[MINO21c]

I’m super anxious about my situation I can’t seem to think straight. So please help me think through.
I served the Army for 4 years, and during that time, and during that time I got B.S. Business Administration from the school that had fairly good reputation around the base, but ultimately, nameless. I got married and got out and had a baby, so I hadn’t done much for 2 years. After 2 years of break, I took some accounting classes from another nameless school to meet the CPA requirement, but didn’t pursue a bachelor’s degree as I had to take too many other classes to do so. Since then, I passed BEC and REG, but failed AUD with 74, and I’m scheduled to take FAR in 10/15.

My husband is getting out of the Army in November. I’ve been applying for jobs around the town from Big 4 to the local firms for about a month, but I haven’t gotten a single phone call. I’m thinking maybe the lack of accounting degree is hurting me, so I’m seriously considering going for MAcc program. We have a great MAcc program around where we live with great opportunities for Big4. I have 24 months of GI Bill left, so tuition is not really an issue, and the housing allowance will really help relieving our financial pressure. But I’m worried that starting school in Spring will be disadvantageous for getting all the career opportunities that the school provide. Plus I would have to take GMAT, ask around for recommendation letter, etc., and still not sure if I can actually get into the school.

I’ve been so anxious I have hard time focusing on FAR. I wonder if I should just postpone FAR (NTS expires on Dec 14) and focus on job hunting and school application now. But then I feel like I shouldn’t wait any longer to take AUD since I missed it only by 1 point.

Please help me think trough! What would you do?

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Kaylee]

What does your husband plan to do after he gets out?

If he has a local job lined up, I would focus on FAR right now. Worry about taking the GMAT and applying to school, and the AUD retake, and job hunting, and all that in January.

If he doesn't have a local job lined up, I would focus on FAR right now. Worry about school and careers afterward, for both of you. Enjoy the holidays and spending time with each other. Hit the ground running the first week of January with a plan for both of you.

[Anonymous]

I really struggle to follow this advice, but do better when I do, so I realize this is an “easier said than done” thing…

Focus on FAR. Worry about everything else later. One step at a time.

You've got about 6-10 weeks till your husband gets out of the Army (depending on whether start or end of November). So, you'll still have some time after FAR, before his time in the Army is over. I'd take FAR, and then see about even taking AUD during the Oct/Nov window – like if he's done end of November, re-take AUD about the time he is done.

Then, figure out what comes next in life. By that point, you'll be 2-3 months into job-hunting, and if you've still not gotten call backs, you'll know you're more likely to need to make changes. Right now, it's too early to worry.

However, there is one reason I might change this advice, and that is depending on how soon you'll need a financial change. You mentioned the housing benefit from being in school would help, and I'm assuming that he's still needing to figure out what to line up career-wise after, so I'm guessing that after he's finished in the Army in November, your cash flow will be reduced substantially. Depending on how long you'll be OK on savings and such, you'll need to make a decide how long of a “risk” you can take. Like, let's say that you take FAR and AUD, and it's December before you start the grad school application process, and they won't let you start summer semester, so it's fall semester before you start. And…let's say your husband for one reason or another doesn't begin anything that brings in cash for awhile (doesn't enter school to get housing allowance; doesn't get a job immediately; etc.), would you guys be OK if you're not in school or working till next fall and he's not either? Or do you need to absolutely be either in school or working by the stat of the Spring semester? If you need to absolutely be doing one or the other by the start of the Spring semester, then I'd be more in favor of dropping the CPA exams and focusing on one or both. However, if you're not in cash-crunch, then I think slowing down, taking time, doing one thing at a time, and waiting till he's out of the Army to figure out where you'll be and what you'll be doing would be better.

Also…for smaller firms, they've just gotten through corporate tax extension deadline (Sept 15th) and are working on individual extension deadline (Oct 15th), so they may be holding off on hiring till they're through that and have time to do interviews etc. So, Big 4 has a lot of people start around now that were schedule to start several months ago; smaller firms may be just trying to survive for a couple more weeks before starting to hire. You may be dealing with timing issues that affect your job-search. Part of why I'd say, if you can just hang tight for a bit, you might find that everything's OK if you just wait for a bit. 🙂

P. S. Definitely list under your education your accounting credits, so that they're aware you have accounting courses, and definitely list the passed CPA exams!

