[veronicak5678]

I am going to graduate soon with a BS in Applied Math, and have been considering going on to get an MS in Accountancy. Someone told me this is a waste of time and money because I can get the 24 accounting units I need from a community college and then take the exam, and that most companies don’t care about your degree as long as you have taken or are eligible to take the exam. Is this true? Is there a reason to invest all that money in a MS I live and plan to work in CA, and I’m pretty sure my math and computer science classes cover the business-related units, so I just need the accounting units.

[pbnj]

I guess it depends on whether you are talking about public accounting or corporate accounting. If you want to just be a run-of-the-mill senior/staff accountant, they don't care about your advanced degrees. CPA is a definite plus if you want to go into management, but work experience trumps all… especially public accounting work experience.

In that sense, I guess you want to get into public accounting? =)

[ROACH]

I may be wrong but you're going to need a post secondary degree to fulfill the requirements to become a CPA. (Exams, grad-school, and X amount of audit hours under a licensed CPA).

Your friend is right that you could go take some classes for the 24 accounting units and be able to sit for the exam; however, you would still need to get a post secondary degree when it is all said and done.

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[jimboace88]

I really don't think the MS matters on its own. As an accountant once said to my accounting society in college “you are infinitely more marketable with your CPA than you are with your masters'.”

HOWEVER, since you're not in a position where you can sit for the CPA exam, you might as well go the master's route. There's a lot of talk about “CPA/MBA” being a powerful certification. I think CPA on its own is all you really need, but titles and designations can never hurt. I'd say go for the master's.

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[Anonymous]

In CA they are eliminating pathway 1, which only requires a bachelor's degree and 2 years of experiance. For anyone not able to fulfill all license requirements (degree, exam, and 2 yrs exp by 2014) you are required to have do pathway 2, which is 150 units. This is where it might be worth it to get the MS, just to meet the 150 requirement. But if you're bachelor's degree was 120 units, and you only need 24 accounting units, thats already 144, so you could just go to community college and save the money.

I have a MS Accy degree, and it hasnt done anything for me! CPA is the gold standard.

[veronicak5678]

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I have a ton of units already, so that won't be a problem. I would rather go to grad school, but I just wanted to know if it's really worth spending all the additional money. I have also heard that the biggest bonus of going for an MS is the on-campus recruiters. How important is that really?

[Anonymous]

I think the recruiting really depends on what school you go to. Some firms have really close relationships to certain schools.

If recruiting is your primary reason for spending the money on a MS, visit the recruiting center at the school and ask about their recruiting programs for graduate students. I saw a huge recruiting effort as an undergrad, but very little as a graduate student…

By the way, if you have a background in applied math, have you thought about becoming an actuary? They can make A LOT more money than CPA's!

[veronicak5678]

I never really gave much thought to being an actuary… don't they need a lot of classes like econ, finance, or stats? And I have heard the tests are really brutal and that job competition is awful.

[pbnj]

I know a friend who works for Metlife as an actuary… started 3 or 4 years ago, and now making 6 figures. It's very well paying and very rewarding if you REALLY like to play numbers (risks, probabilities, etc won't hurt either)

But then again, I've know a few friends who are doing well as accountants, too. My ex-boss is a CFO of a mid-sized company; way above 6 figures. The field doesn't matter if you are ambitious/lucky/passionate enough. Talent, expertise and knowledge doesn't hurt either… ;p

…anyway…

… as for if you should get your MSA or not, I'm pretty much like you in that I'm thinking about a MSA program as well. (my little thread of my dilemma/situation here)

The difference between you and me is that I have my hours for the board exams already. In your case, if its not too much of an investment, I would think a structured accounting program like a MSA will help alot. I tried the whole CC way (most community college courses are a joke, btw) and basically ended up getting a MBA. Unless you already have a solid foundation in accounting, you're not going to learn much of anything at the classes in the cc's.

[veronicak5678]

I'm not too worried about making a ton of money, I would rather have a lower-stress job. I think I will apply for a few MS programs and just see if I get in and what the cost will be. If it's too much, I will go the CC route. I know the classes are probably a joke, but all education is self-education, right? I'm sure I would have to be doing a lot of self-directed studying before taking the CPA exam either way.

The main reason I worry about going to the CC is that I worry about how to get experience without going to grad school and doing an internship, but maybe I can find an entry-level job after a few classes at the CC. There are jobs like that, right?

