[Anonymous]

For the folks in public, and for any professional accountant for that matter..

Study for the CPA or go through a busy season? (What is worse? I start public in the fall fresh out of college and I am praying that work isn’t nearly as bad as studying for the CPA)

[neika822]

I'd much rather study for the CPA than go back to public accounting (busy season or otherwise)!

(Disclaimer: I no longer work in public, I only worked in public for a total of a ~year, and I despised it.)

R - *77*(02/'13)-Becker & NINJA
A - 71('11); *87*(04/'13)-Becker & NINJA
F - *76*(08/'13)-Becker & NINJA - "server upgrade" survivor
B - 60('11); *82*(10/'13) -Becker & NINA

DONE, DONE, AND DONE.

CPA in Massachusetts; issued 01/24/14

[Anonymous]

Personally, I'd rather work busy season! I grew up on a farm. The long hours and days are nothing to me. But I have a hard time finding the motivation to sit and study all the time.

[Jennifer241]

I like to be kept busy, been in public accounting for over 10 years. Give me a busy season anytime of the year over studying.

I will tell you why…. studying drags on and on and on, while going through a tax season or audit season time just FLIES!!

AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass

Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon

[StephAV]

I say both are awful! I'd probably choose busy season, at least you are getting paid! Plus, you have lots of people to keep you on track at work for better or worse. Studying you are kind of on your own to find motivation.

FAR - 7/13 - 72, 11/13- 74, 2/14- 82!!! Best score ever (for me)!!!
BEC - 1/14 - 75!!! Perfect score! First Pass! YAY!!!
AUD - 8/14 - 80!!!
REG - 5/14 - 72, 10/14 - 66, 1/15 - 78 - DONE FOREVER!!!
I did 5 of the UNA and CPAExcel classes to earn units.

[Anonymous]

BUSY SEASON! I miss my old firm and all the yummy food I would expense 🙂

Studying sucks, someone shoot me, ha

[smp73]

I am pretty much in the same boat as @neika822 except I “lasted” about 18 months in public!

NYS CPA License # 113563
CIA: Done as of 2/15/14

Training for a half marathon post studying!

[P or F.. I think Im gonna BARF]

I'd take busy season over the CPA. At least with busy season, when I left work I stopped thinking about it. With the CPA, I'm constantly thinking about it.

B - (08/29/2013) Passed
A - (07/02/2013) Passed
R - (10/17/2013) 73 - Rematch
F - (05/29/2013) Passed

[Anonymous]

Busy season also has a very definite end. You can count down the days till the deadline, and even though each day closer means one less day to get stuff done, it also means one day closer to being *done*. Whereas with the exam, you can count down days till your last scheduled test, but even if you pass everything between now and then, you still walk out of there not knowing if you're done or not, and get to wait again to find out if you're done.

Also, busy season is shorter. I've been studying for about 3 months and have 1 passing score to date – in taxes, the worst of busy season is 3 months or less, so the end is not only in sight, it's a lot easier to see, too!

Of course on the flip-side, busy season comes back every year, whereas the exam disappears forever once you finish it.

[Author]

Replies