[hili783]

I work for PwC and it is my first week working for them. I work from 8 am till 6 pm Monday to Friday.it takes about an 45 mins to drive from home to work and the same time going back home, so in total around 12 hours are out of my control. I talked to my boss about releasing me early like around 3 or 4 pm so I could have enough time to study, but he refused, so I asked him if I can study, but he also refused because I will have so much work and I won’t be able to study.

PLEASE EVERYONE, I need you advise, I am going to have my FAR exam in May and I am wondering if I should leave PwC and just get all my free time for studying, or I should keep working and give a try if I can handle both CPA and work.

FAR -
BEC -
REG -
AUD -

[nextstopCPA]

@Mini-have you been drinking Baseball's koolaid?! You have been so mild-mannered on this thread. I am impressed!

FAR Passed
REG Passed
AUD Passed
BEC Passed

All aboard, this train's leaving. Next stop, TBD!

[Minimorty]

lol @nextstop. I think someone spiked Baseball's koolaid. He'll come back to the dark side soon enough. 😉

[Yaegermeister]

The thing I find most interesting is the filter in which the OP views his situation. A boss cannot “not let” you study. He/she can “not pay” you to study, but no one, but yourself can keep you from studying.

BEC 2/28/11 79

[rpatel1031]

I would never have asked for time off either!. I will start working for PwC in August, which has always been my top choice for employment. Luckily, I graduated a semester early from my undergrad which allows me to study and hopefully pass all 4 exams before I start work.

What do you guys think? I study about 5 hours/day during the week and if I'm lucky a solid 6 to 10 during the weekend. Hopefully I can knock these exams out prior to August and not have to worry about balancing time between work and exams.

[kandisjoy]

Oh boy… this is good. Mini you are forever entertaining. When I first read a post like the original post of this thread, I immediately want to type out some long scathing paragrpah (or two), but knowing me I would get emotional with it and lose track of the actual point I was trying to make. You're how I would sound if I sat back for a minute and put a lot of thought into my responses.

That being said… I only had a fiance during my CPA exam journey. No kids. And my fiance was extremely supportive – did extra chores, cooked for me, gave me massages almost every night. Totally amazing. However, I still think that I would have passed quicker if I had been single during my testing. Having someone that you care about just creates another thing that you have to make a lesser priority once you start studying. I definitely sacrificed study time in order to spend more time with my man occasionally. That's not even adding kids to the mix…

Just imagine, you go off to work and leave your kids (if they are small, you're dropping them off with someone or maybe you have a spouse that is fortunate enough to be able to stay home). Then you get home from work after 9-10 hours and go straight to studying for 2-4 hours, and by the time you're done, your kids are asleep. Unless you're a total jackass who doesn't enjoy spending time with his family, this would be really hard for you. I probably wouldn't be a CPA right now if I had had kids before hand. Neglecting my fiance was hard enough – I don't think I could sacrifice time with my children too. And NO I am not saying that people who study for the CPA exam and have kids are neglecting their kids. Really, studying for the CPA exam is a sacrifice that you're making for yourself and for your family. I just don't think I'd have the strength to keep missing out on special moments with my (future) children that I'll never get back. Props to anyone who can juggle a family as well as pass the CPA exam!!

FAR: 71, 77
BEC: 70, 82
AUD: 62, 78
REG: 71, 68, 85

CA Licensed 11/2011

[MChro12]

It is all about using your time as efficiently as possible. When I do cardio in the morning and during my half an hour commute I read flash cards. That is an extra hour and a half 5 days a week.

Reg 77 (Aug 11)
Aud 80 (Nov 11)
BEC 79 (Jan 12)
FAR 80 (April 12)

[Anonymous]

@mla

2 jobs, masters, family, AND the CPA! I can't even begin to imagine what it's like.

There are plenty of people with 2+ small kids doing this too.

Kudos to all of you!!!!!!!!

P.S. @the original poster

You're doing this for yourself. Why should the employer care? They care only about your job being well done.

[mla1169]

It really wasn't a big deal because I CHOSE not to make it a big deal. My only point was to folks who think they have too much on their plate, you make room when its what you want/need to do.

