CPA after BS, then law school? Or forget the CPA????

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>I am about to transfer to CSUN for Accounting (if I don't get into USC, which I probably won't sadly, lol).</p>

<p>I have always heard that CPA's make good money, so I decided that it would be best to go down that path and take the exam upon getting my BS.</p>

<p>BUT.... I have wanted to go to law school. </p>

<p>And I have nowhere else to go for advice, but here.</p>

<p>What would be the advantages of getting a CPA THEN a law degree? </p>

<p>If I go straight to law school, I am very interested (and still doing research on) a JD LLM program. But what does the LLM program give me that I won't get in tax courses in law school?</p>

<p>What would you guys recommend???</p>

<p>I really appreciate the time everyone takes to read these vague questions, lol. But I have looked everywhere and I couldn't find a single thing on my dilemma!!</p>

<p>Thank you very much.</p>

2

<p>Get the CPA for the hell of it. It doesn’t take long.</p>

3

<p>The LLM isn’t worth it, and if you have a CPA, you’ll probably know a lot about tax anyway. I know two CPAs, one who didn’t go to law school and is a tax director making mid 100ks, and one who did and is consulting for almost 1k per hour.</p>

4

<p>So it seems more lucrative to go to law school then?</p>

5

<p>Honestly, they are two separate jobs. I would certainly get your CPA if you majored in accounting. However, if you are going to practice law or work in government, you won’t need the CPA. It is, however, nice to have.</p>

6

<p>opened: Is the guy who went to law school a tax consultant, or do you know exactly what type of consulting work he/she does?</p>

7

<p>In most states if you want to be a partner (as opposed to a less lucrative principal or Director) in a CPA firm as a lawyer you will need a CPA license. For that reason, it makes sense to get it.</p>

8

<p>Agree with tax guy. Too many people are getting too many degrees that won’t help their desired careers.</p>

<p>As to which way to go–law or accounting–assess your skill set and what the realities of the jobs are. Which is more lucrative is impossible to say without much more info. Can yo get into a top 10 law school and get the grades to be hired by big law? That would be extremely lucrative, but most law school grads don’t end up there.</p>

<p>Being a partner at a big 4 firm is also very lucrative. So it all depends on you, the type of job you’ll qualify for and how well you do it.</p>