[Asja]

Hello…

I am a stay at home mom…Graduated with Accounting degree in 2013…been all over the place since then…now after having two kids, reality set in, and I realize that I will regret not doing the CPA license.

Excitedly, I ordered Surgent, but after looking over it and trying to study, honestly, I will be getting a refund…I just can’t do it…I am a perfectoinist when it comes to raising my kids and they need me. Dishes, cooking, laundry, need me…I don’t have much help other than evenings and weekends from my husband, but then it is family time…

I really want to challenge myself, and get a good job, and get a CPA license so that I can work from home eventually…I really don’t want to put my kids into daycare, at least not before the age of three…they will be at that age in two years…So I have to figure out a way to get a job that pays more than what a nanny charges…

I don’t think I can do the exams without working for a CPA firm first. It has been too long since I took the accounting courses, and too long since I held even an accounts payable clerk job…I need to be exposed to the real world scenareos, I guess. I just need practical experience, even if it is just boring number crunching…I can’t do it alone…

Is it possible and wouldn’t it make more sense to get a job for a CPA without passing any exams first? I thought it would give me an edge to apply for a CPA-related job with having passed the exams, but I don’t think that is possible for me…Isn’t an employer more likely to hire someone who has passed at least some of the exams? Or am I just being too ambitious for my own good?

Also, anyone have experience with returning Surgent materials? I can’t believe they are going to charge a $300 cancellation fee…It didn’t turn out to be what I thought…I fell for the stupid CPAreview guy blogger.

[Tyler]

Honestly, you don't need any real world experience to pass these exams. Whatever CPA Review course you pick will help you learn everything you need to know to pass the exam. There are definitely a ton of jobs that will hire you without a CPA License, especially if you are qualified to sit and make it clear during interviewing that you are in the process of sitting for the exams. One thing to note, once you start working full it will be that much harder to find time to study.

[Jimmy Dugan]

You can definitely get a job with a firm or elsewhere in private industry accounting without a CPA, and you may want to do that before spending the time and energy it will take to finish the exams, just to see if it is something you really want to do. It's hard to make it through this thing without being 100% invested.

[Author]

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