Hey everyone! I’m currently a senior and I’ll be graduating from college with a degree in economics in May. I’m at a stage where I begin to explore my options and careers in the future, so hopefully some of you can give me some advice!
So here’s my plan…I’ve decided to give it a shot at becoming a singer after graduation (!!). Since I know this career path is super risky and not stable, I’d try to become a CPA while pursing my singer dream. So I’ll work and I’ll take enough accounting classes after graduation in order to qualify me for those exams WHILE prepping my way to become a singer.
My idea is that, if my hollywood dream fails (which is very likely), I hope that I could still get a job at a mid-tier accounting firm (McGladrey or GT) as a CPA, and just work in the industry for the rest of my life.
So. what do you think? Is it realistic at least? Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!
Many of the mid-tier accounting firms have already filled out their classes for 2016; you should be working on that backup plan right now to try to secure employment post-graduation. If you plan to get into public accounting, you’ll want some experience under your belt before tax season starts, and so will the firms, so I’d start working on that piece ASAP.
If accounting is part of your plan, you don’t need to get into a brand name to have a successful career, and you don’t need your CPA to do accounting work. To be honest, if I were you, I’d look at accounting jobs that do not require being a CPA and see how public accounting feels. From there, you may find options (i.e. company sponsorship of accounting classes) that will allow you to pursue the CPA while still pursuing your outside interests. It’s more likely that a larger firm would sponsor your classes, but it isn’t unheard of for small partnerships to bring on fresh grads to do some of the lower level work and then to help you out as you develop your career. If you are only looking at mid-tier firms, you will miss out on a large portion of the market and, therefore, a large portion of the opportunity out there.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that a Hollywood dream is often incompatible with accounting from mid-January to mid-April. If you’re in public accounting, expect to work a LOT of hours during tax season!