[pbnj]

Hi people,

Just need some advice and suggestions on how I should approach my accounting future. I finished my MBA – Accounting from Keller (Graduate division of Devry) about 2 years ago. I have a really good GPA (3.7), and I have some years of experience of accounting in private industries under my belt (3 years of being staff accountant). I really want to get into public accounting, and I have tried and tried to breakthrough with no avail. Networking and job assistance at Keller/DeVry is a joke… I sometimes regret going there…

As for the CPA exam, I am working on them right now. None passed so far, but I am really aiming for finishing it by the end of this year.

Something that piqued my interest recently is that CSUN is offering a Master’s in Accounting program this fall, and with a 7/31st deadline, I can still get into it right now if I wanted to.

My question is, should I go back and get another master’s for the whole chance of getting networking and interning opportunities? It feels like it might be a waste of a $20000, to $30000 just for that… but then again, I spent $50000 at Keller/DeVry for hopes of getting into public accounting with no result…

Does anyone have advice on how I can get my foot in the door into public accounting?

Any feedback will be appreciated!

Thanks!

[rknight21]

i think the issue with the school is that anyone can get accepted… and thats why the tuition is soo high.. persons that couldnt get into another school because there are immigrants and dont have the necessary paper work end up going to these expensive devry programs… good luck i would still still suggest doin go the MS at a school with OCR if you have the time to invest and take that chance

[Anonymous]

@pbnj-Do you know for a fact that the reasons you mentioned are why you aren't getting a job? Couldnt it just be that your not experienced enough for the higher level positions, not because of the school you went to? Having an MBA from any school does not automatically mean you deserve a certain level job. As far as applying for entry level positions, could it be that you are asking for too much money? I think if in a cover letter you express your desire to really learn and grow with a company, then they wouldnt consider you a flight risk just because you have an MBA. It just depends on how you are marketing yourself and your credentials.

Or it could just be the economy as a whole! I really think it would be a waste of money to pursue a second graduate degree after spending so much time and effort on the MBA. Maybe there are some stigmas to overcome with having a degree from a technical school, but that does NOT make the degree worthless! You just have to market yourself the right way.

I have an MSA, and a bachelors in business from a TOP 5 nationally ranked school, and I can tell you that NOBODY cares about my MSA! or even my bachelors degree for that matter. All my employers have ever cared about was the CPA exam. In the accounting industry, the CPA license is the gold standard.

[Anonymous]

@rknight21-I am bothered by your comment that “persons that couldn’t get into another school because there are immigrants and don’t have the necessary paper work end up going to these expensive devry programs”

Technical schools are designed to offer students very industry specific training, without the liberal arts classes that are a significant part of the traditional liberal arts education. This allows students to obtain career specific skills in a shorter amount of time. There are advantages and disadvantages to both liberal arts and technical colleges, and they have NOTHING to do with whether or not a person is an immigrant.

[Minimorty]

@CalCPA – That is partially true. But c'mon, let's be realistic. An MBA from an online university is not going to carry the same weight as an MBA from a traditional school. I wouldnt not consider an MBA program to be “very industry specific training” like someone going to ITT Tech to study some sort of computer curriculum.

@pbnj – If you think employers are overlooking you for entry level positions because of your MBA, then just leave the MBA off of your resume when you apply. I still dont think you need an MSA. You just need to hit the pavement hard. Get as many interviews as you can, go to networking events, and start getting your name out there. If you are willing to make the effort, good things will come.

[Herbieherb]

Ya doesn't matter what their status is. Anyone with 50k or willing to get into debt can get into that kind of low tier schools. Graduates from that program saturated the market and its nothing special, and employers know it.

NEW YORK- DONE

[Anonymous]

@Minimorty-Yes, I agree with you that an MBA from an online college will not carry the same weight as an MBA from a traditional school. I just dont agree with @rknight21 that the reason for this is because of immigrants with no paperwork.

[rknight21]

ok calcpasoon, i am an immigrant myself(only been here 9 years now) and i am talking from experience. i see friends who couldnt get into regular schools get into devry. I am not saying there is anything wrong with devry but to me if you live in NYC where there are many schools to choose from and you end up graduating from devry with a degree in accounting n a 50k then something has to give…

other than that like a previous poster said it comes down to how you market yourself.

