[Painted_Jeans]

Hi, thanks for opening the thread!
I have a dilemma that I’d like to get some advice from more experienced peeps here. I currently work in audit, will have a year of experience in January. Graduating with MAcc in few weeks and passed one part of the exam, next one in Dec and hoping to get them all done by May. My problem is that i live in one of the most expensive states in the country and my salary barely lets me take care of my son and myself. I lived in bunch of other states before and want to go back to Charlotte, NC but the thing is that i am little worried about getting a job there even with Masters and some experience. Maybe it’s a useless worry idk.. Would you say i should stick where i am and get the exams done and then move or take the second one and move in January because it’s more favorable time for hire? I applied to many places and had one phone interview but they said they want someone to start asap, not in two months.. I’m loosing money on almost everything here (rent, gas, food) and i’m pretty sure the salaries are not that much different in NC and i can provide much better housing for my family and not struggle as much..
Thank you!

[Recked]

I'd stay where you are currently at and continue pushing on until you pass all 4 parts and are licensed.
You need your current employer to sign off on your experience hours.
Once you have the license, you should get a raise. If not, you can then look in to transferring your license to a new state, and then look for new job opportunities after you have the license, and obtain a new job before making the leap.
Cut back for now and keep plugging away.

[Painted_Jeans]

Thank you @Recked
I wont get a raise here, i've asked my co-workers who got a license and it's still same pay..even when they start leading engagements, they get more hours which we get paid for over 40 (straight time) but not a salary raise. My plan was to get licensed in NC because i'll have a year of full time come January thats what is required there.

[Recked]

I think most states only require one year experience with the 150 hours.
Advice is still the same, don't burn any bridges until you have your experience verified. Double down and try to get the exams out of the way as fast as possible.

[Painted_Jeans]

@Recked No plans to burn any bridges, I love my firm. It's the cost of living and salary don't compare.. plus i have friends in NC and bunch of other factors that just added up. Once the school is over i'm planning to finish with score release on 5/7 (fingers crossed).
Thank for advice 🙂

[HDCPA]

I'll play devil's advocate here. If you are struggling to make ends meet, and you can line yourself up a nice location move where both you and your son would be happier and live a better life, I say go for it. I wouldn't move without a firm and signed offer, but if you will instantly be in a better place upon the new job and location move, why not? You may even find a company that will put in writing a raise upon getting your CPA. Worst case scenario, you are a year out from your move on gaining the experience required (as long as you work under a cpa). Half of this time you will be taking the exam anyways. Best case, your old employer understands, and they sign off anyways. Either way, it sounds like you would be happier.

[Painted_Jeans]

@HDCPA I'll have experience from my current job come January 2019, I'll have a full year of full-time work, so thats not an issue i just need to pass three more parts (one in Dec) and two more when i get second NTS, but planning to be done by May.. I'd probably go for it if there is a job offer even if my exam is not done yet. I feel like employers are iffy when they here that i'm in Hawaii and trying to move back to NC 🙁 cuz thats very far…

[HDCPA]

Your experience is fine, its just you have to have an employer sign off on it otherwise it doesn't count. That's what Recked was referring to. Some employers may get sideways on you and not want to sign off on it depending on how you left them. Thats why most recommend staying with your current employer until your CPA cert is issued. I wouldn't let that stop you though if you are needing to move for family / personal reasons.

[Painted_Jeans]

@HDCPA oh i see. I'm not planning to be an a-hole about leaving, i'm going to talk to the partners ahead of time and try to give a notice well in advance, explain them my reasons for moving and hope they wont get too sour.. people leave all the time 🙂

[Recked]

The closer you get to busy season the worse off they will be, but perhaps your place is big enough that one less person won't make a big impact.

[Painted_Jeans]

@Recked my firm is not very big, about 50 people and we dont have much of the typical busy season because lot of out clients have 6/30 year end.. its pretty even thru the year, but i'll keep that in mind.

[Author]

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