[I'm, Ron Burgundy?]

Does anyone else go through getting a degree in accounting, study like crazy for these exams, and then go into their first job in public accounting feeling stupid at the end of every day and that they wasted a ton of money and valuable time?

It just seems that school and these exams teach you very little on what you need to know in order to survive in this profession. I just started this job in public last May and my first busy season is like an avalanche preparing to crash down the mountain. Yet still, every single day I struggle with what should be some of the simplest things to figure out. Things like reconciling a balance sheet to a Schedule L and preparing simple journal entries.

I feel like I don’t know accounting and I don’t even belong in this profession. Not to mention countless hours and a tremendous amount of cash to prepare for exams that many people in my office feel don’t make any kind of difference in the end.

Perhaps I’m just depressed because I feel like I walked out of my REG re-test feeling defeated once again after spending probably a total of 300+ hours studying for the thing.

I’m starting to hate accounting and the fact that I decided to begin pursuing this profession at age 30 and am now 35 starting over in life with an alarming amount of student loan debt and no CPA designation.

Does anyone else go through this? How did you cope through your first year?

"If you're going through hell, keep going"
- Winston Churchill

"I've missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost over 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed, over and over and over again in my life. And that is why, I succeed."
- Michael Jordan

BEC: (54), (72), 80 (losing credit on 02/02/15 - nervous)
AUD: 78
REG: (74), 91
FAR: (71)

[Anonymous]

I know EXACTLY how you feel! My first CPA firm job, I was hired as a “bookkeeper” (I think they're now called “staff accountants” at that firm now). This was while I was finishing up my undergraduate degree. My boss told me the position was entry level, and no accounting knowledge was really even needed. He called it “square one.” SQUARE ONE MY @$$! I was basically thrown into a world I wasn't familiar with yet. I've heard that it's done this way at many small firms, actually.

I hated my job. I mean I LOATHED it. I began counting down the months, weeks, days, hours, etc. until I'd have my one year experience required for the CPA designation. I worked there for about a year and a half, actually, because I thought things started to look up. I finally just decided it wasn't worth my time. My time would be better spent studying for the CPA exam. So that's what I've been doing since. I know the sting of failing an exam, too. 2 parts, actually. But I've since retaken those and passed both! “Failure” is only a momentary feeling. The only real failure is giving up.

Seriously, though. One of my most used phrases (mostly in my mind, but sometimes vocally) is “I hate accounting.” Although it is a lie, it feels VERY true at times. I get so frustrated.

This is the thing to remember: the CPA designation is worth it. If it wasn't worth it, it wouldn't be so hard to get.

[Anonymous]

I know EXACTLY how you feel! My first CPA firm job, I was hired as a “bookkeeper” (I think they're now called “staff accountants” at that firm now). This was while I was finishing up my undergraduate degree. My boss told me the position was entry level, and no accounting knowledge was really even needed. He called it “square one.” SQUARE ONE MY @$$! I was basically thrown into a world I wasn't familiar with yet. I've heard that it's done this way at many small firms, actually.

I hated my job. I mean I LOATHED it. I began counting down the months, weeks, days, hours, etc. until I'd have my one year experience required for the CPA designation. I worked there for about a year and a half, actually, because I thought things started to look up. I finally just decided it wasn't worth my time. My time would be better spent studying for the CPA exam. So that's what I've been doing since. I know the sting of failing an exam, too. 2 parts, actually. But I've since retaken those and passed both! “Failure” is only a momentary feeling. The only real failure is giving up.

Seriously, though. One of my most used phrases (mostly in my mind, but sometimes vocally) is “I hate accounting.” Although it is a lie, it feels VERY true at times. I get so frustrated.

This is the thing to remember: the CPA designation is worth it. If it wasn't worth it, it wouldn't be so hard to get.

[Author]

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