[MINO21c]

He's been wanting to go to art school, but he was a bit late to apply for Spring 2017. He doesn't have anything lined up, and beginning this December, we won't have any income besides unemployment which barely covers our mortgage. He wants to go to school in Atlanta, GA, so we might move to Atlanta next year, but it's not a sure thing. I've been applying for jobs in Atlanta as well, but I prefer staying here until the summer break so it's easier to rent or sell the house.

I don't think we'll be able to enjoy the holiday if I don't get a job by then.

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[jpowell31]

I would echo Kaylee's sentiments. if cash isn't a struggle at the moment/immediately when he returns, focus on getting the exam done and life as a family to something that will resemble your “new normal”getting those two things in line should make things easier to deal with going forward mentally (I'm no stranger to anxiety!) and having the exam done will boost your job prospects for sure. try attending workshops/seminars and networking events in between. maybe you can get in touch with the right people on how to make your next move and at least ask their opinion on how to make your applications a bit more attractive.

[.]

Art school? That doesn't sound like a good idea.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[jpowell31]

in that case, definitely focus on the exams, it'll make a world of a difference in getting a job but as mentioned before the hiring cycles are something to be aware of whether you're applying now or down the road. one you get the exams done you can apply for something else part-time or short-term while you keep your options open for the job you want. I think the education thing may bring you down but once you get the CPA there's not much point continue to study. employers will want experience. how did/are you satisfying the experience requirements for the exam?
(for what it's worth both you and your husband should do what they want to be happy!)

[MINO21c]

Thank you so much for your insight. I think I'm gonna keep working on the exam.

What do you think about rescheduling FAR closer to December and take AUD first? I took AUD in 9/8, so the material is still kind of fresh to me.

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Missy]

My advice is the opposite of everyone else. Get back to school, 24 months goes by too fast, do your education while it's covered. Find a job, any job so you're not just making ends meet. One month is not long in a job search but a gap in employment even to do the most important job in the world (parenting) is an obstacle in a job search. There are resources to specifically help military find jobs, use that to your advantage. Thanks to you and your husband for your service.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[MINO21c]

It's not that my education benefit expires 24 months from now, instead I have 24 months worth of education benefit that I can use by 2028, and possibly 12 months more. Would that change your advice?

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Valar Dohaeris]

@MINO21c, I don't know the class schedule of the university you're considering. Assuming Spring semester starts in January, I would write off the current Fall semester and start school in January 2017. In the mean time, hammer out your CPA exams. This way, come Meet the Firms or campus recruiting season next September-ish, you'll be a CPA candidate with your license pending and half way finished with what? a MAcc degree? I would consider getting an MBA with an emphasis in accounting if possible. Having all your exams done plus your degree done in Dec-2017 or May-2018 would blow your student competition out of the water for 2017 recruiting season. I would reckon only a handful of students could compete with that.

In regards to taking your AUD re-take before FAR, I would take AUD first considering you just took the exam. Push back FAR. I mean, you could do it either way. By polluting your mind with FAR material before your AUD re-take, I bet that adds MAYBE an extra 2 or 3 days of studying for your AUD re-take versus the normal time it would take you by taking AUD before FAR. You'd be surprised how fast the material comes back to you, and when you study for AUD again, you're going to re-do all the homework regardless (at least I would).

I'm curious how you're structuring your resume. Are you able to include some language indicating your affiliation with the military? Employers like that. Plus, are you including a cover letter? I would even consider submitting your school transcript, too. Employers like entry level candidates to have stellar grades. If there isn't an option to submit a cover letter or transcript, just create one file that has your cover letter on one page, resume on another page, and your transcript as support.

BEC - 85
AUD - 81
REG - 84
FAR - 7/24/16

[MINO21c]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responds!
I'll take FAR as scheduled and AUD as soon as possible, possibly by early November. I'm gonna talk to the directors of MAcc program to see if they could work with me to start the classes in Spring 2017. I'm also looking into University of Georgia for MBA and MAC program to start in Fall 2017. It's veteran friendly school, so I think I'll have a fair chance in getting into that school.

