<p>Thetaxdad, at my school there are events only for the 5 year students, the internship recruiting timeline doesn’t work for 4 year students, and you are pretty much screened out of trying to apply with the online job search thing if you aren’t in the program. The guy with enough hours could always join his school’s 5 year program if it has one and not complete it once he’s gotten his internship and job offer. Recruiters might not really care about a Masters but I’m sure it’s easier for them to just recruit out of one pool.</p>
<p>My son attends a LAC where he is leaning towards becoming an accounting major. His school encourages the students to complete 150 credits at the undergraduate level - loading up on classes or taking additional credits online at cheap programs. Taking a normal course load at his college adds up to 128 credits. If a student has AP credits that they can add to that many kids come close to the 150 hour requirement. My son will be 14 credits short. He will have to find a way to take those credits - maybe over the summer at a community college.</p>
<p>The Big 4 accounting firms recruit heavily out of his college. He will not need a masters degree to get a job with one of them if his grades are good and that is what he wants. Since the job placement is so good at his school getting a masters will not give him any advantage.</p>
<p>I guess schools with a masters in accounting program encourage a 5 year track and schools with no masters program encourage taking extra credits at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>My post was assuming that the undergraduate degree is in accounting and is 150 credits. Many schools offer an undergrad degree in accounting that is 150 credits. Yes you can do the masters, but it is certainly not a requirement for recruiting purposes. To address another point, most recruiting sites do have a section where you identify when or if you are/will be able to sit for the CPA. In my experience it is the credits that is the key (among other things like GPA) - not the masters.</p>
<p>as far as recruiting goes, getting the masters at a more reputable school could be useful for those with an undergrad from a smaller school. it is especially helpful if you want to start your career in a bigger city outside of your undergrad region. </p>
<p>from my experience at Michigan, there were those that already had offers with the big 4 by the end of their undergrad that decided to do a MAcc. they just wanted wanted more interviews for another shot at i-banking. Some of them did end up with those opportunities. </p>
<p>my point is simple: never underestimate what a one-year masters can do!</p>
<p>gobluecpa, UMich Macc grads got into Ibanking?</p>
<p>Dawgie, I had a Bachelors from Baruch and could have gone into Ibanking in the bond trading department. I always have wondered what my life would have been had I accepted the opportunity. Having a strong GPA in accounting does open a lot of doors even in Ibanking IF</p>
<ol>
<li>You interview well</li>
<li>Your school is well known and has a lot of alumni working on wall street such as Michigan, Baruch etc.</li>
</ol>
<p>unlike many macc programs with several hundred kids, my program only had around 60. at least 5 that i know of went into i-banking with MAJOR banks. most of them were ross bba the year before though.</p>
<p>I’ve recently finished my final year of high school and I intend to major in accounting next year at university. Being one that has job security as a high career priority, </p>
<p>-Hence, can accounting offer a lifetime career so that I can be working well into my 60s without having to become a partner or managing my own firm? What type of positions would I work then? </p>
<p>I don;t want to be working in a field where your simply redundant and shown the door in your 40s never to find a relevant job again.</p>
<p>appreciate the advice</p>
<p>Hi everyone.</p>
<p>Sorry if these questions have already been asked, but the thread has A LOT of pages, so I figured posting these wouldn’t be too bad.</p>
<p>A little info: I’m a double major in FIN and ACC. I have a 3.9 GPA and around a 3.7 GPA in Accounting (I’m estimating since I have yet to receive my final grades for this semester). I have been focusing almost solely on landing an IB job, and have ignored Accounting. However, I have been thinking much more about Accounting lately, but I am unfamiliar with the application and internship process.</p>
<p>I know that in IB, you want to get an internship after your junior year summer, and then snatch an offer up for after your senior year. Is accounting any different since you have to get the 150 hours? For example, would I want an internship right after my junior year, or do people usually get an internship after their senior year, with an offer after their possible 5th year?</p>
<p>Also, when is the ideal time to take the CPA exam? The Big 4 offer bonuses if you take it your first year of employment right?</p>
<p>Any advice or guidance in what I should be doing would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>
<p>I believe the summer internship selection process begins in the winter of your third year, or fourth year if you’re staying a fifth year for 150-units.</p>
<p>Completing a portion of the CPA exam just after graduation would be best. You’d have free time during the summer, and you’d still be in the studying mindset after college. In my area, they offer a $5k bonus if you complete it in your first year, and it decreases by $2k for every subsequent year.</p>
<p>Thanks chiizuvs. So I’m guessing I have to catch it in the fall or winter of my fourth year, since we’re already on December 17th?</p>
<p>When you say a portion, you mean one of the four sections? You can do that? And the $5k bonus is for completing the whole exam, right? So let’s say, I have…</p>
<p>Senior year- Fall 2010, Spring 2011
5th year- Fall 2011, Spring 2012</p>
<p>I’d take my CPA right after the spring? In the summer? Also how long before do you suggest I start studying and reviewing for the exam?</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your help.</p>
