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I am in the very nascent, newbie stage of preparation, and seek some guidance.
I completed a BS in 2002, never took a business course. By 2005, I realized while I love the idea of molecular biology, it may be a mistake to degree in it if I had no intention of going to med school, nursing school, or teaching. Now what? Support my wife who does love medicine, have a few kids and boom…8 years pass. We are solid, but I enroll at my community college and loved Accounting 101. I take a few more classes and find this is very enjoyable, sad I suffered through organic chemistry but interested in getting this going.
In California, any ol’ Bachelors means I am eligible for licensure provided I satisfy the other requirements:
As of Jan 2014, exam requirements include:
150 semester units
baccalaureate or higher
24 plus 20 units business and accounting
10 units of ethics
No more California requirements mentioning general accounting experience supervised under a licensed CPA (???)
https://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/tip_sheet.pdf
I confirmed with the state that it is acceptable to take these courses at a community college, and that, surprisingly, there is ALOT of leniency in grading (pass no pass, etc) This is my career though, so obviously it makes sense I work my tail off to get a firm understanding of the material.
Now, I have a backdoor, which with review courses and a ton of studying I could, in theory, get licensed.
But, my question is, by forgoing the traditional University route, clearly I will sacrifice the collegial network, but will I sacrifice job options? What else might I miss out on?
I have seen articles of AICPA exam pass rates, ranked by school and wonder if that really makes a huge difference. Sometimes instructors are great, sometimes, those classes are packed and you get the other guy. From reading posts here, most would probably agree that passing the Exams are a different animal than getting the degree.
(https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/09/14/which-schools-have-top-cpa-pass-rates.html)
My goal is to become a CPA and have my own business before turning 40. My community college instructors have counseled me towards a SECOND degree at the university level, more school, more time, more money invested in education, less money becoming my income. I am 37 and will begin taking Intermediate Accounting next Fall. Thanks for your earnest input.
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