[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.

[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

[vjr7653]

“And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.”

Based on my experience, this statement is far from the truth. I am 46 years old and a couple of years ago, I lost my job as a trader due to computerized automation. I decided to go back to school and finish an accounting degree I had started years earlier. During my senior year, I applied for an internship with 2 of the big 4 through my school's career services. At this point I was flat broke from not having worked in 2 years, in foreclosure, and credit in shambles. However, my GPA was great (3.94), I had a positive outlook, and was just happy to be considered. I also had a previous corporate accounting internship with a large multinational firm.

I received an internship offer from one of the big 4 firms I applied to and after a successful completion this past summer, I was given a full time offer to start in Jan. Almost everyone I interviewed with and worked with had said that my attitude and personality was the number one factor in deciding to hire me – certainly not my financial status, my GPA or prior internship. And for those who say you are too old to pursue a big 4 career, and believe me there have been plenty of those people during the last few years, I am proof that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Never give up – never surrender!

REG - 77 (8/27/13)
FAR - 83 (12/2/13)
AUD - 87 (5/13/14)
BEC -

[vjr7653]

“And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.”

Based on my experience, this statement is far from the truth. I am 46 years old and a couple of years ago, I lost my job as a trader due to computerized automation. I decided to go back to school and finish an accounting degree I had started years earlier. During my senior year, I applied for an internship with 2 of the big 4 through my school's career services. At this point I was flat broke from not having worked in 2 years, in foreclosure, and credit in shambles. However, my GPA was great (3.94), I had a positive outlook, and was just happy to be considered. I also had a previous corporate accounting internship with a large multinational firm.

I received an internship offer from one of the big 4 firms I applied to and after a successful completion this past summer, I was given a full time offer to start in Jan. Almost everyone I interviewed with and worked with had said that my attitude and personality was the number one factor in deciding to hire me – certainly not my financial status, my GPA or prior internship. And for those who say you are too old to pursue a big 4 career, and believe me there have been plenty of those people during the last few years, I am proof that anything is possible if you want it bad enough. Never give up – never surrender!

REG - 77 (8/27/13)
FAR - 83 (12/2/13)
AUD - 87 (5/13/14)
BEC -

[acamp]

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

I couldn't find this to be further from what I've experienced. At the Big4 a work at, plenty of people have master's degrees, myself included, the firm even pays you more (not a lot, but like $3-5K more when you start). The guy you spoke to probably could have elaborated more, that having a master's isn't a real game changer in public accounting, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Or who knows, maybe you came across to him like you thought you were a shoe-in because you had a master's and he wanted to kill those spirits. Or, maybe he never got a master's and all his colleagues have them and he is jealous–who knows? right?

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[acamp]

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

I couldn't find this to be further from what I've experienced. At the Big4 a work at, plenty of people have master's degrees, myself included, the firm even pays you more (not a lot, but like $3-5K more when you start). The guy you spoke to probably could have elaborated more, that having a master's isn't a real game changer in public accounting, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Or who knows, maybe you came across to him like you thought you were a shoe-in because you had a master's and he wanted to kill those spirits. Or, maybe he never got a master's and all his colleagues have them and he is jealous–who knows? right?

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[Anonymous]

“And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.”

I think what he meant to say was that if you work full-time and take classes at night/weekends, then you can't really go for an internship cuz you need money to pay rent. I think it's a huge advantage if one can afford not to work full-time and do an internship and then just finish school and start full-time next year…

[Anonymous]

“And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.”

I think what he meant to say was that if you work full-time and take classes at night/weekends, then you can't really go for an internship cuz you need money to pay rent. I think it's a huge advantage if one can afford not to work full-time and do an internship and then just finish school and start full-time next year…

[Anonymous]

@bkcpa1 – I understand that people need money for rent, but I think we have different views on this. Internships at Big4 pay really well and are full time for a few months. Interns also generally get hired as full-time staff once their internship is over. So why not just pursue an internship which probably pays more than a regular full-time job, and have the prospects of getting a full time offer later down the road? My friend interned at a big4 in Seattle and got paid $27/hr which is pretty good if you ask me.

[Anonymous]

@bkcpa1 – I understand that people need money for rent, but I think we have different views on this. Internships at Big4 pay really well and are full time for a few months. Interns also generally get hired as full-time staff once their internship is over. So why not just pursue an internship which probably pays more than a regular full-time job, and have the prospects of getting a full time offer later down the road? My friend interned at a big4 in Seattle and got paid $27/hr which is pretty good if you ask me.

[tough_kitty]

Well, it all depends on where you live and who you talk to, I guess…. I know MS in Tax is way more valuable than MS in Accountancy.

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

[tough_kitty]

Well, it all depends on where you live and who you talk to, I guess…. I know MS in Tax is way more valuable than MS in Accountancy.

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

[Mayo]

“I think it's a huge advantage if one can afford not to work full-time and do an internship and then just finish school and start full-time next year”

I think there's something to that, but to be honest I had to pay my way through college and take out loans. Going through the internship paid better than any other job I had during that period. Especially when you consider overtime pay. So it's not just “rich” kids who go to school full time.

Obviously, if you're not a full time student and cannot participate in recruiting type activities, then it is a huge disadvantage. However, that's not anyone's fault really, and it also doesn't mean there aren't other things one can do to try and mitigate that. But I hear you on how it can be frustrating.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“I think it's a huge advantage if one can afford not to work full-time and do an internship and then just finish school and start full-time next year”

I think there's something to that, but to be honest I had to pay my way through college and take out loans. Going through the internship paid better than any other job I had during that period. Especially when you consider overtime pay. So it's not just “rich” kids who go to school full time.

Obviously, if you're not a full time student and cannot participate in recruiting type activities, then it is a huge disadvantage. However, that's not anyone's fault really, and it also doesn't mean there aren't other things one can do to try and mitigate that. But I hear you on how it can be frustrating.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“The fact that it's BS or MS should not be a huge factor, especially a negative factor!”

Yah, that makes sense. But it's less about BS vs. MS and more about being able to fit into the mold (time frame-wise) of most firms.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“The fact that it's BS or MS should not be a huge factor, especially a negative factor!”

Yah, that makes sense. But it's less about BS vs. MS and more about being able to fit into the mold (time frame-wise) of most firms.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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