[Anonymous]

Today I received my start date from my job and while I am relieved to know I still hv a job lined up ( I was beginning to get concerned since they said they will tell by mid march :)!! ) I am also worried that I wont finish taking all my exams before I start work. My start date is July 30th. I was planning to take FAR in early Aug, and Reg end of Aug.

Can any of you tell me how crazy the first few weeks/months are at public accounting firms/big 4? Will I get time to study during weekdays in the first few weeks? With July 30th start date I am now thinking of taking FAR by July 27 and Reg probably end of aug still or early Oct.

And is it possible for me be ready for FAR by July 27 if I start studying for it June 1st. I know there r a lot of ppl who only study a few weeks and pass these exams with flying colors..I am not one of them, sadly. I have to study hard and long. I am trying to schedule 6 weeks per exam and for FAR I was gonna study 2 months.

Any feedback/suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[Micky]

In my opinion, two months is definitely more than enough time to study FAR. I remember I finished studying in 1.5 months, that is also with me working regular (40) hours. I tried to shoot for 1 month, but I could not do it. I finished all the chapters in one month, but I needed two more weeks to review everything over.

Are you studying full time now? If you are, six weeks for the other sections are too long, in my opinion.

I don't know what its like with Big4, sorry.

REG-89 (08/26/13)
FAR-91 (10/28/13)
BEC-87 (11/25/13)
AUD-96 (01/06/14)
Ethics-92 (12/08/13)
CPA Licensed

[Micky]

In my opinion, two months is definitely more than enough time to study FAR. I remember I finished studying in 1.5 months, that is also with me working regular (40) hours. I tried to shoot for 1 month, but I could not do it. I finished all the chapters in one month, but I needed two more weeks to review everything over.

Are you studying full time now? If you are, six weeks for the other sections are too long, in my opinion.

I don't know what its like with Big4, sorry.

REG-89 (08/26/13)
FAR-91 (10/28/13)
BEC-87 (11/25/13)
AUD-96 (01/06/14)
Ethics-92 (12/08/13)
CPA Licensed

[Anonymous]

If you aren't going to be working prior to your start date then I don't think you should have any problems taking FAR in July starting your studies June 1st. Studying full time for 6 weeks will give you more time than studying for 8 weeks while working. I have heard the hours for a first year in public accounting are brutal. If I was you I would take full advantage of every minute you have between now and then to knock out as many exams as possible. I don't know how it works in public, but is it possible to ask for a start date to be backed up a little bit just to get through the exams? Will that look bad? I know you couldn't do that in private because when they need a position filled it is usually right away, but with busy season being over for public you may have some leeway to negotiate a later start date.

[Anonymous]

If you aren't going to be working prior to your start date then I don't think you should have any problems taking FAR in July starting your studies June 1st. Studying full time for 6 weeks will give you more time than studying for 8 weeks while working. I have heard the hours for a first year in public accounting are brutal. If I was you I would take full advantage of every minute you have between now and then to knock out as many exams as possible. I don't know how it works in public, but is it possible to ask for a start date to be backed up a little bit just to get through the exams? Will that look bad? I know you couldn't do that in private because when they need a position filled it is usually right away, but with busy season being over for public you may have some leeway to negotiate a later start date.

[Study Monk]

@ ayafzal78

I don't think the order that you are taking the exams is ideal for your concerns. I would plan on getting the bigger exams out of the way by July. Leaving BEC for last is a good idea. BEC is small enough where you won't be overwhelmed.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

@ ayafzal78

I don't think the order that you are taking the exams is ideal for your concerns. I would plan on getting the bigger exams out of the way by July. Leaving BEC for last is a good idea. BEC is small enough where you won't be overwhelmed.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

Will depend entirely on whether you're audit or tax and what clients you're assigned to. I'm a first year in Big 4 and the hours range anywhere from 80-110 during busy season to 35-40 during off-peak season. If you're in audit starting in July, you will likely have very, very little to do your first few months there (which is good!). First two weeks of public accounting are typically training and only 40 hours, you might travel somewhere for a week, then after that you're thrown right onto a client and the hours will be up in air from there.

Important point though, don't worry too much about still having exams left when you start! Almost no one has all 4 knocked out before their start date. Obviously it gets more difficult once you start working but it is still manageable and almost everyone will be in the same boat. 8 weeks is plenty of time for FAR if you're studying full time in my opinion, I would really try to get that over if I was you. Good luck and congrats on the job!

