a_mom

speedviper, Haas does offer the accounting courses needed for CPA exam, see http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/Undergr...reparation.pdf . And big 4 in bay area have Berkeley graduates.

plscatamacchia

I have 2 questions.

1) I have a very strong relationship with my girlfriend. We live together and live it. I am wondering if anyone else has experience with working for a Big 4 with a significant other? How did it affect your relationship?

2) I will be graduating with a LARGE amount of debt. My parents make a great combined income (near 200k) and will be paying nearly all of it. Due to their own financial negligence they have not been able to pay for hardly any of m education up front. If big 4s do a background check and see a six figure debt will they be hesitant to extend a job offer? If so would me explaining that I will not be paying them off all alone help in this situation?

Thanks for any help in advance!

tbradford

Wow, you're parents are paying a large amount of money for your college education and you're calling them financially negligent? You should be thankful and grateful they're willing and able to pay for any of it.

So long as you don't have any late payments on your loans it should not influence a hiring decision.

plscatamacchia

I dont appreciate your judging of my situation. For years my parents made well above 300k but set up no college fund so instead of graduating debt free I will be paying off loans for the better part of my life. Did I say I was ungrateful? No. I simply stated they were negligent. It's pretty justified considering they have filed bankruptcy and almost had there last house foreclosed on before being able to sell it.

It is not even a guarantee they will be able to keep up with the payments. If you saw your parents driving Porsches and Mercedes and then they tell you they can't afford a dime of college you might also say they were negligent.

I love my parents and am grateful for their effort. But please, keep from judging when you have no knowledge of the situation.

jonahrubin

If you promise your kids you will pay for their college, send them to an extraordinarily expensive college, and then have them rack up 200k in debt, that's pretty negligent.

GoBlue81

I don't think the list of accounting courses offered at UCB is sufficient to prepare you to sit for the CPA. Note the disclaimer: "...there is no guarantee that all the coursework required for the CPA exam can be completed at UC Berkeley". Your Haas BBA is not intended to prepare you for your CPA exam. That's where your 5th year MAcc is for.

plscatamacchia,
You should be fine as long as you keep up with your loan payment on time. However, depending on where you live, it may be tough to pay off your 6-figure loan with your entry level accounting job.

speedviper02

GoBlue81, I think the disclaimer is meant for non-Haas majors because they do not get priority in enrolling in those accounting classes offered by Haas. If I do take those classes I would meet the 24 necessary accounting units. Also, with AP units I'll end up graduating with around 156 units, which is above the 150 units required to sit for the exam.

zoolander

what courses do you think you need to take for accounting intern at big 4? do you think financial accounting(4 credits), managerial accounting(2credits) and Financial Statement Analysis(3 credits) is enough?

Thetaxdad

Zoolander - usually firms hire interns during their junior year. I had an internship at a mid-sized firm this past busy season and would imagine that Big Four companies would be looking for similar classes. Before beginning my internship I had financial accounting, managerial accounting, intermediate accounting I, cost accounting and tax accounting completed. While working my internship I completed intermediate accounting II and my audit class.

Just some general comments

In reading this thread, it looks like a lot of you are thinking about or are just entering accounting in college. I am just wrapping up my accounting degree and have some experience as well that maybe can answer some questions on here.

As for working at the Big Four - this seems to be punded into undergrad's brains that this is the only way to go. Though working at the Big Four definitely does have its advantages, it is certainly not for everyone. I for one decided that it was not a path that I wanted to pursue because of work/life balance. I worked at a mid-size firm (about 100 employees and three offices) and found the work/life balance fit great with my family situation. I am married and have a six month old at home, and though we certainly worked hard, I felt that I had much more time than friends of mine who are at the Big 4. I worked in tax, and my typical work week during busy season was about 50 hours, granted I did not work on Saturdays, so the actual accountants worked about 60 hour weeks. I also found that the pay at my internship was about the same as interns are paid at the Big 4. As noted previously in this thread and I agree with; it is not always kosher to speak of pay and what not, but I feel that this is certainly a burning question in lots of young minds that are reading this thread. For my internship, I was paid $22 an hour, which compares to the Big 4. I was also extended a job opportunity with the firm I was with, and will begin this fall. This salary is a little lower than Big 4, however, you are paid overtime and with busy season having approximately 120 hours of overtime, it ends up being on par with Big 4 salary. I think that the bottom line in deciding what type of firm you want to work at is what kind of work/life balance do you want to have, and what career path would you like to have (though this is question is not easily answered until you are in the field)

Hope this helps

hampster

Taxdad, thanks so much for your post. Some quick questions: 1) How old are you? Don't mean to pry, but I'll be applying this fall to MAcc programs as a 26 year old. If things go as planned, I'll be starting in accounting as a 27 year old. I guess my question really is, how do older graduates fit in at the firms? Am I going to be surrounded by mostly 22 year olds?

