Welp-- failed far now twice. Now I have to take an even harder version after the April changes. Have 0 passed and in second year. Considering a change in career because this doom and gloom is horrible

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A lack of a CPA license for an accounting graduate is to a lack of bar exam for a law graduate as is to lack of a medical license for a med graduate... you went to school to study and practice accounting. Get your CPA. Study harder. Develop a plan, stick to and exceed it, get your license. You'll be happy you did or miserable you did not. Keep trying and learn what you did wrong and fix it. Have faith. Fake it until you make it. This is reality if you want to be an accountant.

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Buy ninja mcq and do 2500+ mcq. You will pass

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You don't have to change your career! The CPA is only demanded for PA. Unless you want to stay in public, I would try it again and maybe test out a new study plan. If you definitely want to keep doing accounting but not public, consider going into private/industry. A CPA looks good, but your experience working in PA is just as good. I have had sooo many recruiters and professionals tell me this. I wish you luck either way! Try not to get discouraged over that exam though. A piece of paper won't make you any more or any less experienced in accounting. It's about the engagements you're on and what you learn from your work that will take you far :)

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I appreciate you taking the time to write to me KPMG that honestly makes me feel much much better. I'm going to continue to try and maybe I'll have better success when I have more free time and not in public.

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@OP I believe KPMG is sugarcoating it a bit. A CPA may not be required for staff and senior accountant roles in corporate, but it definitely is required for manager level and above. Just look at your clients. How many of the accounting managers, controllers, etc... aren't CPAs? The answer is probably not many (if any). For long term career growth in the accounting field, the license is a must. There are plenty of other business related jobs that don't require the license (finance, F,P&A, marketing, etc...), but anything in accounting will require the license sooner or later.

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Of course!! And that's a good plan. It sounds like you're dedicated so I hope the next round goes better for you :) but either way, never get discouraged if you can't pass. You can still be an accountant no matter what!

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@Supervising Senior 1 I don't know of any private accounting companies that require a CPA license. I also just looked it up to see if I was incorrect, but every site I looked at even says you don't need a CPA in private accounting, especially for a manager role. I have even asked executives this at my former job because at that time I didn't want my CPA, and even they said I didn't need it for private. Maybe some companies have their own guidelines on that preference or maybe they just so happened to hire a CPA for better assurance? But private definitely doesn't require a CPA. If you find a site or source that says differently, please share! :)

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I made a study plan and stuck to it for all my exams. Don't back down and u will pass. I Did as many MC as i can put my hands on (w/o breaking my bank). For far, JE are a must know i felt for comprehension on many topics

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This sounds dumb but I don't have any parents or family to talk to about career plans so I will go on linkedin and look up manager positions that I would be interested in in the future and see what qualifications these jobs are looking for. That way I know how much experience and what certifications I need to get to be in that role someday

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So much inspiration I get from reading fishbowl posts...thank you all 🙏🙌 to pwc 1 same here I'm a first generation so everything I learn is pretty much from school/internet/professor/boss

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We're all going to make it, brah

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How close are you getting and what are your reasons for failing? Are you just not finding enough time to study and/or not applying yourself hard enough, or are you not grasping the concepts? If it's the latter than you might want to look for another profession. Passing the exam will be a requirement if you plan on having a successful career in the public accounting/corporate accounting space. If you're grasping the concepts and just not applying yourself then maybe try focusing 100% on the exam outside of work. You're life will be pretty boring for the next year, but you'll pass.

Deloitte advisory is an extremely strong practice, and doesn't require the license. Have you looked into transferring into that? I have some friends that went the advisory route and then spun that into a consulting gig.

@supervising senior 1, I'm not sugar coating it. I was just at a client yesterday and their tax director doesn't have her CPA. I used to work for a financial institution. A very good one at that. And our controller and CFO did not have CPA licenses. They only had degrees in accounting. I would have taken over the controller role had it not been for our bank being bought out. But fun fact, the CFO from the bank that bought us out doesn't have a CPA either. They still make good money too. Are ALL corporations/companies like this? No. But a good amount are.

Hey supervising senior, great suggestion!! Thank you. How do you suggest I approach this change being that I'm in a specialized tax group for just north of 1 year?

And does advisory roles require a ton of traveling etc?

Do*

@KPMG1 those are exceptions rather than the rule. You can find exceptions to everything, doesn't mean the rule is not accurate. @OP just have a discussion with your career coach. Let them know you're interested in a possible transfer to advisory. Before you do that though, answer this. Do you actually enjoy your work in tax? If you really enjoy it and CPA only thing holding you back, then maybe rethink applying yourself to get the license.

😂😂😂 "internet says private doesn't require a CPA". Great reference. I'm talking from experience. Go look at any of your firms large public companies, medium size public companies, large private companies, etc... majority of the managers and above have a CPA. Of course there's not a regulation that requires a CPA, I'm speaking practically. Keep living in la la land if you want.

Go to any large market and see what the recruiters are asking for. Every recruiter email I get for manager level positions at reputable companies require a CPA. Of course you can find small companies that don't require one, but like I said and as others have said, it's the exception not the rule. If you plan on having a long career in accounting and don't plan on getting your CPA do so at you're own peril. Maybe you get lucky and it works out, but I wouldn't bet my career on that.

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