Is CPA worth it if I only work in industry accounting? I have my bachelors and masters in acctg, finished 2 years ago. I have 4.5 years experience in industry acctg, all at the same company. This company doesn’t have many CPA’s. But I’m worried if I try to leave this company in the future, I’ll get overlooked without the CPA. What do you think of someone getting CPA license but no experience in public acc? (I did a 6 mo audit intern in college, but that’s it) or maybe a CMA would be better 4 me?

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I’m studying for FAR rn and wow this is way harder than I thought. I’m studying 12 hours a day in order to cover all the Becker material and I still have a long way to go. Once I finish far, I start full time and I still have 3 more exams to study for. It’s very discouraging. I have a much greater respect for current CPAs especially those that were working full time.

In my opinion, if you have no interest in public accounting, I’d personally save yourself from this hell. It obviously would benefit you and your career. But it’s a trade off for your time. You have to determine if the year long grind/ depression is worth it. You can get a second job with same work it takes to get the cpa. You can probably finish another masters degree tbh or learn a foreign language or a coding language. Assuming all the above take the same amount of work, you have to decide which one will benefit you the most. In public accounting the answer is probably the cpa but for you personally the answer may differ.

I’m not even a Staff 1 yet so take what I say with a grain of salt. Good luck regardless!

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If you aren’t 100% all in on getting your CPA, probably best to just not pursue it. The exams are challenging, but most of all it’s a time commitment. Going half-way on studying won’t serve you well. They’re definitely passable tho! Don’t get discouraged, a lot of people have passed the exams and you’re definitely smart enough. Best of luck!

If you want to be controller / director etc yes. If not no.

Can also do MBA in place of it depending on the company

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Even as an industry accountant whose public experience is just a footnote (fired after 7 months), the CPA opened a lot of doors for me and I’m making good money for my experience level at a relatively prestigious company. I don’t regret getting it one bit.

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Professional development is always worth it imo

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I don’t think it will hurt. A colleague was in public for 3 years and is on his 2nd gig in industry and received extra comp for his license. Like you’ve noted yourself, it’s a ticket in and out. Even if you don’t have PA experience, the license is recognized as not being easy to study for or get, and many people leave PA to finally have time to study.

It’s a PITA to study for, but if your current work schedule is relatively predictable, you’ll finish it in about 15 months. The first one everyone overstudies for, but you’ll find that the test is doable, just practice a lot of questions and simulations.

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