[Anonymous]

I don’t understand the internship thing at all. I mean why do they put so much time in money into Junoirs who may not even get the 150 credits or even 120 credits for that matter than someone with a masters and CPA exam credits tries to talk to them and they just blow them off. It makes no sense when most their employees only last a couple years. If I go to one of their internships for 8 weeks over the summer as a junior I’m automatically hired but if I get 150 credits and pass the CPA exam with no internship there is no chance. This is true at least where I live. And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.

Also what is the chance of a non accounting MBA or business student getting into big 4? A lot of my friends who are finance, economics, and IT majors are trying to do this.

[mena je twa]

Tough kitty,

The answer was rude by the partner, but he is correct. He wants to know how much you know and how much you can contribute with your service.

As long as you are a CPA, people in general dont care much about CMA, or MS or MBA…. atleast not in public accounting.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[mena je twa]

Tough kitty,

The answer was rude by the partner, but he is correct. He wants to know how much you know and how much you can contribute with your service.

As long as you are a CPA, people in general dont care much about CMA, or MS or MBA…. atleast not in public accounting.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[tough_kitty]

Yeah, but with the way he answered, he didn't give a chance to present what I know! Correct or not, it was rude and very discouraging…..

And yes, I know that CPA is the most important thing ever – for some weird reason – because it's not like I will become any smarter onces I get my license…..and my previous achievements may not matter…..However, some jobs do require CPA and/or MBA so I hope it will help me in the future….

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

Yeah, but with the way he answered, he didn't give a chance to present what I know! Correct or not, it was rude and very discouraging…..

And yes, I know that CPA is the most important thing ever – for some weird reason – because it's not like I will become any smarter onces I get my license…..and my previous achievements may not matter…..However, some jobs do require CPA and/or MBA so I hope it will help me in the future….

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[barelystayingsane]

I think one of the reasons a CPA designation is the most important thing is because the firm can bill more.

[barelystayingsane]

I think one of the reasons a CPA designation is the most important thing is because the firm can bill more.

[mena je twa]

Yeah i see you have multiples Ms' in your signature. Hoping someday you can utilize them all, but the CPA will always be handy. One more part for you to go and audit should be good with Roger.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[mena je twa]

Yeah i see you have multiples Ms' in your signature. Hoping someday you can utilize them all, but the CPA will always be handy. One more part for you to go and audit should be good with Roger.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[GuitarSalad]

While I understand the complaint, it's easy to see why firms like to have interns and hire them. It's a good way to figure out if they like them enough and that they haven't missed some sort of fatal flaw that the candidate has throughout the interview process.

My situation is that, as a returning student who had an unrelated degree, I found it difficult to make it into public accounting during my two years back in school. My first time at meed the firms looking for an internship, I had no accounting coursework completed and no accounting GPA established. I also didn't know anything about the process. I got a few interviews, but I'm not surprised that I didn't get an internship because I was only beginning the process of cramming in 2 years worth of accounting classes, BAP, VITA, etc. To add to it, my grandfater passed away suddenly right in the middle of interview week.

Come back to meet the firms a year later, I had all of my things in order: 4.0 GPA, BAP, VITA, internship at a publically traded company. I thought it was as good as I could get without having an internship at a firm. And I got plenty of interviews.

The biggest problem for me the second time around is that I didn't want to leave my city. Phoenix is a big place, but not a huge market for public accounting. My school had a 5-year accounting program that included a guranteed internship with a firm. I didn't do this as a returning student for a plethora of reasons. Going into meet the firms as a graduate student, I'd estimate that 80% or more of the entry level staff positions were taken by people from internships (not all necessarily from the 5-year program). I didn't realize that was the case at the time of applying. Two of the Big 4 had no full time positions available. Basically, I went head-to-head with a lot of very talented and qualified people, and I lost. Every. Single. Time.

I don't point this out because I'm bitter. I'm just disappointed that I didn't meet my original goal. However, I have a very good job, and I know that I'll have the letters CPA next to my name in a year if I want to keep applying to firms. Blaming the system won't help you. You'll just feel sorry fory yourself and seem like a whiner when you start a thread making blanket statements that aren't necessarily true.

BEC 7/12/13 - 84
AUD 8/31/13 - 86
REG 4/11/14 - 84
FAR 5/30/14 - 88

Licensed AZ CPA - 10/2014

[GuitarSalad]

While I understand the complaint, it's easy to see why firms like to have interns and hire them. It's a good way to figure out if they like them enough and that they haven't missed some sort of fatal flaw that the candidate has throughout the interview process.

