[John Doe 15]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and looking forward to being done with the CPA exam in one year. I want to tell you about my interesting story and then see what advice you might have for me.

I graduated with a BS in accounting a few years ago. I am in my early 30’s. My college days were crazy because they were filled with a lot of unexpected events in my life and I had to prolong my graduation as a result of those events. In any case, I graduated and with 159 credits as I had originally started out as a science major. I’m in a state that initially required six hours of finance and I only had three so even with the 159 credits, I wasn’t eligible at graduation at that time.

I always had a dream to pursue a career in medicine and an opportunity presented itself to me to study medicine in the Caribbean. US schools are unrealistically hard to get into so I had no chance of going down that route and decided to head to the Caribbean despite the risk; which I actually did not understand at the time. I was excited to attempt this but it hit me really hard and really fast that medicine is not what I thought it would be. Medicine is actually 100% about test scores and they could care less about anything else. Beyond that, there are set residency positions and an overabundance of medical students so it’s just not a good career to choose unless you are absolutely at the top of your game academically. I made it through a term which is a major accomplishment but I just could not cut it and I saw that the writing was on the wall. Instead of trying to stay on that path and incur more debt, I want to cut my losses and come back to accounting.

Here is where I stand…

1. My state just past some new requirements eliminating specific courses for the business component of the education requirements so as of July 1st, I am now eligible to sit for the exam as I have at least 24 credits in accounting and 24 in business-related courses.

2. Other than the most basic of concepts and certain terms, I don’t remember anything from my classes. I didn’t exactly take the classes thinking I would end up in accounting so I took them to pass. I did it more of as a “plan b” and now plan b will be the only plan. I struggled a lot in intermediate II and failed it once, withdrew it again, and then passed it. I don’t remember much from auditing or advanced accounting even thought I got a B and an A respectively because I just studied a test bank. I did well in computer-augmented accounting but had no idea what that class was about. Fed Tax was boring, we had a really cool professor for cost so I ended up with an A even though I probably did D work. The only accounting course that I aced and actually enjoyed was intro to financial. My GPA is above a 3.2 but that doesn’t mean anything because I’m saying that I don’t feel comfortable with my undergrad knowledge of accounting. Having said that, I don’t believe going back to school is the right answer because I’ve been a students for a while now and I don’t believe you learn in school. You either learn on your own, in practice, or outside the classroom. School, I believe, is to earn credits.

3. I already registered for BEC with my jurisdiction. They say it will take 4-6 weeks to process my application and then I will get the NTS which I will then have six months to schedule and sit for BEC. I am not working and I live with my parents so I have all the time in the world right now to focus on the exam.

4. Being in medical school for even a short period of time has given me some training that I think is going to help me out studying for the CPA exam. I used to complain about college exams until getting to med school where each exam during the term is the equivalent of studying for a final exam. Before, I actually didn’t know how to study and didn’t even know what active vs. passive learning meant but even after a term of medical school, you will learn how to study because you are taught to learn “everything” as reviews don’t exist. So with that mindset, I am hoping to bring that energy into the CPA exam as I don’t make excuses with studying anymore like I used to.

5. I’m looking at WileyCPA since the modules are smaller and the reviews say it’s for people that either work or have been out of school. Gleim looked nice but I read a review that said you should have some background on all of that material before starting Gleim.

6. I was always told that you will learn all about accounting when you study for the CPA exam and on the job.

7. I have no accounting work experience.

I want to be done with all four parts by the end of next summer. I don’t want to work while I am studying. I don’t think it is worth it.

So having said all of this, what are your thoughts? Do you think my plan makes sense or would you advise anything differently? I don’t want to make it seem like I’m coming to accounting because medicine didn’t work out. You win some and you lose some and if I’m going to be an accountant, I’m going to give it 100% percent and not look back.

Thanks

[maxb]

rough journey, are you sure you want to do accounting? If your reasoning for doing accounting is “it's my fall back”. I'm not sure that's a good reason in my opinion. Accounting work isn't the most fun and unless you at least like it a little bit, your gonna end up hating your job down the line. I'm sure there are plenty of healthcare related fields you could enter and still make good money.

[maxb]

Also Rodger is a great review program.

[John Doe 15]

The thing about healthcare is that if you set your sights on medicine and the autonomy that you have as a doctor, other areas of healthcare don't give you the same satisfaction. I chose medicine because the field has tremendous flexibility and you can branch out as much as you want. You don't get that in other healthcare fields and quite a few are dead ends actually. Nurses make good money but you have to want to be a nurse first. If you don't like nursing or it doesn't satisfy you, then it's not worth going into. There are other good field like optometry and PA school but one is saturated and the other bottoms out mid-career. That's my situation and I don't want to stay in healthcare. The ultimate goal is to become an accountant, work in public for a few years, earn my MBA, and then work somewhere on the business side in the healthcare industry. That way I can ultimately bring my two areas of knowledge together.