2) What's your sense of the job market right now? I just had dinner with an acquaintance whose start date got pushed 6 months. I'm also hearing trouble stories from blogs like re: The Auditors.

Thetaxdad

hampster - I am a younger father at 24. As for your first question, I think you will fit in just fine. When I had my internship this past tax season I switched into night and weekend classes at my college, and was actually one of the youngest of the accounting majors in those classes. As a 24 year old I was one of the youngest staff members working at my firm, though there were many 25-30 year olds. I think that the key is getting done with your MAcc program and then getting your CPA as soon as possible. If you have the personality and accounting skills that employers are looking for you will get put to work right away and treated very maturly. I know that there were a few other interns that were hired at my firm along with me that ended up just proofing and footing financial reports for 4 months! So, it really depends on what you bring to the table that will help you fit in.

As for the job market, I am sure it varies by area, but I think for the most part the future is bright for accounting majors. I am in the midwest, and like all other parts of the country the market is hitting CPA firms here as well. In my case, the CPA firm I interned at wanted to hire me on full time in May after my internship was up, but decided to push my start date back to this fall because of the market. I feel that no matter what, you are going to be well suited with an accounting degree. The business world will always have a need for accountants. I think the key is distinguishing yourself from other applicants. I know one thing that helpped me land my job was nailing down the interview. They actually told me thats why I got hired. So, don't worry about your age, and make sure that you focus on taking the CPA exam as soon as possible.

jonahrubin

I'm 26 right now and will be done with a BBA in Accounting at 27. I might have an MAcc at 28 so I'll be even older than you(though hopefully I'll face a less discerning job market by then).

taxdad, does anybody care about people actually having their MAcc if they've got a CPA? I have a lot of leftover liberal arts and excessive AP credits so when I get my BBA I'll have 160 or so hours. I obviously will stick it out in school until I have a job offer but do you get the sense that not having a graduate degree has limited anyone in the upper ranks at your firm? My guess is that I'll be better off with a year of work experience vs no experience and a MAcc(also I'll get more money that way). Plus I'll save my GI Bill benefit for part of an MBA or whatever down the road, which would be particularly helpful if there's another recession and I get laid off because the GI Bill will pay tuition plus extra money for housing each month.

Thetaxdad

Here is what I have gathered regarding grad degrees. Granted, I am certainly not an expert. Again, I work at a mid-sized firm with about 100 employees. We have nine partners, of which only two have an advanced degree. Almost all of our staff have an undergrad degree in accounting and either have, or are working towards a CPA. Our newest partner, who has been with the firm for about ten years, has an MBT (master in Business Taxation). I think that the MAcc will definitely help, however, I think that the MBA or some type advanced degree in taxation would set you apart even more and allow you to really specialize in a particular sector. Remember, the key in this job market is being able to set yourself apart from others. When you interview, you will have a leg up with your MAcc, but it really comes down to your interpersonal skills when landing the job. The most important thing I have observed, at least for public accounting, is getting your CPA as soon as possible. In many states you can sit for the exam even before graduation. What I have been told is that the advanced degrees should come after you have some experience. Some firms will even help pay for them as well! : )

a_mom

taxdad, thanks for your posts, I just want to add that -

While researching for the under accounting program for my daughter, I noticed many MAcc programs, not ALL, are designed for non-accounting majors. (Yes! I read too much and too advance in time .) For accounting majors who want to pursue advance degrees, it's better to have a program that provides in depth study for a certain area of accounting, like Master in Taxation as taxdad said in his previous post.

Thetaxdad

Yes - the MAcc is great if you know right away as a freshman that you want to major in accounting. That way, as long as you are getting 150 or so credits, you get your masters as well. I for one did not know that I wanted to do accounting right away, so after two years of misc undergrad, it was too late to get into the MAcc program.