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First post here!
Im currently 25, with first BA in econ. Ive been working part time as a bookkeeper when I was getting my BA in my fresh-soph year and fell in love with it. During my senior year, I was working as a shipping/inventory manager (did alot of management, ordering and budget works) and fell in love with it. At the same time I was volunteering in a VITA free tax program for low income individuals and fell in love with it. I recently received a part time job as a tax preparer.
Now in order for me to move up, my current employer would like me to pursue a degree in accounting and take the CPA exams (without compensations). I should have listened to my family 6 - 7 years ago to take accounting but instead I took economics... looking at my friends who are the same age as I am with a full time job and making good money makes me feel... bleh... regreting everything and felt like I have wasted 7 years of my college life. I cant afford an MBA in accounting because its too expensive and I only work part time.
I'm thinking to pursue a second bachelor in accounting but I feel like I'm too old for a bachelor... But I should be done in 1.5 years (since I already have econ credits) by the age of 27. I will crank out 5 classes per semester and working part time. Now is it worth getting a second bachelor in accounting in order for me to take the CPA exam? Or should I study for CFA? Or should I just save up more and just get an MBA? Will one of the BIG4 accounting firm hire me as an associate by the age of 27 with 2 bachelor degrees?
I have no debt and second bachelor will cost me $15k.
Thanks a bunch!
Last edited by toobusytoday; 07-27-2015 at 12:36 PM..
No accounting job will care WHERE you got your masters, only that it was accredited. All they actually care about is the CPA. Just go to a State Uni that has an AACSB accredited program, it should only run you about 15k in student loans for the masters, granted youll have to take some undergrad courses to catch up on the prereques but those classes are much cheaper than masters classes. You should only have about 6 or so missing from your econ undergrad. Once youre in the last few semesters of the masters degree start going to the big 4 recruiting events on campus and network with them.
I would suggest you try to get into an MSA/CPA program.
Those are generally only about a year or so...
what irks me is why didn't you consider that when you were finishing up with your BA?? Many schools offer that as (honestly) a BBA in Accounting alone is almost worthless without a MSA/CPA. I personally did my BS in Econ/Finance and went the MSA/CPA route after, it bridged over nicely as i took the pre requisite Accounting courses while I finished my BS in Econ/Finance. Also, a BA in Econ is not as marketable in terms of job prospects as a BS in Econ. And I'm not being biased here. A BA in Econ is more geared towards graduate school, just being honest.
I wouldn't recommend going back for a second Bachelors, it's a waste of time and money.
Last edited by The_Man74; 07-26-2015 at 12:17 AM..
OP - what The_Man74 said is absolutely right. Find a state U that offers a graduate MSA program and do that instead; many of those are geared directly toward giving non-accounting grads the right accounting classes and credits needed to qualify to take the CPA exam within one to two years. Don't waste you time/money on an entire new bachelors.
And definitely don't waste your time on a CFA at this point. A CPA is by far the most important thing for finding good accounting jobs, especially in the Big 4. CFA, CFE, etc are additional certifications CPAs can earn later in their careers to increase their knowledge and open doors to new jobs in specialized areas of practice, but all of these certifications are just about useless without having a CPA first.
UNC has a master program that is basically a CPA prep with the added bonus of a master's degree, that is only available to people who's undergrad is NOT in accounting. I'm not sure where you live, but you might want to look for a similar program. This will also depend on your state CPA licensure requirements (in NC you basically have to have an MBA to reach the education hours).
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