[Pete]

Hello,

A few years ago, I managed to pass the CPA exam and gain the necessary credits; however, since then, I’ve been unable to gain the experience needed for the license (I have near 10 years private experience now). I attended a ton of networking events was involved in my local organizations and even did an internship, but was still unable to land (granted I was employed at a small firm for tax season before the internship). I was told that my internship went great, but that large firm hadn’t been hiring in years (the few positions they did have went to the partners son, etc); this Intel came from managers, whom I worked with and partners whom I was close with.

In the meantime, I’ve continued to work in private, yet these positions do not fulfill my experience requirements, despite the fact I really like my position. I’ve reason to believe that I might be up for a fairly large promotion in a few years time (high manager level, within a smaller org). At this point, would my best bet to wait until the promotion, then aim for something, which would fulfill my requirements? I also have the option of going for an MBA and aiming to leapfrog from the on-campus recruiting (I got my 150 through CC classes). It’s honestly just frustrating as hell to spend over 10k on everything, only to not put the letters after my name (for those reading, it’s not always greener on the other side). Any advice? Maybe an option to somehow gain the experience while working my current position.

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

[Fred]

Why don't you look into this program https://nasba.org/products/experienceverification/

Maybe if it's not your state you can then transfer the license to your state.

[Pete]

That might be a viable option. Can I switch jurisdictions that I’m applying to, after taking the exam though?

Sadly, my state doesn’t allow this option, so I would need to apply to another state, but I’ve already submitted the test for my state.

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

[ultrarunner]

Hi John, we have so much in common. I got lucky and licensed right after passing the exams although I work in private. There is nobody in your company having the active license? You may think that you will get promoted in a few years, but you never know. I've seen companies going out of business in seconds (especially, smaller ones). I wouldn't rely on the potential future promotion that may not even happen. I would consider the MBA option if there is a chance for the on-campus recruiting. It's good that you like your current job, but if there are no CPAs you could work with, I don't see it will help your career in the long run. Good luck.

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[Pete]

Unfortunately, no. There was a former CPA, but she didn’t maintain it because it didn’t benefit her career-wise to maintain it.

I was looking for over a year, but I just couldn’t break into a firm (or any other staff positions for that matter), despite interning. I ended up taking this position relatively recently as I needed a bigger challenge.

I was involved in my states cpa society, and networked aggressively. It seems, at least in my area, once you graduate, 95%+ of firms lose interest. I was able to get interviews, but just couldn’t get hired. They would tell my how great I was on phone interviews (usually directly say how good I was within 5 minutes), invite me back, then just not hire me. One even gave me “we wish you luck on your future career in accounting.” Irritating, honestly.

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

[Author]

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