<p>Anyone voting for the stenchpile?</p>
<p>ValleyAccountant- I don’t think law firms would value anything about you! Stay away from law school.</p>
<p>Really? You must know so much about me to make a judgement call like that wildchildmom. LOL Seriously though how did you come to that conclusion? I have a friend that is an associate at an NLJ 250 and I have a lunch meeting with him next week to get his opinion. have known him for years and he has always tried to convince me to drop accounting for tax law. I seem to get along well with most of the law staff I have hung out with. LOL</p>
<p>What about actuary work?
Ive been thinking about accounting or actusry and was wandering which makes the most money. </p>
<p>Sent from my SGH-T959V using CC</p>
<p>If I can go to the stenchpile at no cost to me then I am going to the stenchpile LOL. If I can get a 160 on the LSAT I can go tuition free part time so we will see…</p>
<p>ValleyAccountant, this is the same question that my son asked me. A lot depends on your goals. If you are seeking a career as a tax attorney, going to a top 15 school or so would be preferable. However, if that is not your goal , and assuming that the tier three school has some good tax offerings ( which is a big assumption), I would take the tier three school if it cost a LOT less money ( such as being free). Note: what I said might change if the requirements for keeping the scholarship were high. Don’t forget , for many tier three schools the median law school GPA in the first year is around 2.5. Thus, having to achieve a 3.2 or higher is very tough. Even a 3.0 is tough.</p>
<p>Also, if your goal is not to practice law, getting a Masters in Tax from a university might be preferable. Law school involves taking a LOT of courses that are unrelated to tax. I was warned about this years ago and ignored that advice. However, in all fairness, when I attended law school during those dinosaur days, masters programs in tax weren’t nearly as plentiful as they are today.</p>
<p>Valley, </p>
<p>Have you considered (EA) license? Basically, you will have the same rights as the tax attorney, without going to a law school.</p>
<p>I can already represent clients through the internal appeals process within the IRS. If I were to go into tax law it would be to earn the big bucks by leveraging the attorney client privilege and ability to litigate in tax court. It is a frustrating decision since I may have to choose between a stenchpile with a debt free LLM in tax+ JD and a JD at a much better school. I am going to discuss this with my friend that is a litigator at an NLJ250 firm. Maybe they can shed some light. </p>
<p>All in all I may end up staying in public and staying away from law. The cost of law school is massive and I already make more money than the average graduate from a low tier school. I only have a BA. I will definitely get at least the MST degree though. Since it is free if I go part time due to reimbursement.</p>
<p>Okay guys… I have a question. </p>
<p>I’ve read a thread about this but it was posted over 4 years ago and I feel it’s not appropriate to resurrect it. So I’ll just ask you guys!</p>
<p>So I’ve been interested in accounting for a while. I got an A in my financial accounting course at community college during my junior year (most introductory course). I got 4th place in my state for DECA Accounting.</p>
<p>But the fact is I really dislike math and have no intentions of relying on it for the rest of my life. Obviously I know the math involved in basic accounting. And I’m fine with that stuff. But I’m afraid I will do poorly in advanced accounting classes.</p>
<p>It’s not like I’m really bad at math… I’ve taken the most advanced math classes available throughout high school. But I have no mind for it. I’m much better in my English and history classes. But I’m still very interested in business. I don’t know what to do. Maybe major in something like Real Estate that I find interesting but doesn’t involve a lot of math. But then there’s the question of job security or getting one at all.</p>
<p>I appreciate all input
JeremyS</p>
<p>The math in accounting doesnt get more advanced as the accounting concepts advance. +, -, x, /</p>
<p>Thats it.</p>
<p>EA’s having the same right as attorneys. LMAO You can get an EA with a GED level of education. They are nothing like a tax attorney. I have known a ton of EA’s working in public accounting. </p>
<p>How did you come to the conclusion EA’s have the same rights as attorneys?</p>
<p>First of all, I didn’t say that they have the same rights as attorneys in general. I was referring to the field of taxation. (aka tax attorneys)</p>
<p>“An Enrolled Agent is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of federal taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for audits, collections, and appeals. Enrolled agents are the only federally-licensed tax practitioners who specialize in taxation and who have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS.”</p>
<p>I do not know much about them but it seems that they can deal with all aspects of taxes, and represent clients in court on the federal level, which is even greater than CPAs and tax attorneys can. Please don’t make it sound like it is an easy license to get. A newly licensed CPA will not be able to pass this exam without a proper preparation because it covers different topics. Although it doesn’t have a lot of requirements, people with GED or even bachelors in accounting (where they only have to take one or two tax classes) will not be able to pass it simply because they have no preparation for it.</p>
<p>Pretty straight-forward question: what are the keys to getting noticed and hired by the Big 4? Such as, where would you rank GPA (cumulative & acct’ing), networking, leaderships positions, etc?</p>