I went to school for accounting for three years. I wasn't against anything I observed during that time but I was constantly told that you'll learn what you need to know about this field when you get your first job. I'm at a point where I'm going to give 100% to whatever is front of me right now.

What I'm concerned about right now though is whether I could take one of these CPA review courses, devote the time to it since I'm not working, and actually pass based on the course preparation alone? Or do those people that pass have a strong understanding of the accounting material before they even begin a review course? That's the part I'm confused about. When I spoke to a Wiley rep, they said “we teach it in a way where we assume you know nothing.” If I could understand that better, it will help me moving forward. They said the same thing with medical school that even non-science majors could succeed but, after having been through some of it, I can tell you that if you don't have a solid science background, you will struggle in medical school. I just don't want to repeat that here.

[Skynet]

I found that there were just so many Good Looking and Hot women in accounting. There's no way i'm changing careers. Accounting is the real life version of Tinder for me.

[maxb]

ive been meaning to say this for awhile but skynet is probaly one of those people that thinks hes funny but really people just look around confused. funny signature man!

[Recked]

Advice from someone who has been in accounting for 15 years. Maybe get a job in the field to see if you like it first?
I personally work in tax, tax season blows, and the job has its ups and downs like any job. I would say if a big firm doesn't work out for you try a smaller firm where you get more hands on and lots of different tasks.

I think all the review courses are teaching you soup to nuts from scratch.
My 3 contenders are Wiley, Gleim and Roger. I'd suggest you give each of them a shot with their trial period.
I used Gleim for the EA exam, the stuff is dry and boring, but the results speak for themselves.
Roger is more lively and entertaining. I have not dabbled with Wiley yet.

CPA always looks nice after your name, so if you are prepared to give up a year plus about 800 hours I say go for it.
Just remember when you get your first job, if you hate it, try another one. Eventually you will find the right fit.

[SomeSomeCPA]

This advice might not be for everyone but I say if you have no job at the moment and are still in school/study mode, just knock it out. I'm a mathematics major with very little accounting knowledge and no accounting experience before studying to take the exam. It can be done, much quicker than I pulled it off if you have good study skills. People say it shouldn't be a fall back but it's a hell of a resume tool.

FAR: 39,59,TBD
BEC: 74,79
AUD: 77
REG: September

[John Doe 15]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I just want to clarify though…are you saying that a review course alone will have all the information needed to pass the exams? What I was confused about was if I needed to go back to school to freshen up on the accounting.

[SomeSomeCPA]

You can pass the tests with just Ninja MCQ alone. Probably not for everyone but it's possible. But a solid review course and supplemental MCQ test bank is all you need. I'm a big fan of Ninja as it got me through after struggling with Becker. I've heard great things about Roger. Watch some of his free content on YouTube.

FAR: 39,59,TBD
BEC: 74,79
AUD: 77
REG: September

[John Doe 15]

Thanks, I was looking at the Ninja and I will use those in addition to the Wiley.

Now that I know I can pass with those materials alone I want to know what the job prospects are for someone who is my age, about mid 30's, looking for their first job with no accounting or professional experience. Is there any age discrimination or anything like that? Any idea what the starting salary might be like in the New York metro area at a mid-level firm?

Thanks

[maxb]

To be honest you won't pass with ninja only…you need a full review course. Secondly, job prospects will be an uphill battle. Your best bet is getting a referral. I personally wouldn't wait a year until you start looking for a job. Start looking now, getting a job won't happen overnight. there most defiantly is age discrimination. Your gonna have to explain what you did in your thirties and telling people you tried med school and didn't succeed may be a tough sell. I know this is rough to hear but you really dug yourself a hole.

[John Doe 15]

Does having passed the CPA exam help you out when looking for that first job though? That's the only reason I'm trying to do this now and not just find an entry level job instead. I'm thinking having passed the CPA exam helps you out when looking for that first job. When I was in school a good amount of my class was older than me.

[maxb]

Experience is just as important. Even if you do bookkeeping or intern, coming in at 30 without any experience will be tough. CPA will help but it's not a magic bullet. I would venture to say someone with a few years experience and no cpa and you with no experience and cpa would be a toss up. You wouldn't be a shoe in just because you have the cpa. Further more, you need experience to get the license so why would you wait? Get the experience ASAP. Hopefully I'm not being harsh just trying to help.

[ragepsn29]

If you study hard, I am sure you can pass these exams even if your accounting background is not that good. Most study courses will teach you what you need to know to pass the exams. Also, you might want to start thinking about how you would fulfill the work experience requirement to get your CPA license.

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

[ragepsn29]

Yes having passed the CPA exam will definitely help finding a job but it will be another top level if you actually have the CPA license. So my recommendation is to get a part-time job too for your work experience requirement. Therefore when you pass all your exams, then you can become a CPA right away and find a new much better job.

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

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