Hello Accountants,

I have a question. I have enough credits for the CPA exam, but before I realized that I was aiming for a Master in Accounting and got accepted in my school 5 year program for that purpose. Is there any benefit of getting said master? Or should I focus on passing the CPA exam instead? I just finished my first tax internship and everybody said that the CPA was unavoidable but nobody talked about any benefit of getting a master whatsoever.
What do you guys think?

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Overall, a master's in accounting doesn't add any value to you. When it comes to starting a new job, you'll be in the same spot as anyone with a bachelor's degree, i.e. none of you have any experience and will be learning on the job. Starting pay is generally the same for both master's and bachelor's grads as well. CPA will be more valuable than the grad degree for your future prospects as well.

The only reason to maybe get the master's is if your getting free money that will pay for the degree or if you want to part time teach at a college one day.

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If you don't have a job lined up already, then maybe a master's will help with that as well. But if you have a job lined up, then the master's won't do anything for you.

I work in tax and didn't get a master's in tax. I still got the job and I feel I learned way more on the job than I would have in a master's program.

No one cares about a masters in accounting as long as you can get your CPA in public. Pretty much all first year associates are treated the same. I don’t have a masters, I’m doing just fine.

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But make sure you have a job....if you don't have a job and pass the CPA exam, it doesn't automatically open new doors. Also, most CPA firms only recruit directly from university, so if you don't have an offer lines up after your bachelor's...maybe the masters can help with another round of university recruiting.

I would just finish out the 5 year program.

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Thanks for the feedback. Would i get any benefit on doing an extra year of school though ?

Finish the program. Higher degree can be used as a substitute for work experience at some companies

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Oh I wasn't doing it intentionally but I haven't used this app before thanks. I'll find the setting for anonymous posting

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How far into the program are you? If you haven't started, don't go for it. The only purpose of a M.Acc degree is to get to 150 credits FOR the exams. If you're already at 150, it's really expensive to get nothing out of it. Just because you've been accepted doesn't mean you have to go. Your CPA is going to be FAR more beneficial than any master's degree. If you want higher education, specialize in something and get that, like a Master's of Taxation or the like.

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There are many fields of accounting you could go into, so you should do that first before going deep into one area like taxation. You may not like it. As for graduating, it's unfortunate. If you decide not to go through with the program, in your position, I would ask to be included even though it's too late to register, see what they can do. People are flexible and they want to help, so although it may end up not being possible, you can at least ask. Otherwise, just wait, it won't affect your interviews or anything. Just say "complete, but waiting for graduation" on your resume or the like. If anyone asks, you can go into detail about how your plans changed.

Bottom line, your CPA is far more valuable, do it instead.

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The CPA credential is more valuable and will out rank a Masters degree in most cases. It then comes down to what do YOU want?

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Nowadays, a regular 4 year acct degree isn't sexy. A lot of people have Masters.

However, this primarily matters right out of college or in the first few years of a career. By year 5, companies rarely look at your education as a defining point unless its like a PhD or MBA. Work experience matters beyond then

You should enter the workforce and get rewarded for passing your CPA by a company that awards such bonuses.

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Dont do the masters yet, focus on the CPA. If you want a grad degree after consider MST as well.

Focus on CPA exam, get a job at a CPA firm, go back and get masters in tax (if you want to stick to tax) and let firm pay for it.

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