[SoTiredDammit]

Hi Everyone,

I’ve passed 2 parts of the CPA exam (one expired last month while working and doing a Masters Degree) in other words I was crazy busy but found the time to study. I recently became unemployed and waiting for a new job opportunity to start (the contractual start date might take about 2 months) and I find it hard studying for the exam now. While I was working I craved this amount of time, instead I am worried about everything going well with my new role and completely scattered because of the lack of structure. I know a few people on here studied while unemployed, any advice of getting into a routine & motivation :(.

[Keycat]

Just be aware that if you have a break of 3 months or more between jobs, some employers may not want to hire you. And your employment dates will be verified through HireRight. Otherwise, many of us would stop working until the CPA exam is over.

[PNS2CLT]

It's not. Being unemployed last year (by no choice of my own) was the most miserable experience of my life and sucked the life out of me to the point where I couldn't study.

[74phoenix]

A new role/position could be WAY different, and you may not have the time to study. You are taking this time for granted – I would kill to be in your position!!!! Life just gets harder – take this as such a blessing that you have TIME to study. Sign up for early work out classes to be held accountable, or meet a friend for coffee in the morning – something to get you up and studying. Ask others to keep you accountable. Reward yourself only if at the end of the day you tackled a part of your goal. Stay a part of this forum to motivate yourself. you can do it!

Graduated 05/2016.
NY CPA Candidate.
Public accounting.
FAR COMING UP 07/07/2016 !! GOD HELP ME.

[rahee]

Hi, I was unemployed for 4 months (not by choice), and I found it difficult to study for the exam. I was only able to pass one section–I was miserable, and the pressure of being unemployed and the pressure of passing the exam was incredibly difficult.

[watermelon]

I actually stayed at home and studied full time for almost 7 months between 2 jobs and during the last few months, I started to interview while studying the last section. I couldn't focus at all because I wanted to get a job and also was super anxious about Reg. There are 2 things helped me to focus at home, one is to turn off my cellphone while i was studying and I only checked my phone in case i missed any call from recruiter at noon and at night, the other thing is that I paid for the last section and scheduled for the test which honestly motivated me the most. It's hard to worry about both job and CPA at the same time. but I found a job and passed CPA recently. If I can do it, you can do it too:) Stay positive and stop worrying!

[mtlgemini]

Large gaps of unemployment I think become an issue when you can't really say what you did during that time off. If it was an unproductive break and if there was no justification for why you took time off then I could see why an employer might hesitate to hire you. However, if your resume looks good, you interview well, and if you can account for what you did during that time off, I think you'll be fine. I think people taking breaks from work if they can afford to can be a good thing and can refresh them before their next challenge. Seems like you have something lined up though so this might not apply to you. Try not to think about your new position. If you already got the position and there's nothing else you need to do until your first day then try to forget about it until then. Don't let it distract you from learning the material because passing these exams is probably more important in the grand scheme of things.

I recommend just getting into a routine right away. Wake up at the same time every day and start studying right away. Take a break after a few hours and then go back to studying for another few. Rinse and repeat until you find that you're tired or are becoming inefficient. Many of us think that if we had no other obligations that we would study all day. However, it can be mentally draining so set realistic goals as to how many hours you want to accomplish each day.

[Author]

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