[Junior11]

Hi guys. Word of advice for the CPA journey?
I’m having a hard time now.

I passed REG like 6 months ago,ever since then, I seem to used up all my storage of luckiness. Failed FAR twice in Q2&3,fail AUD in Q3 failed BEC this quarter. I feel like Im a total joke. Should I just give up? I cant stop myself from depression. Another FAR exam is comming in like 2 weeks, I just cant stay focus, I cant stop thinking that Im going to fail anyways, why bother to try?

I’vw been holding up for too long. I cant tell anyone I know about my breakdown. They will just look down on me. I know that, from their looks on their face when they found I failed, again and again. I really dont want to give up, but it’s incredibly hard to do this alone:( Please, let me know your ways of getting trough this?

FAR-TBA
REG-82
AUD-ING
BEC-

[Dro]

@Junior11 I'm right there with you. I passed REG in Q1 2016. Since then I have failed FAR and BEC (twice). We have to keep going. It's an endurance test. I breezed through school and college with very little effort. My manager is taking the exams too and he is blowing through them like crazy. He's passed FAR and AUD first try and taking BEC end of Q4. So it's disheartening to see someone get through them without the pain of failure. The other CPAs on our team passed all 4 first try as well.

Keep your head up, and like others suggest, I would stick to an exam until you pass…unless you are 4-5 fails in, and completely burnt out. I'm retaking BEC 1/3/17 and planning for FAR retake end of Q1. It's been a long year but we must keep swimming.

Some motivation “just because you took longer than others, doesn't mean you failed” I keep this in mind because I too have had thoughts of giving up. Hang in there

REG: 69, 73, 80!
FAR: 62
BEC: TBD
AUD: TBD

[Ice Man]

Check out my post titled, “The proof is in the CPA,” it will give you some meaningful insight. Let me know what you think.

[Junior11]

Thank you so much guys for all your advices!! Thank you for sharing your amazing experiences!! Your kindness has lightened my world up. I’m pulling myself out of depression. I shouldn’t weight the failings too heavy and start losing faith.


@Claudia408 @hasy
I would like to share my experience on REG to you as well: I took it twice. I used Becker, failed on the first attempt; found that I’m weak at the corp tax part. So I did the hw again and again, making sure that I understand the differences. I used the Becker’s final review videos for the business Law section. I think it helped a lot for memorizing the key points. For individual tax, I used IRS VITA program materials as reference. I think it’s very well putted! P17-20 has an outline.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4555e.pdf
Hope it helps!!


@nali474 Yes, knowing that I’m not alone definitely helped a lot! I’m the only one at work taking CPA too. My current job doesn’t need me to be a CPA. But I want to advance my career and make more money for my family
I did attempted to follow the ELL plan, but to be honest I felt too tired and lost my focus very quickly. Any advice on this issue? 🙁 I wish I could give my 100% like you did!


@letsrun4it Thank you for your suggested study plan! Now that you mentioned, I do realize that I’m too rush into the results. I mostly took 2 exams in one widow. I should be more prepared. Yes failing really sucks, I wish I can be as strong as you, I will try my best.
@ellyelly you’re right! I still have like 9 months; still have time to pass this! I shouldn’t waste time on hating myself Lol


@mla11692 I told myself that failing is not a big deal, all we need is retaking. But other people’s doubt brought me lots of pressure. You are right; I should not be influence by them. It’s my life, and it’s just a god damn exam that we can all pass!


@mtaylo24 I respect your perseverance! You will make it; I know that, because I see your scores are improving over time, we are getting there!!


@stilgoin Yes you are right! I did let the negativity eaten me up after failing… I’m getting back on my feet, plan schedule and begin again, just like you did 


@Wanna_B_TXCPA2014 wow. That’s so true. Survival of the fittest huh? Nothing worth having comes easy! Thank you!


@RE2PECT I totally understand you and I respect that! I want to earn more money to support my family too. I will use this as my motivation as well.
@Estimated.Pro Yes, I did had a breakdown. I should not put too much pressure on myself.  But talking to you guys helped a lot already! I think I kept it all to myself all the time; I should seek for help and be more transparent long ago.


@djhagerm Wow. I respect your great perseverance. Never leave it half done huh? Yes, I shouldn’t go to the exam underprepared. I will make sure I understand every single key point before rushing into the exam.

Good luck to all of you!!! Let’s take down this monster!!

FAR-TBA
REG-82
AUD-ING
BEC-

[Anonymous]

This exam has a high failure rate for a very good reason – it's HARD. Not just the tests themselves, but the whole process. It's not only a test of knowledge, but one of perseverance. Failure is almost to be expected. I've tried to figure out why they make the CPA credential so incredibly hard to get…is it really protecting public interest? I almost don't think so. CPA is not MD or DDS or PhD. Eventually, those who stick with it will pass. It may be after many thousands of dollars are spent, but the rewards are significant for those who do get through it. I'm just starting out on this journey as well and I am full of doubt. But, I've paid for the tests and I've paid for the review course (Roger) so, I'm not gonna quit. It'll probably take me forever and I'll have to eventually break down and buy Ninja or whatever else to help me get through it but I'm prepared for that. Someone above mentioned throwing out your old review materials or whatever ones you used that weren't helping – true, some of the vendors out there absolutely suck. “Keep on truckin'!!!”

[Author]

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