<p>I did not major in a business-related field, but a social science field. I am currently enrolled in accounting courses to meet the accounting concentration requirement to sit for the CPA exam. These will also satisfy the pre-requisite requirements for an MSA program. Many people say that you don't NEED the Masters, per se, if you can get your CPA. However, I'm wondering if I really do need the Masters since I have no business-related degree. In my area there is approximately $10K/yr salary differential for the Master's in Accounting over the Bachelor's in Accounting.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for all states, but generally, you will need either a Bachelors or Masters in Accounting to sit for the CPA. I believe it is pretty standard for states to require a number (usually about 30) of hours of upper level business classes as well. You not being a business major means you would need to make sure you have those. But you should check your state board of accountancy requirements.</p>
<p>If you can get $10k more in salary for a MAcc/MS Accounting then I would do that. That’s a lot of money over the course of your career.</p>
<p>You will want to take the CPA regardless of whether you get a second bachelors degree or a masters. You don’t have to do so, but you will have countless more opportunities with a CPA license.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply! </p>
<p>In my state (I can’t speak for others) you may have a Bachelor’s in any area, as long as you have the required accounting concentration hours (I believe it is 30 or 36, including business law) and 150 total hours total, with certain Master’s degrees exempt. I have already been in contact with the State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners to verify before I started on this path. I was an Economics/Public Admin minor so I did get a fair amount of business/management/finance courses in, but aside from the few accounting credits I took in u/g it doesn’t appear that any of that will be a factor. </p>
<p>Based on the MSA/MSAcc programs I’ve looked into, I estimate it will cost me roughly $25K in tuition (not adjusted for inflation,) and effectively double my student loan debt,so I really wanted to be sure that I’m doing the right thing. I work full-time and plan to continue, so I won’t be leaving the workforce, I just can’t afford to pay tuition out of pocket right now. I just have a feeling that many firms won’t take me seriously (CPA or not) without an accounting degree of some kind.</p>
<p>Right now I’m mostly interested in auditing, forensic accounting, or government accounting (if that makes any sort of difference).</p>
<p>If you decide against the masters and just take the accounting concentration hours, you may be pretty close to a full accounting degree. Depending on how far off you are from that, it may be worth taking a few extra classes just to have that peace of mind since a lot of recruiters are going to be looking for a degree in accounting.</p>
<p>It will be worth it in the long run to go for the masters if you’re sure you can get an extra $10k/yr. Over the course of your career you will pay for the masters degree several times over. But having a lot of debt can be very burdensome. I’d be certain it’s worthwhile before I did this.</p>
<p>Good luck with whatever route you choose! Government auditing is what I do. The four day work week gives me more time to study for the CPA exam… 1 down, 3 to go!</p>
<p>Thank you again. I probably will end up going for the Master’s. The supplemental courses I’m taking for my concentration are from a community college, and do not all transfer for an additional Bachelor’s degree. However, the MSA Programs I’m interested in say that they still satisfy the pre-requisites, so this is my cheapest route.</p>