[Starved_Wolf]

Hi! I’m going to start by telling you all a little bit about myself. I graduated from college 5 years ago. And i’ve worked in industry since then.. small-mid sized manufacturing companies but I learned a lot during my time there but I know it’s nothing compared to what you learn working for a big 4. I’ve held positions in staff and senior staff accounting. I’m working on getting all sections of this exam passed by mid 2018. I really wanna finish this thing but i’m having a hard time getting the 1 year of work experience. And i feel like the only way is to go work for a firm. But i dont know.. am i too old? Will I have to go back to school? by the time i finish my masters ill be 30 i think..

My question is: how do i get a job that will give me the experience i need to fulfill the licensing requirements?

And also.. i live in CA but if i have to I want to apply to jobs in public accounting in other states too. how does that work? will i have to go to that state to interview (has anyone had the experience of flying out of state for an interview before?)

[MarwanRefaat]

I have the same concern, finished CPA exams last window and have 4 years experience as accountant and i'm looking for a job in a public accounting firm since then but still did not get lucky !

AUD - 71, 73, 87
BEC - N/A
FAR - 54, 73
REG - N/A

NINJA MCQ ROCKS!!!!

[Anonymous]

I thought the requirement was that you have to work under a CPA for 1 year. Not necessarily in public accounting.

Is it different in CA?

[ultrarunner]

I am in CA. I was licensed this year and just accepted an offer from a public accounting firm. I am much older than most of the CPA candidates. As long as an active CPA (who has to be your supervisor or above) signs off your experience, you will be fine. It doesn't matter whether it is public accounting or not. I've been working in industry (currently small-mid sized manufacturing type of company) for many years. I got bored plus I'd like to learn more, so I went back to a graduate school as a part-time student and went through the campus recruiting and received an offer. I will have to start over as a 1-year associate with less money I am currently making. But that's fine. With the CPA and public accounting experience, there would be many doors opening for me in the future. I have a friend in my graduate program, and she flew out to another city she wants to work after graduation. The firms paid her hotel and flight etc. But the campus recruitment may be the only chance to get into the sizable firms for an entry-level public accounting job. I applied for a position in small boutique CPA firms before I tried the campus recruitment. NO success. The campus recruitment seems the best way, although it was very competitive. Few students get multiple offers, and many students get nothing. Some get one offer. Anyway, all the best.

FAR 72,67,79 (Roger+Wiley test bank)11/15
AUD 80 (Roger)10/15
BEC 80 (Roger)4/16
REG 63,78 (Roger+Ninja MCQs)5/16

[Bourne]

As for interviewing in different states – yes you will have to fly to the office location at least once. I recently graduated college in Ohio and interviewed with companies in NYC. Received a couple phone interviews and then flew to the office location. If you're interviewing from out of state they'll usually get everything done on that first interview day (I even received the offer on the spot). So yes, while it may be inconvenient to fly to the state/location, it's crucial to get face to face time with many people in the company.

[Ana]

I agree with every word that ultra runner wrote. I got my start in the campus recruitment. I got an offer from Asics, E&Y, and mid size. I accepted the mid size. At these events you have to be ready like interview day if not more. There are so many students vying for their attention. Got to stand out, appearance, resume, personality, communication, etc. It might be your only chance as there was only one event a year in most CA schools.

[CPYay]

My advice, when you get interviews, ask if CPAs are on staff. You can also contact recruiters and tell them you want jobs where ACTIVE CPAs are on staff who are willing to mentor and sign off on your requirement. This is what I did.

My experience:
I'm 35 years old and live in CA.

My accounting career began about 7.5 years ago in private and have worked for two companies during this time. I started at Company #1 doing basic AR, then promoted to complex AP, then promoted to Staff Accountant doing basic GL accounting and budgets/forecasts. I graduated with a BA in Accounting and immediately sat for the CPA exams. I passed FAR, then left Company #1 a year ago (no room for growth and no CPAs on staff) for Company #2 (room for growth, CPA on staff), where I subsequently passed the next three exams.

I am at Company # 2 as a Senior Accountant doing complicated GL accounting and federal/state compliance. I just completed my one year under two CPAs here. I'm sending in my application today and will hopefully be a CPA before January. My company is globally known and I'm hoping that the name, along with my experience and responsibilities, will help me tremendously in the future.

For me, going public at this point would be a 30%-40% pay cut and won't pay off for 3-5 years when I'd exit. By then, I should be in a management role in private. No point in sacrificing $100K+ for the potential to make more down the road (even then, it'd be marginal at this point). The road doesn't start or end with public accounting. You can still be successful without that background.

[Author]

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