[TBBG]

I’m not trying to troll here, I’m asking honestly. Is the CPA really worth it? I’ve only worked in public advisory, and I only got the CPA to make manager. Outside of audit/tax partner, does the CPA really help your career? And if so, can it really be quantified? I just don’t see it.

Audit 86
BEC 75
FAR 82
REG 93

[MINO21c]

@MLA

I get that. My comment was probably too simplistic, but what I was trying to say is that all those credentials won't be as useful if you don't work in certain fields. What will MD, CFA, BAR, or CPA do if all you want to do is flipping burgers? I assume if you (general you) had gone through this much of agony to become a CPA, then you must have had some interest in accounting or accounting related field. I just can't see how CPA could be worthless in accounting/accounting related field. I'm sure there are ways to get around without CPA credential, but if all things are equal, CPA will trump non-CPA. To me, getting interviews or promotions you wouldn't otherwise have got is worth the CPA.

BEC 7/12 - PASS
REG 8/17
AUD 9/8
FAR 10/15

[Amortized and Energized]

I don't think you realize how many lawyers are out there that are making about 50k a year. Not all lawyers are in ivory towers making huge lawsuit settlements and bringing in 6 figures and driving around in 7 series. Especially with the over saturation of kids coming out of school with law degrees right now. My company has been drafting an SEC document and every time there is a mark up or the document needs to be updated, somewhere in a law office there is a lower level employee that is reading through a 200 page document to make all the changes that thought their new law degree was going to give them wealth and fame thinking “Is being a lawyer worth it?”.

Likewise, people who go to school to become Dr's come out of school with over 100k in student debt most of the time. Investment bankers start out as analysts working 80 hours a week every week and most burn out by the time they are 23/24 years old and go to private companies. These are kids too that were top of their classes in prestigious schools that often come with a six figure debt figure. From the few I've talked to in my career, they have said there is a ton of nepotism as well. That could also be sour grapes that they didn't get a position at some point, I can't confirm for sure.

Whatever you choose, if wealth is your measurement for success (I don't know, but you mentioned “it ain't gonna get you that 7 series BMW” before), sorry man, you'll never be happy regardless of what your profession is.

Speaking for myself, I was able to attend state schools and got my Bachelors and Masters done for under 70k and they were both solid programs. Top of the academic echelon, no, but I had the opportunity to work with some very intelligent professors with tons of experience professionally. My student loans are paid as well as my car. I get holidays off, weekends off and outside of a crazy quarter close, work somewhere around 40-45 hours a week. My salary allows me to indulge here and there once in a while and couples with my relatively easy work commitment, I get to travel and experience different places. In the event I find someplace I really like and want to move there, most likely I can find a job with the CPA credential.

In short, accounting has afforded me the ability to be financially secure and still give me the ability to experience life without being tied to a desk, or laptop, or cell phone. To me, that's a success. I don't want to retire as a CFO or Controller and look back and think, man.. why didn't I do more stuff in my 20s and 30s. Or why did I buy this stuff to keep up with the Joneses instead of going here with the family? Don't live next to the Joneses either, from what I hear, you can't keep up with them no matter how hard you try.

CPA isn't a golden ticket. It's an avenue for you to pursue a career. With it you can decide if you want to climb the corporate ladder and become a controller or CFO. You can decide if you want to work in public and try to make parter. You can decide if you want to take what you've learned and start your own practice and work on your own time and enjoy the liberties of being self employed. You can be an outside financial consultant. If it's your type of thing, you can join the FBI and get into fraud and forensic accounting and chase white collar criminals, which I always thought sounded kinda cool. Write you own story and don't let the aura of big shiny things or prestige in high places determine if you're successful or not. When it's time for us to check out, we don't get to take the money or the corner office with us.

FAR - Aug 2015 (58), Feb 2016 (81)
u
BEC - May 2016 (79)
AUD - Jul 2016
REG - Aug 2016

[jcomer25]

For me becoming a CPA is a life long goal of mine. I am already a Finance Manager making good money. I don't really need a CPA license to continue my position, but if I want to advance to a higher level manager or controller I will need my license. This would immediately give me a $10K jump per year up to $30K. For me it is worth it as accounting is what I love to do.

I just hope I can pass FAR! Much harder than I thought!

[aaronmo]

Hamm – I think you wrote that beautifully. Life is a series of trade offs and compromises…and you have to pick what you want to live with, or, more likely, fall into that decision and find a way to live with it or modify it. A CPA gives you options that an accountant without one just doesn't have. I spent approximately 10k on my CPA education post-BA. My BA was mostly scholarship and less expensive schools…so, all in, I'm probably at around 30k for education with nearly no debt. Law School would have been 4x that.

My goal is to have my own small practice and to be able to consult/work part time when retired. I get my happiness from my wife…from bicycling in the morning…from listening to a good song. I don't want to be poor, but I don't need the 7 series to be happy either…and we have on street parking; it would look like hell after a week. I'd rather spend money on my bicycle collection safe and secure in the basement. A lot of high dollar lawyers are MISERABLE…I know because nearly everyone I know is a high dollar lawyer.

