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lolitalamb
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| Posted: 27 Aug 2009 at 23:53 | IP Logged
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Hello everyone,
Here's my situation. I have a bachelor's degree in history with a paralegal certificate and a master's degree in social work. I am currently unemployed, but I am hoping to start working as a waitress soon.
I'm kind of disillusioned with social work, and the paralegal field is actually kind of hard to break into (even with formal education). I'm thinking of becoming an accountant. I just want a job that is stable, and pays at least 40K a year. I'm tired of working for pocket change.
I live in Texas, and according to the state board's website, those who already have a bachelor's degree can take certain required classes (aprox. 20 courses) and then sit for the exam. You can take these classes at certain approved community colleges. I'm thinking of doing this part-time while I work.
There's a nearby university (UT) that offers a master's program in accounting for those with a liberal arts background, but I really feel like I can't afford to pay for another degree from there. The community college I'm looking into has about a 50% passage rate on the test.
My questions:
Do you think that only taking the minimum amount of classes will hurt my chances of passing the exam?
If I can pass the CPA exam, will it matter that I do not have a degree in accounting? Will it matter that I took my courses at a community college? I don't want to go through all this trouble to make less than I was already making as a social worker...
Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance.
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orangecrushv
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2009 at 19:11 | IP Logged
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1) In my opinion, taking only the required classes would not affect your testing; the real preparation for the exam comes with the review materials, not so much the coursework to qualify for the exam.
2) Part of the Texas requirements include that your business courses must be "upper-level", which may or may not be attainable at a community college. Be sure to check your courses before you take them. Most schools can tell you if their courses qualify for CPA purposes.
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CFADanny
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2009 at 20:08 | IP Logged
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there is a sharp difference between accountant and CPA. intermediate
accounting is fairly hard for someone who has never taken an accounting
course. you also need 150 hours of qualified coursework (depending on your state) to take the CPA.
You cannot take the CPA without 150 degrees of relevant coursework. You
need to be an accounting major to take mid and upper level accounting
courses. thus, you cannot take CPA if you dont have a masters in
accounting.
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RAIN
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2009 at 21:18 | IP Logged
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You do not need to be an accounting major to take mid and upper level
accounting courses. However you do need to take the prerequisites (in this
case Intro to Accounting) in order to proceed to higher level subjects
(Intermediate Accounting, Advanced Accounting etc.). The state of Texas
requires a "minimum of 30 upper division semester hours in accounting
above the principles level and 24 upper division hours of related business
courses plus 3 hours ethics course." Since you are a history major you have
a lot of ground to cover here. Again you do not need to be an accounting
major but given the number of classes you need to take, you might as well
go for a MS Accounting degree.
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lolitalamb
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| Posted: 28 Aug 2009 at 23:25 | IP Logged
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Well, before I can be accepted into the certificate program at Austin Community College, I have to take financial accounting, managerial accounting, macroeconomics, and principles of intermediate accounting (which is different from Intermediate Accounting I). Once I'm in the program, I have to take 33 hours of accounting (including ethics) as well as those upper-level business classes.
I've already taken microeconomics, business math, and business statistics in undergrad - though that was nearly eight years ago now.
Do all 150 hours really have to be related to accounting??
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Topic: community college classes to become CPA
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