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I am at a point in my life where I'm reassessing everything.
I already have a Bachelor's degree in Psychology (from quite some time ago, I am not young, I am 39)
I started my own business 2 years ago, and it's really starting to gain traction, but I find myself being isolated and lonely in the sort of work I'm doing and I'm also perpetually nervous (sole proprietorship, LLC) about being able to fully support myself (and pay taxes and save for retirement and purchase my own health care....etc)
Perhaps I worry too much, but I'm beginning to feel that I'd have much more peace of mind with a straight forward J.O.B. at a company where I don't have to worry about putting aside enough for taxes and I'd have medical insurance.
The past few years I've had an increased interest in accounting and lo and behold it's now coming up on all those silly lists, "10 best jobs"....
I'm borderline introvert/extrovert. I probably seem completely extroverted to the majority who know me, but I would like a position where I don't have to spend my day schmoozing and giving presentations. Actually, it's public speaking that trips me up. I'm a complete extrovert until I need to give a presentation and then it's over. I have a phobia about presenting. I *can* do it with a small group, if I'm sitting at a table, it's no problem. Just normal speaking up in meetings and small group interaction is fine, but the moment I have to stand up and run the show, I just about pass out. (maybe I can overcome this? I have no idea)
So, anyway, back to accounting, IF I decide this is something I want to do, how does one attain the proper credentials when I already have a BA? I have zero coursework in accounting, as I mentioned, my major was psychology, so it was all social science and some core science and stats with all the usual liberal arts courses.
I don't have loads of money nor loads of free time so I'm not interested in the intensity of a Master's degree. But please tell me if you think that's the only way. I am hoping I would be able to take the core accounting coursework and then get a certificate or sit for the CPA exam? Please let me know what you think. And also, please let me know your insights on the in's and out's of accounting as a career (and especially for someone at my age, is this a problem or is being 39 a benefit (a bit of experience and knowledge already?)
THANKS SO MUCH!! I really appreciate your feedback.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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I would start by finding out the CPA requirements for the particular state that you want to practice in. Also, if you just want to have the title "CPA" after your name (and the states will regulate who can do that); you could consider getting your CPA through any state that allows nonresidents to take the CPA exam. This website has links to all of the states and their requirements to sit for the exam http://www.becker.com/accounting/cpaexamreview/state/
Once you pass the CPA exam, you'll most likely have to have experience before the state will actually grant you CPA certification.
So are you saying I'd need to get a second Bachelor's degree, this time in accounting?
It seems there must be some way to attain another degree without repeating a full BA/BS all over again, no?
From experience I think most true professional accounting jobs (not AP clerks or book keepers) will not even give a resume a glance if they don't have an accounting degree. The only possible way we would consider hiring someone without an accounting degree would be if they possibly had some kind of business degree and lots of relevant experience.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,941,823 times
Reputation: 9887
Most accounting positions that I see now are for CPAs. Several states will let you sit for the exam with 120-150 credits in any degree as long as you have x amount of hours in accounting and/or business and the specific accounting/business courses that they require. I would say you're probably looking at another 30 hours. To pass the CPA, add hundreds of hours of study time.
So are you saying I'd need to get a second Bachelor's degree, this time in accounting?
It seems there must be some way to attain another degree without repeating a full BA/BS all over again, no?
No. You can find a two year master's program that is designed for non-accounting majors. These programs basically replicate the junior and senior years of an undergraduate accounting degree. Though, you would probably be able to substitute some business type classes (i.e. marketing) for advance accounting classes your second year (i.e. accounting for mergers and acquisitions).
For these programs, you basically need to have a basic econ class, a stats class or two, a math class, and introduction to accounting I&II. Contact the schools for more details.
My guess as a psych major, you probably already had the math, stats, and probably the econ class. So most graduate schools would be OK if you just promised to take your introductory accounting classes at a community college prior to the fall.
In terms of math and stats, I would make sure you are comfortable with present value formulas and how to calculate an annuity. These are relatively straight forward algebraic formulas, but they'll only spend a week or so going over them (more as a refresher) and then expect you to know how to do them for the rest of the year.
You should also know how to use a spreadsheet program like Excel. No need to be an expert on all the bells and whistles, just need to be comfortable with using them, creating formulas, and tables.
First, be aware that the job market for accounting is nowhere near as good as the various articles would have you believe. My state CPA society magazine recently had an article on how to cut staff, reduce their work hours, etc. Not exactly something you would expect to see from a booming field. Bigger firms have closed offices and moved out of some cities, smaller firms have dissolved, merged with others to survive, etc. The IRS, which used to be the place people worked when they didn't have the grades to be selected by the accounting firms, has ex Big Four managers with years of experience applying for the entry level Revenue Agent job.
I had a bachelor's in English and got a master's in accounting. My program was not really designed for non-majors so I ended up having to take several prerequisite courses that were essentially the same accounting courses people took for their bachelor's. This added a few semesters to my time in school, but it gave me a good foundation. As far as "intensity" goes, most accounting programs aren't really that tough, many are just sort of like glorified CPA exam review courses, and just cover the same material as the undergrad courses, just a little more in depth.
However, I don't know that I would do it again, a lot of the accounting jobs in my area are the bookkeeper AP/AR type jobs and I am overqualified for those now. I occasionally get an interview at a firm, but there are a ton of unemployed accountants in my location that have more experience [I have one year, thankfully enough to get my CPA license.] If I could go back I would have started small and just taken some community college courses and focused on the lower level accounting jobs, and then maybe gradually worked toward moving up in the field. A CPA license without a few years of work experience is basically a pretty wall decoration, but little else. And it's a very expensive wall decoration, the renewal and continuing ed fees are considerable.
Can second the recommendation on learning Excel. I think having a good working knowledge of Excel and other accounting/tax software is way more important for someone starting out than their knowledge of accounting concepts. BTW, I don't think there are any states where you can become a CPA without getting at least one year of work experience with a CPA. Passing the exam and becoming a CPA are two different things. However, if you can get the exam passed while you're looking for a job, that can only help.
As far as the present value formulas, I actually never had to memorize them. We had tables we could refer to, but the trick was to know what table to use, and to know from the description what you needed to calculate, an ordinary annuity vs. an annuity due, and so on. Although you of course need a good head for numbers to succeed at accounting, it isn't really number crunching so much as it is knowing what the numbers mean.
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Long post, sorry.