Accountants are also largely a certain “type”. Think back to the non-accounting business majors you knew…let's be honest, most weren't very bright and were BS artists. Lawyers are largely sales men as well. CPAs are worker bees. We're the ones that make sure the BS artists are within reasonable guidelines. It's not sexy, but it's satisfying. We have less diplomacy…less politics and less non-sense. We also usually get laid off less frequently.

[TBBG]

@hamms30, you seem to be fixated on the student debt that lawyers and doctors come out of school with.. do you realize what the starting salary is at the top 40 law firms? 180k plus 35k bonus. Of course there are people who read contracts for 25 bucks an hour, but we're talking about the higher range (aka success stories)… these doctors and lawyers can pay that back debt with one years salary if they wanted to. Also, these I-bankers who burn out and leave for private (hedge funds, pe funds..), they are making 250k+ plus a year at 25 years old. Happiness may be a state of mind, but I promise you… any lawyer/banker at a top 50 firm can afford a 7 series at a very young age.

Audit 86
BEC 75
FAR 82
REG 93

[mhueycpa]

What “level” are you talking about then? I know high end CPAs that bill at 750/hr I know attorneys that's bill at almost 1500/hr. U can't compare high level lawyers to entry level CPAs. If u wanted 250k at 25 then u should of went into investment banking. The CPA is then irrelevant and the question pointless.

THE 300 CLUB WILL DO JUST FINE!

[Amortized and Energized]

Yes I'm aware of the salaries for those positions. Do you realize how many people do NOT come out of school and get hired at top law and investment firms? Google “should I go to law school” or anything of that variant of that and just get a pulse of what people are saying. The people going to Top 40 law firms are the top tier of their classes at prestigious Uni's. There's a reason people are willing to pay the money to go to Wharton or Harvard or Yale. These schools are all networked and connected to these firms you're talking about. Agreed, they are compensated very well out of the gate, but they are grinding a ton of hours to do it as well. Obviously I don't know anything about you, for all I know you could be one of these people with top marks. If that is the case, that's a judgment call you would have to make on your own. I can say of myself, I am not. I consider myself above average, but fully recognize I am not in that upper spectrum and was trying to convey that I'm still quite happy with the way things turned out without that huge paycheck.

I was just trying to make a point that, yes these positions are out there, but it's not like they are low hanging fruit. Nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to make money, but it comes with baggage. Your posts make it sound like you are focused on income and possessions to be coined successful. I was just trying to show you a different point of view in that “success” is a very subjective term. My last bit of advice would be, don't make a brash decision. Do your homework before changing.

FAR - Aug 2015 (58), Feb 2016 (81)
u
BEC - May 2016 (79)
AUD - Jul 2016
REG - Aug 2016

[Trele6]

To me the CPA will not provide a lot of financial gain all by itself. It offers me opportunity to better my self and my career path though. My current company, and prior would not promote anyone to a supervisor level without a CPA. If it weren't for those barriers and the fact that my company paid for my MBA and CPA 100% I would have never done them probably.

First go at the CPA! Only using Becker
Reg / Nov 2015 - 87
Far / Apr 2016 - 79
Bec / May 2016 - 80
Aud / Aug 2016

[TBBG]

@hamms30 Well said and well written. Kudos on an intellectual, fairly reasoned argument. I wish you the best of luck in your career and life.

Audit 86
BEC 75
FAR 82
REG 93

[Pete]

A doctor definitely deserves more money for what he/she is doing; 200k does not do their profession money, relative to the amount of debt they incur and the amount of schooling they need. Doctors primarily go into the profession because they like saving lives though.

I can attest that simply having the CPA license alone will not guarantee anything; it will help with a lot of things though. People fail to mention just how competitive it is to get into accounting firms. Most schools recruitment systems seem to have a hire rate of 10-20% of interviewees (This is based on observation/personal experience-of course this could be wrong). If you miss this bubble, you basically won't get hired by any national firm, unless you get lucky (It does happen-it's just EXTREMELY rare). Also, even missing the intern bubble at my school, put you in serious jeopardy for getting into any major firm. When I was in school, I was basically told the firms RARELY hired people full-time from undergrad-directly; it was mostly all an intern pool. Again, not being a huge firm will severely lower your income. Although, the same probably applies to law firms.

I would state that without the 150 credit hour requirement, the CPA was definitely worth it. Now the lines become blurred because of the added costs. I have been looking for a job to fill my CPA requirement for over a year now and also have the CFE exam completed. The accounting market is horrid right now, but then again, so is the law market.

Also, it is VERY RARE for partners to charge the $750/hour, shown above; maybe managing partners at the BIG 4 charge this, but I don't know. I've interned at large firms (top 20). The MANAGING partners there charged $550- (Maybe)$600.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Author]

Replies