Hello,

I am seriously considering quitting my job to study for all four parts of the exam. I have approx. 40K in the bank and have all my experience requirements in CA.

I was wondering first, how many months do you think it would take to study for all four parts and also if it was a good idea to quit my job for the sake of trying to pass this darned thing. It's too hard to do with the jobs I have having to work late and deal with stress all the time.

I don't have to pass all four parts right away, I figure if I get a good amount of studying for all four parts that would serve as a a great foundation for later studying. Plus, I would easily more than recoup the money I have lost and then some over the next several years anyway once I do pass and get certified. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Kobey, given the recession (that looks more like a depression) if I were you I wouldn't quite my job. Who knows how long it would take for this economy to recover. I know highly qualified ppl who cannot find jobs. It's really hard to study and work at the same time. My recommendation to you is to start studying as if you were to take the exams. It's a lot of info so you need to get everything into your long term memory and repetition, repetition, and more repetition helps. Then when you're ready sign up and take the test. Target to pass one per every window. Just my opinion.

I need to add one more thing. If you need to learn and/or understand the material tested, it'll take you more time. Selecting a good cpa review program will save you time and suffering. I learned this lesson the hard way.

Hi, Kobey. I am just starting to study for the CPA. The Becker CPA Review program recommends 30-35 hours per week of studying for five-six months, for all four sections. What you do is study for one section for 1-1.5 months (such as FAR), take the FAR CPA exam afterward, then study for REG, take the REG CPA exam, and so forth.  

The Bisk CPA Review book recommends 20 hours per week for the average candidate. By average they mean those who made high grades in their college accounting classes.

Rather than "get a good amount of studying for all four parts that would serve as a great foundation for later studying," I think it may be more efficient for you to pick a good CPA review program, put your whole effort into studying, and take the CPA test immediately. Chances are good all that info from the studying you do now will be mostly forgotten later on. If you do decide to quit, I would study as much as you can possibly fit into your life beyond the recommended 20-35 hours per week. Treat it like a full time job + overtime. Better to overestimate than underestimate.

The CPA is means to get qualified and earn more money; however, your job is a means to put food in your mouth to keep living.  Therefore, it is better to have a job than the completing the CPA.