<p>Not sure if it’s already been mentioned in this thread or elsewhere on CC(and I apologize if it already has), but what would an accountant have to do to make a 7 or 8 digit annual salary?</p>
<p>Make a flying car.</p>
<p>partners in large accounting firms can make a 7 digit income. Partners in midsize firms can also make close to that and make substantial 7 digit income selling his firm if it was successful.</p>
<p>Salaries are equal at the respective levels at each of the big 4 firms:</p>
<p>PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Ernst & Young (E&Y), Deloitte, KPMG</p>
<p>Level1: Associate - ~$40k - $60k
Level2: Senior Associate - ~$50k - $90k
Level3: Manager - ~$80k - $130k
Level4: Senior Manager - ~$110k - $200k
Level5: Director/Managing Director - ~$150k - $250k
Level6: Principal/Partner ~$250k+</p>
<p>Nathan
“Great place to launch your careers - Big4”
<a href=“http://www.fbig4.com”>www.fbig4.com</a></p>
<p>fbig4 - your website is hilarious!</p>
<p>"I loved team meetings when the partners and mgmt would stress NO EATING HOURS, disregarding the fact that they rarely scope a job properly. When T&E day comes, rather than tell you to Eat Hours they will say the budget only allows for 8-10 hrs. a day. Or they pull some reverse psychology B.S. to make you feel like you must not be working smart/hard enough. "</p>
<p>bahahaha, so true.</p>
<p>wow, read this entire thread through in 2-3 days. i really appreciate the candid information you guys are willing to share, i’ve certainly learned a lot.</p>
<p>this spring term will be my last semester as an accounting undergraduate. i’ve thankfully secured an intern position at a local cpa firm where i will learn much tax and audit work.</p>
<p>i’ve interviewed with some of the big4 as well as mid-market, even with having a mediocre GPA (less than 3.4). i have a great resume that highlights some of my sales and management experience and working full-time while in school.</p>
<p>i wouldn’t expect to land a position with them unless i absolutely WOWed them to the point of disbelief, but to be completely honest that is just highly unlikely by anyones capabilities. maybe im wrong but ive definitely tried and ive deducted that, especially in this economy, gpa means the MOST, and if you don’t have it, you can look elsewhere (private or smaller firms) and try your luck there.</p>
<p>anyway, i am definitely happy with my progress and network that i’ve been able to establish with audit seniors, financial analysts, managers, partners, and other professionals as well. i just had a bad start to college but i enjoy the work that im doing in accounting and expect a successful career in the long haul. the JD/CPA sounds very interesting, though i have yet to take tax (will be this semester)</p>
<p>my questions:
-Will having a better GPA in grad school offset or make my undergraduate GPA obsolete? After performing well in grad school, would those scores land me a position with big4 if thats still what i wish to do?</p>
<p>-Will scoring higher on the GMAT (620 and above perhaps) offset the GPA requirement for grad school? Most admissions state a minimum requirement, but they are also subjective in nature and chosen by a committee.</p>
<p>-What will training intensity and tasks be like working for a smaller cpa firm in tax and audit? Would you consider this better in some ways compared to big4/mid-market? I’ll be working and will have direct mentorship/advice from a partner that has worked for big4, I see this as extremely advantageous…</p>
<p>-What would the outlook be like working in a small firm, completing your CPA, and moving on from there? Stay with that firm and possibly work your way up to partner in < 10 years , apply to other larger firms, big4?</p>
<p>Any insight i’d appreciate it.</p>
<p>I have many more questions I’m sure but I look forward to your responses and learning from you all</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>I’m in a similar position as you, so don’t consider what I’m saying authoritative. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I’ve looked at a lot of the top accounting graduate programs and they seem to vary as far as their system for evaluating your GPA. Some only consider your last 60 hours, many consider only upper division classes, others don’t say and others consider everything. Everybody asks for all college level work completed so even if they say they won’t consider certain things they will have access to it. At any rate, my guess is that if you recalculate your GPA based on your last 60 hours(or 45 if you’ve got 15 more to go) or your upper level classes, you’ll maybe have a better idea where you stand. </p></li>
<li><p>I think your training depends on the firm and how long your internship is. We’ve had various firms talk to us and some seem to give virtually no training(feeling nothing but the real thing is worth doing, particularly when they’ve only got you for a few months). Others make their own in house program and others send people off to a little camp to learn for a week(my guess is various small firms share the cost of these programs).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>FLCPA -To answer your second set of questions.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>As mentioned above training will certainly vary by firm, however, I would expect at least a few solid days training on various software programs. The truth is, the most valuable training you will receive during your internship is the day to day questions you will ask while working on tasks. Ask as many questions as possible of the seniors, managers and partners. </p></li>
<li><p>Staying with a midsize firm can be a great path if you desire to stay in public and want to still have somewhat of a work/life balance. Partners at midsized firms can make a substatial income. As for moving from a smaller firm to Big 4, you might find this is more difficult to do. Typically positions within the larger firms get more and more specialized as you move up, where at a smaller CPA firm, you might get specialized into audit or tax, but you are still working with a variety of business lines. This being said, it is not something that cannot be done.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>so there is still hope!</p>