[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

[John Doe 15]

Thanks,

This is all helpful. Not harsh maxb, I'm new to this so I'd rather know what's ahead.

Here's my thought process right now. I'm single, no responsibilities, and I'm still in student-mode. In this field at some point I'd have to take the CPA exam so that's why I want to get it out of the way now when it's the most convenient. I've thought about getting a job now but with where I stand at the moment, I don't even know if I would get a bookkeeping position where I would be working under a CPA being that I have no work experience and I have been out of school for a few years now. I'm thinking that passing the CPA exam gives me that advantage to get a decent job because it shows I am serious. There is a much higher chance I will get an intro job working under a CPA where I can then get my year of experience. Hopefully this job will be good enough and a good fit for me that I can stay there longer.

The second thing I am thinking about is passing BEC and FAR and then starting the job hunt mid-way through the exam schedule. I want FAR out of the way first before starting a job because I don't want to be in any position where it would take me right up until 18 months to pass the exam as I don't want to deal with that stress. I'm planning on finishing all four parts in 12 months because I'd be studying full-time just like I was in medical school.

Just out of curiosity, where do all of you feel that you learned the most regarding accounting? Was it during your undergrad courses, studying for the CPA, or on the job?

[Jdn9201]

OP, very interesting story. I'd say first of all, yes you might have some people who ask questions about why accounting now, etc. but don't feel insecure about shifting careers. The days of doing the same thing/same job for 40 years are long gone. I am 34 and I would say half of my friends who graduated from college are already in a job/field that has little to nothing to do with their degree. I think it's one of those things that if you think is a big deal and something you have to explain away, then others are going to think it's a big deal. I would also say that at least you realized early that med school wasn't right for you. Not to get too personal, but my ex was beating his head up against a brick wall trying to cut it in med school, and he just kept chasing after something that was never realistic for him to do, at the expense of everything else around him (including our relationship).
Regarding the exam, I think if you are disclipined and put in the effort, you can pass too. I used Roger and passed all four the first attempt, and thought he was amazing. One negative about Roger's program is it is not in depth, in comparison to others. I've worked in tax for 8 years, have a very strong financial accounting background, and had my master's degree when i started studying so I felt that I didn't really need every detail. I also was just looking to pass – 75 or 95 made no difference to me. Your study habits from med school will be very valuable through this process. Honestly my biggest obstacle was learning how to study over a long period of time, as I really didn't have to do that until grad school. I also agree that even if you don't want to work full time, getting a part time job while you are studying will be very helpful for you to get your foot in the door, get some experience on your resume, and some real life experience that might help you for the exams. Good luck!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[fuzyfro89]

People change careers often enough that you aren't the first going down the later path toward a CPA. If anything, you may be ahead of others having failed at something else before going forward with the accounting path.
“So having said all of this, what are your thoughts? Do you think my plan makes sense or would you advise anything differently?”

Not sure what exactly you are looking for. It's not common to be 30+ as an accounting staff (in public accounting or at a company), but that's only because the large majority of your peers will be recent undergrads/master's students in the 22-25 age range. Being 30+ can be a positive or negative depending on how you do on the “fit” portion of recruiting. Be outgoing/personable, show you are hungry and finding some success and you'll find your way into the career path whether in public accounting, corporate, or some other finance/accounting area.

[CPA8675309]

@b694515,

For me, studying for the exam has largely been a review of what I learned in school (except for business law which I didn't take). I'm sure there's been some new material for sure, but overall I'd say it's been a review. The studying is different though, since you're trying to cram every bit of information into your brain for one 4 hour test. FAR especially is difficult, since it includes material from about 2-3 college courses (depending on the school).

As far as on the job learning, it's been about applying what I learned in school into the real world. That has been a challenge at times. So, in school, you learn the fundamentals & rules; on-the-job, the application of those fundamentals & rules. For me, I'd say it's pretty equal as far as how much I've learned. BTW, I'm almost two years in, working in a small, private company doing general accounting/financial reporting.

I'm using CPAExcel as my main study program. Although, I think you should try it first, I think you could be successful with it. I supplement with Ninja MCQs for more variety with questions which I highly recommend for the price. Because FAR was so overwhelming, I also supplemented with Ninja Audio for my commute, which although I didn't think was great, it helped for sure.

[John Doe 15]

Thanks for the replies.

@fuzyfro89 I was just looking to see if it was possible to pass the exam with just the review course. When I was in med school, you take an exam called USMLE STEP 1 for the basic sciences and you can't just take a review course for that. A review course for that test assumes you know each subject or body system inside and out so I wanted to see how it worked for the CPA exam if we needed to know all our undergrad accounting courses inside and out before even starting to study for it. Based on what I am hearing here I think the course alone should be good and I have the time to study for it.

Can anyone describe how deep the CPA exam goes into, lets say, a subject like intermediate II? Intermediate I was easy but intermediate II was way over my head with all those bonds and leases. I hear people describing the exam as a “a mile wide but an inch deep.” Do you think that's accurate?

I haven't even really seriously thought about career prospects. I want to pass the exam and show a prospective employer I am serious and see where that leads. Hopefully next year by this time, things will be different for my situation.

[maxb]

forget college thats ancient history. what difference does it make what classes in college the exam relates to? more importantly is the order you tske the exams in. in my opinion far first then aud then bec then reg. reg and bec can probably be interchsngable. but i would not take aud before far. good luck!

[John Doe 15]

Thanks maxb,

I registered for BEC first and my reasoning was that it's a shorter exam and could be very motivating if I do very well on that. I want to then take FAR, AUD, and finish with REG. That's the plan at least.

As an aside, assuming that you have the educational requirements and you pass the background checks, can NASBA reject your application for any reason?

[Author]

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