My situation is that, as a returning student who had an unrelated degree, I found it difficult to make it into public accounting during my two years back in school. My first time at meed the firms looking for an internship, I had no accounting coursework completed and no accounting GPA established. I also didn't know anything about the process. I got a few interviews, but I'm not surprised that I didn't get an internship because I was only beginning the process of cramming in 2 years worth of accounting classes, BAP, VITA, etc. To add to it, my grandfater passed away suddenly right in the middle of interview week.

Come back to meet the firms a year later, I had all of my things in order: 4.0 GPA, BAP, VITA, internship at a publically traded company. I thought it was as good as I could get without having an internship at a firm. And I got plenty of interviews.

The biggest problem for me the second time around is that I didn't want to leave my city. Phoenix is a big place, but not a huge market for public accounting. My school had a 5-year accounting program that included a guranteed internship with a firm. I didn't do this as a returning student for a plethora of reasons. Going into meet the firms as a graduate student, I'd estimate that 80% or more of the entry level staff positions were taken by people from internships (not all necessarily from the 5-year program). I didn't realize that was the case at the time of applying. Two of the Big 4 had no full time positions available. Basically, I went head-to-head with a lot of very talented and qualified people, and I lost. Every. Single. Time.

I don't point this out because I'm bitter. I'm just disappointed that I didn't meet my original goal. However, I have a very good job, and I know that I'll have the letters CPA next to my name in a year if I want to keep applying to firms. Blaming the system won't help you. You'll just feel sorry fory yourself and seem like a whiner when you start a thread making blanket statements that aren't necessarily true.

BEC 7/12/13 - 84
AUD 8/31/13 - 86
REG 4/11/14 - 84
FAR 5/30/14 - 88

Licensed AZ CPA - 10/2014

[tough_kitty]

Ok, maybe I should clarify – I do NOT question the importance of the CPA license.

All I was trying to say is – in public accounting people look down on those with master's degrees for some reason….and I just think it's wrong. I decided to change my careers and figured it was easier and more practical to get an MA degree as opposed to a 2nd Bachelor or something….so not sure where this “master degree means nothing” attitude is coming from.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

Ok, maybe I should clarify – I do NOT question the importance of the CPA license.

All I was trying to say is – in public accounting people look down on those with master's degrees for some reason….and I just think it's wrong. I decided to change my careers and figured it was easier and more practical to get an MA degree as opposed to a 2nd Bachelor or something….so not sure where this “master degree means nothing” attitude is coming from.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Mayo]

“All I was trying to say is – in public accounting people look down on those with master's degrees for some reason”

I think you mean Master's students who haven't done an internship as an undergrad?? Because almost 100% of the people at my firm have Master's degrees…

“…so not sure where this ‘master degree means nothing' attitude is coming from”

*shrug*, I think my Master's was a good experience and what have you, and I'm glad I did it. But I also realize that when compared to other discipline graduate programs, it's probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to get a Master's. So to say that you're tons more qualified because you have a Master's is more than a bit of a stretch. I'd take a well adjusted undergrad in accounting over a grad student with little social skills any day of the week.

But yeah, I think the way that partner answered your question was downright rude. There are plenty of people who have your background that are more than qualified and would make great employees. But the Big 4 are so focused on these undergrads that I think they sometimes miss high quality recruits right in front of them because they don't fit the typical mold.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“All I was trying to say is – in public accounting people look down on those with master's degrees for some reason”

I think you mean Master's students who haven't done an internship as an undergrad?? Because almost 100% of the people at my firm have Master's degrees…

“…so not sure where this ‘master degree means nothing' attitude is coming from”

*shrug*, I think my Master's was a good experience and what have you, and I'm glad I did it. But I also realize that when compared to other discipline graduate programs, it's probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to get a Master's. So to say that you're tons more qualified because you have a Master's is more than a bit of a stretch. I'd take a well adjusted undergrad in accounting over a grad student with little social skills any day of the week.

But yeah, I think the way that partner answered your question was downright rude. There are plenty of people who have your background that are more than qualified and would make great employees. But the Big 4 are so focused on these undergrads that I think they sometimes miss high quality recruits right in front of them because they don't fit the typical mold.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[tough_kitty]

Well, that's the thing – I never said that I am better just because I have a master's degree as opposed to a bachelor. But I am tired of having to explain that I got a master's degree because I changed careers…..I have an accounting degree, and that's what should matter. The fact that it's BS or MS should not be a huge factor, especially a negative factor!

I just look forward to getting my CPA license and hopefully then it wouldn't really matter if I have BS or MS.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Author]

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