[pbnj]

I think the MSA programs in the CSU programs range around $15 ~ $20k. Private colleges like USC and USD… like $40k ~ $60k. Don't go to any of the for-profit schools (UoP, ITT, etc) or you'd pretty much be in the same boat as I will be. 😉

If you are able to be focused and be disciplined, then I don't see why you couldn't be successful in the CC way. I am neither of the two, so a more structured program helped me immensely.

As for a job, it again depends on what you want to be. The whole world of corporate/private accountant is boring and predictable, but less stressful than public supposedly. If you pass your CPA exam, you will be more than qualified for any of those entry level corporate accounting jobs (unless they are just sticklers to that bachelor's degree). But to advance in accounting in any industry, I think public accounting experience is nearly mandatory. And to get this, you either need a good network system, or really good referrals. CCs aren't gonna help you in that aspect, unfortunately.

[pandasteak]

I just finished the MS Accountancy program at SJSU and I can give you some advice. As a degree, the Master's is completely meaningless and doesn't add any value because all of these programs are just the same undergraduate accounting professors teaching the same material in a “masters” program and charging you more for it. However, if you want to work in public accounting like the Big 4 or the other larger firms, your only chance of getting an entry level position is through on-campus recruiting.

Everyone's right that the CPA trumps all, except if you have no experience in any accounting job. A person with one year of experience in one of the public accounting firms and didn't pass the CPA yet will always get the job over a person that passed the CPA exam with no job experience. Without job experience to go along with the CPA, it's pretty much useless.

I definitely recommend a MS program if you want an entry level position in the larger public accounting firms. In my class, 22 of the 30 students received offers from the Big 4. Of the ones that aren't with the big 4, some knew from the beginning that they never wanted the big 4, and have offers with the smaller firms. Only one student in the class does not have a job. The program was only 13 months, and we had Jan-Apr off to do a winter internship. So I did my winter internship with the Big 4, made tons of OT, which basically covered the costs of the program for me and puts me at an advantage over starting class in September since I actually learned something as opposed to the summer interns.

My program was set up where it started at the end of May, where we took 5 summer courses, then basically Fall recruiting season started in August. If I didn't receive an offer during the recruiting, I would've just dropped out of the program.

[ROACH]

@panda. SJSU stands for San Jose Uni?

Does the school setup the internship with B4 or do you have to actively go out and find an internship before getting accepted into their program?

Also, how hard was it to get into SJSU as far as GPA requirements and GMAT scores?

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[Anonymous]

I finished my MS Accountancy degree at CSU Sacramento last year, it was an 18 month program but you can finish it in less if you plan it right. Classes are accelerated 6 week courses, and you take one at a time, and they accept spring and fall applicants. Its entirely ONLINE, which meant that I could work full-time in public accounting while going to school. Pro: you got to work full time, homework and tests were a joke. Con: there wasnt really any recruiting opportunities because you arent on campus ever, and you dont meet face to face with your professors. Also, its very much a self-education type of set up, so if you need a teacher to lecture you, i wouldnt recommend it.

Also, because of budget cuts they don't have the thesis requirement anymore, now you just have to take an extra class about current issues in accounting.

At CSUS, it was $429 a unit (at least it was when I graduated in 2010), and about 30 units for the program…so about $13,000 total.

btw, the program can't be paid through grants (if you qualify) because its done in partnership with the CSUS college of continuing education and the college of business. The college of continuing education is technically privately funded, so grants cant be used, student loans are ok tho. Its not too hard to get in, you have to take the GMAT and a few pre-req classes like calculus and business law.

[Anonymous]

Btw, the acutary at my work makes $250k a year!! She has over 10 yrs experience tho. We are a catastrophe insurance company, and I guess there is a VERY limited number of actuaries in the country who specialize in catastrophe, so they are highly sought after by companies like mine.

In the insurance industry, actuaries are going to be even more important because FASB is considering some changes that will require insurance companies to value their liabilities at fair value, and have to include certain risk margins and such in the valuation. This requires alot of actuarial work.

I read an article once that projected the number of CPAs in the future compared to the number of actuaries, doctors and lawyers. The article suggested that actuaries would be in the shortest supply, and very high demand.

Just something to think about! Yes, ive heard the exam to become an actuary is really hard, maybe even harder than the CPA? I dont know, but the harder the exam, the more money you'll make once you pass it! 🙂

[veronicak5678]

CalCPASoon-

I was thinking about the same program at CSUS. I wish it was on-campus, but I would love to keep my job while going to school, so that's a bonus. Do they give you internship opportunities at CSUS? Do you feel like it prepared you to take the CPA exam?

[Author]

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