It was some late nights. My youngest doesn't go to bed until 9pm (she's 12 now) and as soon as she went up I hit the books HARD until midnight or even later. I multitasked. I literally would fold laundry with a Wiley book on top of the dryer to read while I was folding. I listened to the Wiley focus notes on my ipod while I was vacuuming. I spent many a chilly fall night @ a football game with flashcards while I watched my daughter cheer. I even read my notes standing in line for Space Mountain with the kids.

Was it ideal? Nope. But everything I did was by my own choosing. Nobody forced me to have kids, or go to school, or take the CPA. And contrary to what somebody might assume, most spouses do not grow wings and toss on a halo to start doing all the chores so the candidate spouse can devote more time to studying.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[jenuno01]

Class of 2012

[Anonymous]

@mla, “most spouses don't grow wings and toss on the halo” lmao. I can so totally relate to this.

I work full time, have a daughter, am a girl scout troop leader and am helping my husband get a business started plus studying for the exams (and at one point was still in school while doing all of this and exams). I still kept up with all of the work around the house as well. It's hard. There were many nights that my daughter cried and begged me to quit taking tests because I never did anything with her anymore. Try explaining to a 6-7 year old why mommy has to do this. She won't understand. We all have our reasons for wanting to be a CPA, we just have to do what we can when we can. Frankly, if I were single with no life or family I probably would be done with this by now. But I'm not and I am pushing on two years of working on this.

[Minimorty]

@jenuno – I dont think anyone is saying that our (married/kids) CPA license is any BETTER than your (single/no kids) CPA license. Also, nobody is saying that it wasnt our choice to go down that path. What I (i wont speak for anyone else) am saying is that passing the exam while holding a full time job and being married with kids is HARDER than doing it while single with no kids. Its just harder. Does anyone disagree with that statement?

[nextstopCPA]

By no means do I think married folks with kids wants extra points or kudos for getting a CPA license. I've been married 10 years and just recently began this CPA journey. I also have two children. In my humble opinion, single folks don't have the EXTRA that comes with being married with children unless they have a significant other and/or children. For instance, a truly single person doesn't have the concern of neglecting big round eyes staring up at them or children constantly asking are you done yet because they know that attention they once had is no longer there. I think that is what makes it difficult for us because our immediate family and household MAY become less of a priorirty in our pursuit of three letters.

I know I learned early that I had to find a balance because I went hard studying for four weeks and once I looked up my children were not doing as well in school because usually I would spend extra time with them on homework and finding extra assignments for them to improve their skills. Basically, I was in there CRACK (always in their face) before this journey. After I started studying, it was less so and they noticed. And with children, they don't necessarily know how to tell you that they need attention so they will do ‘bad' things that warrant your attention in order to get it. Does that make sense? So, I think that is one aspect that single folks don't necessarily have to deal with. My children are preteens so I can imagine this is the case across the board for children.

FAR Passed
REG Passed
AUD Passed
BEC Passed

All aboard, this train's leaving. Next stop, TBD!

[jenuno01]

The drama is definitely entertaining! I want in! Honestly, I have to side a little with @nmsims.

I deeply respect and really admire the moms & dads who passed all CPA exams; however, a CPA license is a CPA license. We all have to go through the same torturous process. In life, we are presented with opportunities and make our own decisions… we all have the opportunity to take the exams before getting married, having kids, and all that good stuff…if you guys decided to take the CPA exam while juggling a family, that does NOT give you any more merit than it gives us single people. While I think it’s a great accomplishment to pass the CPA tests with kids, I don’t think you guys are martyrs by any means.

EDIT: This was my original post

Class of 2012

[Anonymous]

@jenuno01 I agree with you that we are not martyrs by any means. I'm just saying that it is definitely harder to go through this torturous hell we all know as the CPA exams when you have a family. I'm not saying that single people don't study any less or they deserve the CPA any less. I do have to disagree with you somewhat though about it being our choice until having family and kids to take the CPA exam. I started a second career later in life and already had the family, therefore couldn't possibly take the exams while I was still single. Yes, it was my choice to change career paths with a family.

I think the main thing everyone needs to understand is that it is hard for everyone and everyone judges how hard it is for them differently. Those that are single will one day be married with kids and maybe then they will understand why we are so adamant about how much harder it can be to juggle life and exams.

[Anonymous]

jenuno,

I think no one actually cares how you passed the CPA exams. The end result is all that matters.

With no kids but also no advanced accounting knowledge it may have been equally challenging for me.

[Author]

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