[CoachEmUp]

I’m back again with some more advice that hopefully will be of use to people searching the board later on.

Backstory: The financial services company I was with (institutional money/asset manager) folded on 3/31/17. We knew about them closing at the beginning of that year so we had a few months to job search. I lined up another job as a senior accountant but in an entirely different industry. After 6 weeks I quit. The training they promised wasn’t happening, I wasn’t sleeping well, and I couldn’t have cared less about the company or service we were providing.
The good news was I had finished up the accounting courses I needed to sit for the CPA exam a week prior to quitting. A week after quitting my wife found out she was pregnant (we had been trying).

So here I was. Just quit my job. Knew I was going to at least take the first two parts of the CPA exam before looking again, and all the while my wife was the only one working (while she was pregnant to boot). My pipe dream of a goal was to have my CPA done and to have a good job at a bigger company (I had always worked for smaller companies with less chance of advancement). Through support from her, I took the first test FAR and felt confident I passed. After AUD went well I decided that I should knock out all 4 before trying to get a job.

After AUD we decided to move to her home state of Michigan since we could be closer to her family. Since I wasn’t working, and we want her to stay home with our baby, it was the perfect time to move. I took REG and we moved a week after that in October. I took BEC here before Thanksgiving and found out I passed all four on my first try.

After some confusion as to whether I’d get my license in Michigan or not, I was approved a little over a week ago. Then last week I knocked two job interviews out of the park. I’m still waiting to hear back from one, but the #1 company I targeted here offered me a job yesterday and I’m finalizing a couple things today before hopefully signing the dotted line.

My wife is due tomorrow, so I accomplished my goal! To accomplish all the things I have since quitting my job is amongst the most professional satisfaction I’ve ever had. I wanted to just leave a few tips for those studying full time:

1. Just because you are studying full-time does not mean you shouldn’t enjoy not working. It also doesn’t mean you can slack off either. Everyone is different, but I’m convinced that getting into a routine of studying 4-5 hours a day, and exercising or doing an activity you love each day is key to success. Work hard, but also try to go to a museum you’ve always wanted to during the week, or play a round of golf, or whatever you need to do to clear your mind from the material.

2. Leave yourself time to review for each test. I had 2 weeks to review for FAR & REG. And I’d recommend 7 days for AUD & BEC. For me it meant knocking out 120-200 MCQ’s a day and going over my notes and refreshing myself on topics.

3. Ok, you passed all 4 test. Congrats! Now it’s time to get back out in the world and apply the knowledge you’ve gained. I have always worked with recruiters. Recruiters will often post jobs they’re working on to LinkedIn. Apply and from there they will reach out to you and ask you what you’re looking for.
My #1 tip for working with recruiters: THEY ALL ASK YOU YOUR PREVIOUS SALARY. And this information is then passed on to their client. So by all means… Either tell them a higher base salary then you made that is more in line with what you’re looking for, or tell them “I’m not going to tell you what I made previously, but I can tell you what I’m looking for in the next opportunity.” In my case I was faced with a much lower base salary then “market” and I should’ve just given them the base I was looking for. Don’t make that mistake!

4. On your interview you’ll get asked questions about the time gap from your last job. In my case I left off the job I quit (through advice from people I knew in HR), so my resume has a gap of 10 months. You have to communicate why you decided to study full time and let them know that not only were you studying, but you were keeping your excel skills sharp, etc. Even though the last test I took was near Thanksgiving, I still am constantly going into my FAR materials and coming up with how I would journalize some complicated entries that I hear about on CNBC (re-booking deferred tax assets to a new lower tax rate, etc). The good news is interviewing for an accounting/finance job, the hiring manager should understand the difficulty of the exam and get why you did it full time.

Best of luck to all of you finishing up your exams. And I hoped I provided you some good tips for getting back out in the work force. Or at the very least my crazy story of the last year in my life. I’m excited to start the next chapter with my baby and this new job!

[Tncincy]

Congrats on such an encouraging success story. Well wishes on your job search and new addition to the family. Your suggestions are taken in consideration.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[PDiddy2000]

Yes congrats!! Thanks for sharing your story.

I do have a few quick questions regarding your CPA review course. I’m on my 4th week studying for the FAR and I purchased Wiley CPAexcel platinum. Which Wiley CPAexcel version did you purchase? Was that the only study aid you used and was it adequate for all exams? You’ve got some good scores!!

[Recked]

BOLD moves.
Glad to hear it all paid off for you.
Congrats on the baby.

[CoachEmUp]

@pdiddy yep I used CPAexcel Platinum. I found it to be more than adequate. Some of the instructors are better than others but focus on the book and the mcq's and you'll be fine.

[Kimberly]

@CoachEmUp

Thanks for sharing your story. Congratulations!

This may sound like a strange question, but did you have the printed books for Wiley or use online/pdf? I haven't needed the book for the other sections, so I never looked at it in the past, but I'd like to look some things up for FAR.

I would have access to whatever form is online or PDF. Do you know how I get access to that? It was never clear when I first purchased the system.

[CoachEmUp]

@kimberly I'm not sure about PDF or online, as I had the physical book. The same material that is in the book is below each lesson video, but obviously you'll have a hard time searching for different concepts unless you know the lesson topic it was covered in.

As far as I know you can find the books on ebay or amazon for much cheaper if that's a route you want to go.

[Andyred04]

Congrats, awesome success story! Best of luck in the future.

FAR: 80 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
REG: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
BEC: 87 (Gleim, Ninja Notes, Ninja MCQs)
AUD: 8/27/16

PA Candidate

[Anonymous]

Congrats! If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to get the CPA exam out of the way before I had kids! Having a full time job, and a family is not conducive to studying!

[bjpeterson07]

Agreed @anyatver, I have had a heck of a time the last two years. I hope February 6th is going to be a happy day for me! Also @CoachEmUp that is an awesome story, congratulations on all your success!

[Tncincy]

Here, here…I also asked myself, Why didn't you do this when you were younger? The answer was, you have time 🙁 . It is definitely much harder to focus, put out fires, listen to irate and broke college students ( I have four in college) that I am pulling my hair out encouraging to get it done now, while you're young. I hope it work. But as for me, I'm gonna get this CPA.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Kimberly]

@CoachEmUp –

Thank you very much for replying. So the “study note” are what makes up the book? That's all it is? That's good to know, because I don't think I've truly missed anything then. I can go back to the syllabus to get to the section I need.

[Author]

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