My husband agreed that he would take core classes from the local school in Spring 2017, so that's a huge relief.

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[MINO21c]

My resume integrate my military experience into accounting field, and it also includes my CPA status. I also have a cover letter that emphasize on diversity and leadership that my military experience can bring.

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Anonymous]

Couple thoughts:

– If you start the MAcc program in your current state, then move to Atlanta Fall 2017 for the husband's academic pursuits, can you transfer your classes to University of Georgia? Master's programs are usually pretty sticky about transferring. I'd definitely check into that before beginning where you are. You may be able to, but perhaps only specific courses (like you might be able to transfer Financial Accounting, but not Governmental Accounting, or something like that), so might be OK just as long as you check into the details first.

– Does University of Georgia offer any of their MAcc courses online? Could you start with them online Spring 2017, take the 2 courses they offer online, then move to face-to-face courses for the rest of the course beginning Fall 2017?

– If transferring or starting online isn't an option, can you get the housing allowance by pursuing a 2nd Bachelor's? Can the 2nd Bachelor's be online? If so, I'd look into if there's a 2nd Bachelor's that you could complete in 6-8 months before starting an 18-month MAcc at University of Georgia Fall 2017, which would allow you to maximize the 24 months of tuition benefit, get housing allowance ASAP, etc. Personally I'd encourage you to look into Thomas Edison – tesu.edu – it's my alma mater, but they work a lot with veterans and non-traditional students, and have very flexible degree programs. You could probably get an accounting degree (Bachelors of Science in Business Admin: Accounting aka BSBA: Accounting) in the 6-8 months so that you have an Accounting degree, which from above it looks like you think would help you, and probably just need to take a couple courses for it, since they're very flexible with transfer credits. Personally I transferred in all but 2 courses, so they're my alma mater, but I only took 1 “real” online course and 1 credit-by-exam course from them. You could also, though, look into other degrees – perhaps psychology interests you and you'd find that you're only 19 credit short of a psychology degree cause you took electives in it, so one semester plus a summer course would complete the degree.

Given how hard Master's courses usually are to transfer, and how likely your husband is to want to move, I'd be hesitant to start anything that's longer-term anywhere locally…whether that's a job that you'll want to stay at for 2-3 years or a degree that will take 2 years to finish. Better to start those somewhere that you'll both be happy staying for awhile. 🙂

Oh, and MBA vs MAcc, given that you currently have a general business degree for your Bachelor's and are trying to get an Accounting degree, I'd be a bit less eager to recommend the MBA, unless you could get an MBA in Accounting, and even then a bit hesitant. Generally I'd be a fan of the MBA over the MAcc, but if you feel like you need an Accounting degree cause you're too “generalized” right now, then an MBA might not supply what you're looking for. Most people have the accounting degree already so the MBA/CPA combo is a great goal, but if you're looking for an accounting degree, then the MAcc may be a better route to go.

[MINO21c]

Lilla,

The MAcc program I was thinking about is 1 year program, and I could possibly finish by Summer 2017. I was thinking even if I graduate in Fall 2017, it wouldn't be too hard for my husband to attend the art school a semester later or we could live long distant for 4 months both living in cheap apartments. The school is a major recruit for Big 4 and they often fill up positions in Atlanta, and that's one of the biggest reasons why I was attracted to the program. I could go back to the school where I got the accounting classes from and graduate in a year, but I don't think it's gonna give me as much boost as it would with the MAcc program. I've always planned to get MBA in the future, so I don't want to waste any more GI Bill for the school that will do so little for my career.

I think starting in University of Georgia in Spring is an awesome idea though. I'm definitely gonna look into it!

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Adam]

OP… don't really have much new advice to offer, but I think I agree with everyone else. Continue and finish with the CPA exam and then go for the MAcc. I think that is the best route since you have already passed sections. The MAcc took me one year and I couldn't handle the MBA route at this point in my life.

Secondly, being in Atlanta myself, I can say there should be good job opportunities for you both here. I would recommend signing up with a recruiter of some sort when you are ready to be down here. They have a wide range of companies (industry and CPA firms if you find the right service) that would probably be looking for people such as yourself.

Finally and most importantly, thanks to you and your husband for your service.

[Author]

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