<p>haydennimo, that’s not something to worry about.</p>
<p>While I believe it is true that a monkey can do staff audit work, that knowledge doesn’t seem to have caught on fully with industry.</p>
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<p>Yes it has. Think about it. Nobody respects business majors, and people think accounting is just mindless arithmetic. The only people who respect the big four are sanctimonious 21 year olds, smaller/weaker/lesser firms who are beholden to them, and the big four itself. Take for example, an engineering major who posts on internet forums. Such a person would not be beholden to the big four’s rigorous GPA requirements, and thus would not be compelled to be in awe of them. Such a person would laugh at auditors’ $14 an hour after taxes and claim to make $95k starting before taxes with a 2.2 GPA and 140+ IQ. Another issue is the job postings for accountants with big four experience that don’t pay more than $50k.</p>
<p>I’m not interested in helping you with your self-esteem, Whistleblower. </p>
<p>The point is, industry HR people are looking to fill accounting roles with Big Four types, not engineering majors or astronauts or whatever else.</p>
<p>What sort of entry level positions are available in the federal government for accounting majors? And how difficult is it for an accounting major to get a job with the federal government?</p>
<p>how can one become a CFO? What does it take?</p>
<p>With regard to the government Q: It’s pretty hard these days. If you are a veteran it’s a lot easier. However, once you get in the door, especially after your 1 year probationary period it’s really hard for them to get rid of you. Your first few promotions are practically automatic. After that…I dunno. Many people plateau at a relatively low level and retire there. I don’t know if it’s because they have no ambition or it is very hard to get promoted or what. Certainly a lot are content to just have minimal responsibility and decent pay.</p>
<p>The big issue is that your exit options may suck unless you get high enough up the food chain to make your connections worth something(99% won’t be in this category).</p>
<p>The DCAA and IRS are the two big accounting agencies.</p>
<p>With regard to the CFO Q:</p>
<p>CFO magazine had a long article on that a few years back. They decided that the most popular route was to be a CPA with Big Four experience. That was not necessary however. The other alternative is a top tier MBA in Finance. IBM’s CFO is in that category. It really depends on the company and what role they see the CFO filling…probably also taking into consideration what role the company has for a Chief Accounting Officer and the CIO. My guess it that if there’s a new wave of accounting scandals and SOX type laws coming out 20 years from now…then they’ll be looking for CPA’s with lots of financial reporting and compliance experience. If people are more concerned with credit issues and generally more “finance” type things, then the CPA won’t help as much. Regardless, 99%+ aren’t going to be CFO’s and that’s 20 years away for you anyway so who cares?</p>
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<p>Why would engineering majors want to make less than $30 an hour before taxes? Makes no sense.</p>
<p>The question was from someone obviously looking for a career in accounting. Not engineering. I know you feel it is very important for strangers on the internet to congratulate you for majoring in engineering. That really wasn’t the purpose of his question.</p>
<p>LOL. WB wishes he was an engineering major. Probably one of his biggest regrets.</p>
<p>^Actually, Whistle have majored in accounting, and in some of his posts he mentioned that engineering would be too tough for him. I guess because he is a low IQ and a high GPA type. :)</p>
<p>Toshtemirov, you are dare-I-say a low IQ type because you make up artificial facts for lack of comprehendding posts on this message board. GPA? ASVAB score?</p>
<p>WB is a wannabe accountant. He mentioned that he currently works as a bookeeper at a small fishing company in Arkansas, making 20K. He hopes to get his CPA by the time he’s 30.</p>
<p>Haydennimo,
Nice…I’ll be going to Univ. Oregon in Fall of 2011 when I finish here at my JC.</p>
<p>Is Penn State a target school by the Big Four?</p>
<p>It sure is cabhax.</p>
<p>gee thanks for the encouragement JONA</p>
<p>hi taxguy!
I am looking to obtain my BS in Accounting eventually take the CPA exam. I came across WGU in Utah (on line degree) lets assume i completed the requirement for all 150 credits will i be able to CPA license with my degree from WGU?</p>
<p>what i meant to ask was would i be able to meet the requirement to take the cpa exam with an on line BS degree</p>
<p>lol. sorry, just have to at the “online bs degree.” anyway, be careful when you choose the school to attend. make sure the school has good network support to help you find a job. finding a job is probably more important and difficult than sitting for the cpa these days.</p>