Career advice (Seattle, Shoreline: attorney, high school, colleges)

[LaFrancy]

Hi everybody,
As someone of you might know, I'm moving to Seattle in a few weeks from Italy with my husband.
Here in Italy I have been working in accountancy/ tax for individuals and companies. I started working straight after high school (I was 19 y.o) and right now I have 13 years of experience.
Considering that I can't work for two years or so for Visa restriction, what do you suggest for me?
Would an associate degree enough to find a good job or a bachelor is better?
I looked up online that North Seattle College offers accounting a.d., is that a good school?
Any advice would be very appreciated!

[robrath]

Originally Posted by LaFrancy

Hi everybody,
As someone of you might know, I'm moving to Seattle in a few weeks from Italy with my husband.
Here in Italy I have been working in accountancy/ tax for individuals and companies. I started working straight after high school (I was 19 y.o) and right now I have 13 years of experience.
Considering that I can't work for two years or so for Visa restriction, what do you suggest for me?
Would an associate degree enough to find a good job or a bachelor is better?
I looked up online that North Seattle College offers accounting a.d., is that a good school?
Any advice would be very appreciated!

To do any type of formal accounting work (business accounting, tax preparation for individuals and/or businesses) in the US you will need to pass a license testing to become a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), to be eligible to take the examination to become a CPA you must have demonstrated adequate educational hours (formal classes or formal degrees) that are recognized in the US. I have no idea whether the US recognizes the classes you took in Italy.


I would tread very carefully on working (either formally or informally) while under your temporary non-working visa, if you are caught violating that visa your visa can be revoked which will have a huge impact to your family obviously. I would suggest talking with an immigration attorney first before you take any steps on receiving any type of income. I am not sure even if you can enroll in a formal degree program at a school on a non-student visa, you will need to check with the school.


If you are just looking for work to keep your mind and skills sharp, there are a lot of non-profit organizations (schools, shelters, churches, food banks, etc) in the area that could use volunteers where you can use your skills to help your community and meet new friends. Who knows, maybe once your visa is changed to a working visa you may have made some contacts through those volunteer opportunities for employment.

[amaiunmei]

Generally speaking, accountants have bachelors degrees (i.e. 4 year) in the US. If you don't mind being a bookkeeper/accounting assistant, then an associates (i.e. 2 year) degree will suffice.

There's a difference in pay between bookkeepers and accountants for sure, but both professions have strong demand and you won't take long finding work.

As robrath said, visa restrictions are taken seriously and you'd really do well to avoid raising the ire of federal authorities with that.

Virtually all of the local colleges have accounting/business classes available. I work at one of the colleges, and I feel fairly confident in saying that accounting is one study where the overall curriculum is the same at each of the colleges. The difference between the colleges will come down to personal details like commute to & from school, professors' teaching styles, whether classes offered fit your schedule, etc. Don't be afraid to ask questions of any college you choose to attend. Right now, enrollments are down so colleges will be eager to enroll you; you are in the driver's seat and you should explore as many options as are available.

[LaFrancy]

Thank you! Just for clarification: I have absolutely no intention to violate my Visa. I know I can't work, that's why I'm looking for other road.
Amaiunmei if I may ask: in which college do you work?

[thatguy950]

In Seattle the very least you're probably going to need to make a half-decent salary is a BA or BS, but most companies want a masters/MBA and CPA, of course with plenty of experience for an entry level job.

Seattle is an extremely competitive town for jobs, far far more than most US cities. The employee talent pool is a mile deep here. YMMV

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by LaFrancy

Thank you! Just for clarification: I have absolutely no intention to violate my Visa. I know I can't work, that's why I'm looking for other road.
Amaiunmei if I may ask: in which college do you work?

All I'll say is that I'm at a Seattle-area college. I'm pretty familiar with all of the players involved (North Seattle, Shoreline, Seattle Central, South Seattle, Lake WA Tech, etc.) and while there are programs that are better at one school or another, accounting isn't one of those programs. You can take that anywhere and be getting a fine education.

Just don't spend too much $$$ ...

[robrath]

Originally Posted by amaiunmei

All I'll say is that I'm at a Seattle-area college. I'm pretty familiar with all of the players involved (North Seattle, Shoreline, Seattle Central, South Seattle, Lake WA Tech, etc.) and while there are programs that are better at one school or another, accounting isn't one of those programs. You can take that anywhere and be getting a fine education.

Just don't spend too much $$$ ...

I'm curious, can she attend college on a degree program without a student visa? I honestly don't know but you might.

[Kayela]

A Bachelor's with a CPA is definitely going to give you significantly better pay, benefits and future career options. So really it all depends on what you want. With higher pay typically comes more responsibility and stress, but lower pay is no guarantee that you won't also have responsibility and stress piled on you. Personally I went for max earning potential when getting my degree because I'd rather hate my well-paying job than hate my crappy paying one. Realistically, how many times is it going to be feasible to go to college? So make it count is my advice.

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by robrath

I'm curious, can she attend college on a degree program without a student visa? I honestly don't know but you might.

She would need an F visa! If she's interested, I'd say starting the process before getting to Seattle would be ideal:

https://travel.state.gov/content/vis...e/student.html

[LaFrancy]

Than you everybody for the precious information!