[Anonymous]

Will depend entirely on whether you're audit or tax and what clients you're assigned to. I'm a first year in Big 4 and the hours range anywhere from 80-110 during busy season to 35-40 during off-peak season. If you're in audit starting in July, you will likely have very, very little to do your first few months there (which is good!). First two weeks of public accounting are typically training and only 40 hours, you might travel somewhere for a week, then after that you're thrown right onto a client and the hours will be up in air from there.

Important point though, don't worry too much about still having exams left when you start! Almost no one has all 4 knocked out before their start date. Obviously it gets more difficult once you start working but it is still manageable and almost everyone will be in the same boat. 8 weeks is plenty of time for FAR if you're studying full time in my opinion, I would really try to get that over if I was you. Good luck and congrats on the job!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions…I am studying full time but also have 2 kids ( middle schooler and a 3rd grade) Both of them have activities after school which make it nearly impossible for me to study between the hours of 2:30-7. Mostly I study in the morning and at night. But on good days I get 7-8 hours.

@co10101 I am in Audit.

Study Monk, you are right. I should have focused on FAR first but things happened and threw out my plan and at this point studying for FAR only makes sense in June. If I start prepping for FAR after April 14, Ill hv to wait till July to take it, which might be too much time for FAR ( 10 weeks or so)

So I m thinking of sticking to my original plan of Aud – April 14, Bec end of may and FAR prob July end..Reg will be up in the air.

Oh I wish I could turn back the clock and start all over again. I would take FAR, Reg, Audit and BEC…Alas.!!!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions…I am studying full time but also have 2 kids ( middle schooler and a 3rd grade) Both of them have activities after school which make it nearly impossible for me to study between the hours of 2:30-7. Mostly I study in the morning and at night. But on good days I get 7-8 hours.

@co10101 I am in Audit.

Study Monk, you are right. I should have focused on FAR first but things happened and threw out my plan and at this point studying for FAR only makes sense in June. If I start prepping for FAR after April 14, Ill hv to wait till July to take it, which might be too much time for FAR ( 10 weeks or so)

So I m thinking of sticking to my original plan of Aud – April 14, Bec end of may and FAR prob July end..Reg will be up in the air.

Oh I wish I could turn back the clock and start all over again. I would take FAR, Reg, Audit and BEC…Alas.!!!

[Anonymous]

I think you are underestimating how much studying you can really accomplish between 04/14 and 05/31. Even if you only averaged 5 hours per day while the kids are in school and 10 hours between Saturday and Sunday you would still get approzimately 230 hours of studying in. Considering you would be doing that in a more condensed time frame you wouldn't have to relearn a lot of things that people studying over 10+ weeks have to relearn because of spacing the studying out. That is a good amount of time to learn FAR if you are motivated enough to do it. I would suggest doing it like that and sitting for FAR at the end of May. If I had it to do over again I would definitely take FAR first so my clock wasn't ticking. I have kids and work full time and have essentially dedicated 8 weeks of serious studying for FAR. You really could do it by May. Then you could study for REG from June to July and take BEC after you start working.

[Anonymous]

I think you are underestimating how much studying you can really accomplish between 04/14 and 05/31. Even if you only averaged 5 hours per day while the kids are in school and 10 hours between Saturday and Sunday you would still get approzimately 230 hours of studying in. Considering you would be doing that in a more condensed time frame you wouldn't have to relearn a lot of things that people studying over 10+ weeks have to relearn because of spacing the studying out. That is a good amount of time to learn FAR if you are motivated enough to do it. I would suggest doing it like that and sitting for FAR at the end of May. If I had it to do over again I would definitely take FAR first so my clock wasn't ticking. I have kids and work full time and have essentially dedicated 8 weeks of serious studying for FAR. You really could do it by May. Then you could study for REG from June to July and take BEC after you start working.

[Anonymous]

@CPA Mommy..you do have a point. However, if I do it in July I'll have essentially 57 days to study FAR (Jun 1st- July 27) and if I take it end of May I'll have 44 days (April 15-May 29)..Those extra 13 days might be the difference btw a pass or fail.

[Anonymous]

@CPA Mommy..you do have a point. However, if I do it in July I'll have essentially 57 days to study FAR (Jun 1st- July 27) and if I take it end of May I'll have 44 days (April 15-May 29)..Those extra 13 days might be the difference btw a pass or fail.

[mla1169]

Get as much done before you start as possible. Setup carpool arrangements for the kids activities and cut down the number of trips but pick up their friends when you do drive. (Youre going to have to rely on this once youre working anyway). Study while theyre at their activities, my wiley book was with me at cheer and lacrosse practices, I'd study in the car waiting for pickup.

Its not going to be convenient to try to get 2 out of the way in the April-May window but I assure you it will be easier than studying, working full time and raising busy kids.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Author]

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