[sko rebs]

I passed audit a while back but I’m sure that was due to having down time for a month at work and using that to mostly study. I’ve since changed firms since I passed audit and the situation has changed as well. We have been severely understaffed and finding time to study at work seems impossible. I feel like my passing is reliant on studying during the day when given the chance. Ive already pushed BEC back twice thinking we’d eventually get time to study at work. Any ideas on what I should do?

[Missy]

Actually if you're on the clock you DO owe that time to your employer. If you want to control your time, don't get a job at all lol.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

Nobody said it was unheard of, just that they didn't get it. The only job I've ever had that allowed studying while at work was my workstudy when I was a freshman in college – my manager said if I had too much homework to have time to work, I could come in to the office to do my homework and get paid for the time. I don't think I ever did that, though, cause I wasn't sure if it was quite right. 😐 Other jobs never allowed it – my year in micro-firm public or my jobs in private. As far as bigb_sd's suggestion of “just get your work done then study” – if you can get your work done and still have time left to study, then you aren't being given enough work. I'd love to be able to get my work done, let alone get it done and then have time to do something else! As it is, I haven't seen the end of my to-do list since the day I started the job…

[red_rose]

i worked in industry & studied everyday. Work was easy…now im at a CPA firm….1st week had plenty of time to study, mgr said “go ahead”. Now, theres no way i have time. My desk looks like everyone else's…swamped. So i agree with everyone else here, if u can study at work, do it. But seems like most of us have to get it in after work. Speaking of which, im out til the score release. Got REG to tackle. Good luck to everyone out there for 5/5 score release. 🙂

[srv101284]

I'm kind of in shock to hear that people have time to study during the workday. I work 10-12 hour days with no personal time during the day, not because my employer doesn't allow it, but because there is genuinely NO time to waste during the day (and believe me, I work as efficiently and quickly as possible, just the nature of the beast). I feel like I'm missing out!

[ScarletKnightCPA]

I am kind of shocked to hear that the poster feels that they are understaffed because now they don't have a month of down time.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[perezc3910]

I listen to Ninja audio here and there but I zone out a lot because I apparently can't work and listen to what Jeff is saying at the same time. Besides that, only an hour during lunch and that is IF I don't have any lunch meetings. No complaints here though. I can't expect my boss to pay me to study. That just doesn't make sense.

BEC-July 2016
REG-August 2016
FAR-October 2016
AUD-Nov/Dec 2016

[CPA2BEE]

“News flash: many recent graduates get study time at their desk between assignments especially in the slower months.”

I graduated 2 years ago, have worked in public ever since, and know many people working in public who fall under the category of “recent graduates”. That certainly is a news flash to me! No legitimate CPA firm is going to pay people to sit around their office and study all day without generating any revenue for the firm. Makes no sense. What you are looking for is few and far between, good luck…

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[jessica8926]

I have experience both in public and private.

In public I had NO time to study during work. That was due to a few things. Mainly we were understaffed on my client and had so much work that we just did not have time to even eat lunch and would have to stay for dinner. So I found getting into work at 6:30 and studying until 9 was something I could get away with. Plus I spoke to my partners and told them I had no choice this is what it was going to be so they allowed me to study until 9am, but I was never able to study during the workday. I probably would have gotten a bad review if they caught me studying anyway.

In private I had SO much time to study! I just took BEC and found myself studying on lunches for 1.5 hours a day! I would eat and then get right to studying so really about an hour during lunch. I then would keep a webpage open with Becker and Wiley questions and literally take 10 minutes to get through as many as I can multiple times throughout the day. Sometimes I would do this for longer than 10 minutes. Obviously I made sure my work was still getting done on time, but if I felt I had time to study during work, I did! I never had anything said to me by my manager and I know she knew I was studying as it was no big secret.

I think it just really depends on your employer and your work schedule. It is possible to study during the day in both instances though.

AUD - 69, 77
REG - 74, 81
FAR - 75!
BEC - 71, 82

IL candidate!

Finally done (5/24/16)!! Yahooooooo!

[.]

I worked in industry for a couple years and I had a lot of free time on my hands. I had to take a tax class in order to take the CPA exam. (Tax was an elective at my university.) I did all my reading at work. A couple times coworkers saw my tax textbook but they didn't seem to care. The homework (various tax forms) and exams I did at home though.

Don't think I could have studied for the CPA exam there. My cubicle was way too noisy to focus well. I was sitting near the bathroom and the communal printer. So all day long, it was flush, print, flush, print, flush, print, fart, flush, print, hock a loogie, flush, print. And having to listen to my coworkers constant chatting.

FAR - June 2016 - 88
REG - July 2016 - 89
AUD - Aug 2016 - review phase currently
BEC - Sep 2016 -

Wiley CPA Excel & Ninja MCQ

[danner]

I'm one of the lucky ones. I've had lots of down time this past month, and my bosses are fine with studying on the clock when there's nothing to work on. I've had several full 8-hour days of nothing but studying.

I think my office's philosophy is that they'd rather me be working toward my CPA than screwing around on the internet.

FAR - 74 (7/20/15), 81 (10/12/15)
AUD - 72 (11/30/15), 81 (1/18/16)
BEC - 87 (6/6/16)
REG - 8/8/16

[Anonymous]

I never got to study at work. I had to study either at 5:00am or at 9:00pm after my kids went to sleep.

[Anonymous]

0. Depends on the size of the firm and the location though. Working in Private will allow more time to study than in Public for sure.

Bigger firms more than likely studying will be frowned upon as even though you are not working on an engagement, you could be doing something else productive other than studying which is considered a personal matter.

Regardless, if you are public or private and get to study at work, consider yourself a lucky SOB.

[Author]

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