[pnielsen1982]

Good evening! Any help with this question is much appreciated. I have tried to research it, but I haven’t been able to find any good information on it.

I will start with my story – I am currently in Utah, taking the exam as a candidate of Washington state. I have the required 150 semester hours (but not a master’s degree) and the necessary experience, so I will be eligible to license after I finish the exam. I have plans to move to Washington either later this year or in a couple years, which is where I’m hoping you can offer some advice… Basically, I’m wondering how common it is for CPAs to have their master’s degrees in Washington. I’m in my early 30’s and I am hoping to get into public accounting (audit) without having any public accounting experience after I move, so I don’t want to put myself at a disadvantage by not having my master’s degree. Plus, my GPA was high enough that I could avoid taking the GMAT and going through all the graduate school application garbage if I stayed in Utah to get my master’s. At the same time, though, I kind of feel like getting my MAcc would be a huge waste of time once I am already licensed.

So, what has your experience been? Do most CPAs have their master’s degrees or is it commonplace for people to stop at the BS and just take classes to meet the 150 hour requirement? Coming from a state where a master’s degree is required, it is hard to get any real advice on the subject.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

CA licensed CPA

AUD - 08/31/13 - 84
BEC - 11/26/13 - 84
FAR - 08/10/14 - 85
REG - 11/30/14 - 72, 02/20/15 - 87

What have I gotten myself into?