

[Smartcpa]

I actually want to move out of CA but my husband has a good job in one of the best hospital in this area. He is a nurse and he surely earns more than me. I am thinking of working part time for 2 or 3 CPA offices to earn hours for license. After certain years, I can open my own office because we have a big community where many people speak my first language in this area and they are increasing rapidly every year. I personally don't like to work for a company until retirement. All i want to do is to get experience and do my own business.

[Nessie]

I agree with Mayo. Get over the “I’ve got a high GPA” attitude, or self-proclamation of being smart. I was recently hired at a Big 4 in Tax Advisory and having a lower GPA, but impeccable English is better than a high GPA and slightly sub-standard English skills. Even the new hires communicate with clients almost immediately, so you have to be appropriate with choices of words, grammar, etc.

Getting hired at a Big 4 is all about fitting into their culture. No one even cares if you have passed any of the CPA exams prior to starting. Some people have been around for years and haven’t bothered to pass, and no one cares. Sure it’s preferred, but not a deal breaker.

If you really want to work at a Big 4, you may want to try somewhere other than OC. New York perhaps, or Boston? I’ve never thought to the OC as an accounting epicenter.

REG Aug 20/15: 88
AUD: Feb 29/16: 80
FAR: Jun 10/16: 80
BEC?

Becker self-study, Becker Final Review & NINJA MCQS

[Duskfall]

It's funny reading Americans complain about cost of living and weather! Come to Canada and get new respect for America's weather and affordability! It's true though, not all regions are created equal

FAR - 07/07/2016 - 81
BEC - 08/23/2016
AUD - 10/05/2016
REG - 11/23/2016

[Pete]

Actually, unless you network VERY well, you will not get interviewed by the BIG 4 accounting firms without having a 3.5+ GPA at my school, which had a somewhat strong accounting program (3 of the 4 BIG 4 firms recruit there). The problem with having a somewhat low GPA rests in the fact the recruiters won't even speak to you. Back when I graduated in 2010, the min for PWC was 3.4 for an INTERNSHIP. Once in front of them, English is important, but until that point you better have a damn high GPA. With that in mind, I knew someone with a 2.8, who got a job offer with a BIG 4 firm, but he networked very well and was an extreme minority. Ended up taking a higher paying job in a F500 company. Generally though, the people who got jobs with the BIG 4 had a 3.6+ GPA. In this market, they'll find someone who speaks extremely well and has a high GPA.

In this area, while not nearly as bad a California, the market is horrible. I can't find a decent job despite networking aggressively and passing the CPA. Everyone is flooding to Texas these days it seems. High cost matched with low pay, why stay in the area? Here, you're lucky to find rent under $1,000/month is the rural slums, away from the city and in the middle of nowhere. My networking group consistently has 20+ people from all disciplines, many of whom are exceptionally qualified. One guy, who took a few years off and had 10+ years experience, working at KPMG as well as other industries took 2 years to find a job. He was looking for a CFO position, but he ended up taking a contract position, which was a much lower level type of position. I think the market here is FAR, FAR, FAR worse than people think.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Mayo]

Everyone is flooding to Texas these days it seems

Soon to be going back myself. Hopefully mid 2017 😀

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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