| B.A. in Crimina Justice to MAcc or CPA?
That should read "Criminal" in the title.
I graduated in May 2012 from Rutgers-Camden with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. My cum GPA was 3.9 and my major GPA was 4.0. I wanted to get into investigations. I had the opportunity to take an investigations practicum during my last semester and worked on actual fraud cases. I really liked it. Since every job I have applied for deems me unqualified, I have decided to get a master's in accounting in order to get into forensic accounting. Still investigative, but I don't to go the route of becoming a police officer, then a detective, in order to get hired as an investigator. This is the route most investigators have taken (Police --> Detective --> Investigator). I feel accounting would be a good fit, as I am detail-oriented, analytical, very good at data-mining, and love catching crooks!
Is there an alternative route to getting my masters in order to take the CPA? I don't have any accounting classes under my belt, and a second bachelor's degree I consider to be a waste of time. For what it's worth, I'm looking at schools in SoCal - USC and SDSU.
I am also concerned that, even though I have a lot of work experience (I'm 31), my full-time work was too long ago (pharmacy tech, 98-01). I have been in and out of school since that time and have gaps in schooling and employment due to a lengthy illness that I don't want held against me and frankly don't want to discuss with admissions as it is deeply personal and still stigmatized. Is this going to be a problem in applying to master's programs? I would think they would understand that many people have gaps, especially in employment, during times they could not find a job. I also was trying to figure out what I wanted to major in, and that is why the gaps in school/school transfers.
I have a lot of research experience and have taken two graduate-level courses during my time at Rutgers undergrad. Will this help me, even though they were criminal justice courses? I got an A in both.
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