[Anonymous]

I (hopefully) only have one section of the CPA exam left to take. I have 7 days till I start my first full-time job. I was going to hit the books hard till I started work to hopefully run through all of the lectures and MAYBE the MCQ once (putting in 15 hours of studying a day)

I was looking for suggestions on how people studied when they are working full time. I’m kind of overwhelmed at the thought of having to do all the same studying I’ve done for the past sections while working a full time job (don’t know how you guys do it)

[Whatdidyou]

What section do you still have? If its a smaller section it'll be easier ;).

I'm in a similar position except I have 2 weeks. Similarly, I'm gonna try to go through as much of the basics as possible before I start. Then my 1st 2 weeks are training (so I imagine they won't be full days) & traveling (lots of down time at the airport)…Hopefully during my time before i start, my 1st two weeks and craming during the weekends will put me where I need to be. I think it'll be fine, not fun, but fine.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[Mr.NiceWatch]

I'm interested in hearing other user's strategy for studying while working full-time. I work approx. 10 hours a day, but after adding driving, food, etc. there is almost no time to study.

Journey begins in July 2012.

FAR - 87 (8/7/2012)
REG - 89 (11/19/2012)
AUD - 95 (1/17/2013)
BEC - 81 (2/26/2013)

[kts1010]

Well I work about 50 hours a week and have about 45 minutes of commute time each day. I study about 2.5-3 hours a day Monday-Friday and than on the weekend I try for around 7-8 hours a day. I guess you just can't take the exams as quickly as you could if you didn't have a job. I studied for 6 weeks for audit doing this and it felt like enough(even though the SIMS kicked my ass). I am working on REG now and plan on doing 7 weeks for REG since there is more information but Tax is what I do for a living so it seems to be easier and more interesting to me than learning about the different types of audit reports.

Anyways just try and come up with a plan that works for you. If you only need to pass one more just take your time and don't rush through it even if it takes you a few more weeks than it did when you didn't have to work.

AUD - 08/20/12 - 82
REG - 10/30/12 - 82
FAR - 01/05/13 - 80
BEC - 04/15/13 - 84

[littlenumberrobot]

Follow Jeff's ELL plan. I get to work early study for an hour. Study during lunch hour. Study two hours in evening twice a week. Then study a big chunk of Saturaday and a little on Sunday. Studying is my partime job, as I call it. 18-20 hrs a week, it comsumes your life, be ready to let go of some things. You can't do it all. my 2 cents! Good luck!

@Mr.NiceWatch – That is tough. I used to work that many hours and for me it was not possible to pass because I had no plan to follow. Now my schedule has settled down the ELL has become my routine. Looks like what you are doing is working with your score so far!

CA CPA - All because of the journey listed below
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FAR - 53('10), 8/25/12 79 PASSED!
REG - 66('11), 69('12), 12/06/12 77 PASSED!!
BEC - 58('10), 74('12), 01/05/13 77 PASSED!!!
AUD - 43('11), 66('12), 69('13), 74('13) 7/29/13 85 PASSED!!!!!

(Combinations of Roger, Yaeger, Wiley Book, Wiley TB, & NINJA Notes)

Ethics 90%

[Minimorty]

Just create a routine and stick to it. You should study a couple hours a day for 5-8 weeks and you should be fine. Whether you get your studying done in the morning, lunch, or evening doesnt really matter. Just keep moving forward through the lectures, MCQs, and simulations. There are plenty of hours in the evening to get some studying done after work. This is a short-term arrangement, so just buckle down and get through it.

[Anonymous]

The section is audit which looks the shortest based off of the Becker materials (or just as short as BEC)

I was thinking if I manage to go over all the lectures once before work and take notes that'd be the most beneficial.

I've only got a 15 minute commute to work so 30 minutes round trip in the car every day. I feel like you can get more done studying in a larger block of time rather than multiple short study sessions per day. I was thinking about just going into the office at like 6 a.m. And studying till 8 then studying at lunch and then studying from 6 till 9 at night then on weekends from the time I wake till the time I sleep.

Conservative estimate of hours studied a week will be 40 (while working) and I should have around 80 hours logged when I start work.

[Minimorty]

That sounds like overkill, but whatever floats your boat.

[Kim4]

Get Jeff's audio and turn your commute into study time

FAR -- 90
AUD -- 95
BEC -- 82
REG -- 92

DONE!

[soccersam_27]

I work full-time and have an 8 month old. I try to get 2 hours of study time each weekday and at least 4 hours each weekend-day. My husband helps me out mostly watching our son so I can study, but I don't always get all the time in that I'd like.

Like others have said, pick a schedule and just stick to it. Make sure to make it reasonable so that you don't stress yourself out when you can't reach your study time goal for the day/week. You definitely won't be able to take the exams as quickly as if you weren't working…but being able to apply what you're studying to “real life” is helpful and rewarding!

BEC: 69, 78 (10/03/2013)
AUD: 62, 71, 84 (11/13/2013)
REG: 68, 78 (11/14/2012)
FAR: 77 (02/20/2014)

[Anonymous]

This is just my opinion and I'm not trying to stir any Kool-Aid but… Counting the hours you are studying isn't necessarily the best approach to learning. Think Quality over Quantity. I used to count hours and can honestly say I studied 170 hours for REG once. Didn't do me a bit of good. My advice is to find out how you learn and use that to your advantage. If you are an “aural” learner then get an audio course, or make your own. If you learn best by reading then get a kindle or an iPad and keep the book open and read at every opportunity. We are all different and what works for one person might not work for another. I work full time and my boss is really great. He lets me listen to my lectures on my iPod all day long. Thanks to Jeff's audio I went from a low of 61 to an 84 on REG. But that's how I learn best. Good Luck!

[kayakate24601]

BEC & AUD have 6 sections each in Becker and that's a good way to look at it…figure out how long it will take (hours or weeks) to get thru a section for you and study accordingly. Audit has been were I used two weeks of extra study after the lectures….no sure yet how good that did me. For BEC & REG I took them two days apart and did nothing but study for two weeks before (and some before that), those were also the ones I felt most comfortable with given my background. Some have said to start with FAR and then work from AUD or REG which ever you think will be worse then BEC…maybe I should have we'll have to see! Hope all goes well for you!

B ~ 78 (04.02.12)
A ~ 70 (08.31.12) ~ 77 (10.05.12)
R ~ 81 (04.04.12)
F ~ 65 (11.12.12) ~ 73 (02.28.13) ~ 77 (04.01.13)

[Author]

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