P.S when i think about it i dont know what i was thinking when i commented abt immigrants it really has no basis to anything

[Anonymous]

@rknight21: I'm Jamaican as well, are you in grad school right now?

[pbnj]

To clarify, my MBA was from their on site location… Not like it makes a whole lot of difference since there is no distinction between the two…

I got the MBA for the 150 hour requirement… If I leave that out, there will be even more questions that arises… Like how the hell is this person even qualified to do accounting in the first place? … >_<

[Anonymous]

Maybe change your resume to highlight all the accounting courses you've taken, as opposed to just saying that you have an MBA. That will let employers know that you are qualified for an entry level accounting position. And if your undergrad degree was in an unrelated field, then it would explain why you needed the MBA to get the extra accounting units and sit for the exam.

[Anonymous]

You can also put something like “CPA Candidate. Current passed X of 4 sections. Expected exam completion date: Month 2011.”

Something like that would also let an employer know that you are serious about a career in accounting.

[Anonymous]

I graduated with a Bachelors in Theater with a minor in Spanish. I was able to find a job (luckily). However, I have recently applied to get a second Bachelors in Accounting. When I went in for my advising session, the Adviser told me to try applying for the Masters in Accountancy. She said I could get in without the Bachelor's degree and take “filler courses” to catch up.

Is this is a good idea?

If I want to take the CPA exam, will I be just as prepared with a MA only? Or should I get the Bachelors and the MA? rs

The difference in time would be about 2-3 years if I were to do both, rather than just the year+ for the Masters.

Any advice?

[mena je twa]

I think you need to understand Intermediate I & II, Audit & Tax. These are the main courses in Bachelors in accoutning. Also, if you understand these now, you will not have a tough time passing the cpa exam.

Ms in Acct, without the background of all of these course will be really tough. MS in Acct, will expect you that you understand all of the above mentioned courses in detail.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[jelly]

Look up what your state's education and CPA licensing requirements are, i.e. 120 vs 150. Most Master's programs are 30 units in accounting, and there could be business and economics courses that your state still requires. Keep in mind that the “filler courses” you'd have to take could be an entire undergrad accounting curriculum, and that graduate school courses often cost more per unit than undergrad courses. Also consider the recruiting opportunities that your school offers.

I was in a similar position, where I graduated with an undergrad degree in science, and was looking at either a MS accounting program or an additional 2nd bachelor's. When I looked over the options at a fairly decent public university, the “catch-up” courses I had to take was pretty much the entire undergrad accounting curriculum, before I could start any MS classes. The undergrad accounting curriculum was already approved by the state as a CPA-exam-eligible program, so it fulfilled the requirements for me to take the exam.

I did the math, as well as the time calculations, and realized that it was worth it for me to just get a 2nd bachelor's; most of the liberal arts requirements had been fulfilled and would carry over from my first degree. The undergrad accounting classes also cost less per unit than the graduate level classes. My school had some decent recruiting as well.

The CPA exam is designed so that those with an undergrad accounting degree (120) can pass it. The Master's degree (30) has only come into the horizon in the last few years b/c many state requirements have changed from 120 to 150.

Even then, if you look very closely at the breakdown between the 120 vs 150, you'll find it's really an additional 2 courses (3 to 6 credits or so) in upper-level undergrad accounting/economics/business classes, and the remaining 24-27 in liberal arts classes. You'll see that you won't need an entire Master's program to fulfill those few additional unit requirements, and a lot of people end up taking cheap community college courses to fill up the 20-something extra liberal arts classes.

For instance in NY:

120 requirement = 54 liberal arts + 66 accounting/econ/business

150 requirement = 81 liberal arts + 69 accounting/econ/business

Accounting/econ/business difference = 3 credits (equivalent to about 1-2 upper-level undergrad class, or 1-2 graduate school clas)

But people do get the Master's degee for networking/on-campus recruiting purposes, as the economy has been pretty creaky.

How tough your schooling is may come into play when studying and passing the exam, but most people will tell you that the onus is on your own study discipline and a bit on the test prep method you buy and use. My school has a statistical 28% pass rate; I finished in 15 months.

Please do research and look into all of your options so that you know the full story.

Couldn't pass again!

[Whyme]

Whyme 23….nice username lol.

AUD- 71, 73, 87 Done!!!!!
BEC- 75
FAR- 72, 77
REG- 77

[Author]

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