<p>You will need a certain GPA and major to make it past the human resources person who usually screens resume’s. This GPA will range from 3.0-3.7 depending on what school you go to. A 3.0 from UT Austin will get you an interview but a 3.0 from Cal State Bakersfield will not get you an interview at a national firm. You also may need some other things to get the thumbs up from HR such as leadership, work experience, being young, etc. </p>
<p>After you get the thumbs up on your resume you will get a 1st round interview. In this interview you will probably interview with HR and they will ask you a series of questions to make sure you can communicate decently. Many students will fail this round since they don’t know how to interview or they are one of those exchange students with a 4.0 that cannot speak english well enough to order a partners’ coffee at starbucks. I would recommend picking up a book on how to interview. There are definitely do’s and don’ts </p>
<p>After you get past the 1st round it will be much more subjective. You will be selected by the actual accountants you will be working for like the partners. There is no “order of importance check list”. Being able to relate to the partners, managers and seniors you interview with is of the utmost importance. If they want to talk about their favorite football team then talk about it with them. If they want to talk about their family then talk to them about it. RELATE TO THEM GET THEM TO LIKE YOU THEN YOU WILL GET HIRED</p>
<p>However you still must stay on topic. You will know if you are interviewing well if it lasts too long. If the interview is cut very short typically they don’t like you. They are looking at the big picture. Here is how I would rank things that are in your control if I HAD to rank them. </p>
<p>Things in your control when applying for a job at an accounting firm</p>
<ol>
<li>GPA- you won’t make it in the door without it</li>
<li>Work experience- doesn’t have to be accounting but shows you are responsible. Accounting work is a big plus though!</li>
<li>Leadership- can be from work or from school clubs</li>
<li>Knowing how to answer basic interview questions in a concise and appropriate manner. “tell me about yourself”, “tell me about a time you had a conflict with a supervisor”, “tell me about a time you solved a problem” etc<br></li>
</ol>
<p>Things not in your control</p>
<ol>
<li> Your personality and interests – this matters A TON if they don’t like you as a person you won’t get hired. Some partners were jocks in high school that like talking about the good old days of high school football. Some partners were music nerds that like going to classical musical concerts.<br></li>
<li> Your looks – some old pervert partner might like having some eye candy around the office. I know it is low down but it is reality. Go onto goingconcern the public accounting tabloid there are tons of stories about this. Moreover some pretty senior manager might not like a prettier staff because they want to be the pretty one ETC</li>
<li> Your age- a national firm probably wouldn’t hire someone for an entry level position if they were older and appeared older. They have forced retirement at a certain age. Legally they can enforce this unfortunately.</li>
<li> The mood your interviewer is in- If they just found out they are being sued the morning before your interview they may be in a rotten mood. </li>
</ol>
<p>There is my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Thanks ValleyAccountant – exactly the kind of reply I was looking for.</p>
<p>Hello all, I’m currently an undergraduate student at San Francisco State University (SFSU) pursuing a bachelors degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. I plan on getting my CPA license sometime down the road. I hope to find a job at a large national firm or Big 4 doing auditing. </p>
<p>I understand that California is going to change the law beginning in 2014 where there will be a 150 semester units requirement in order to sit for the CPA exam. Also, the new law would add two new requirements, such as the 20 semester units of “accounting study” and the 10 semester units of “ethics study.” The “accounting study” requirement can be fulfilled by getting a Masters in Accounting or a Masters in Taxation. </p>
<p>Which of these (MS Accounting or MS Taxation) would serve me better? With a BS in accounting, would it be redundant to get a Masters in Accounting? I’ve talked with a relative who is a CPA and is a partner of a regional accounting firm, and he told me that getting a Masters in Taxation would be somewhat difficult straight out of undergrad because of the lack of experiencing real-world scenarios in the workplace where tax laws would be applicable. Though I see that there could be benefits on having a Masters in Taxation, as it would enable me to be more knowledgeable about tax laws if I pursue a job in tax consulting. Should I go for the MS Accounting or MS Taxation?</p>
<p>What are some ways that I can demonstrate ‘leadership’ as it pertains to being viewed upon as viable for Accounting firms? In High School, I never partook in any organization other than football. I’m at a community college now, and the amount of clubs and such are very minuscule. Any advice? Appreciated!</p>
<p>Which industry would be the most attractive for accounting practice? e.g. Finance Insitution, Real Estate & Construction, or Energy/Utilities?</p>
<p>I have a question about resumes. I’ve been interning for a few months with a company and now am transferring to a staff position. Should I indicate that I interned first on my resume and then my new job, or just list my it with my new job title as if I’ve been that since I started?</p>
<p>Just to be clear, and this was probably answered somewhere in the 150-some posts, to actually enjoy the job opportunities, salaries, and everything accounting jobs has to offer, you would need a CPA first right?</p>