<p>I am so lost. Let me start by saying I have a lot on my mind and thank you if you read my entire post! I am a very anxious person so I worry a ton- but I do feel a lot of my concerns are legit. I am 27 years old and I am married with 2 young children. I will graduate in May 2012 with my BS in Business/Accounting. I started community college right out of high school. We moved, and I have been taking online classes every since. Not the smartest choice, but it is what it is. If I could go back and change it, I sure would try. I have 1 semester left, and I have a very poor GPA- it will end up between a 2.2 and a 2.4. I have found the online format extremely challenging- barely passing my major classes with mostly Cs. </p>
<p>So my first real concern is wondering what all I should know about accounting procedures and formulas and what all when I graduate. That is- what will employers expect me to know how to do? I dont need you to tell me how to do these things- just what the main things are that I should know. Everyone tells me that most of what I will need to do will be learned at the specific company- but I still feel like I will have to look at my books and notes to be able to complete things. So first question is what are the main things I SHOULD KNOW how to do when I complete my degree?</p>
<p>My second real concern is who will hire me- anyone worth this degree I have been working so hard to get? I have spent close to 10 years to complete an accounting degree. I will end up with an online degree and a very low GPA. I live in a small town with the closest big city over an hour away. I will have around $60,000 in student loan debt. My only have-way related work experience right now is working at a small town gift shop 2 days a week. It is run inside a pharmacy, but as 2 separate businesses. I make $10 an hour. I keep the books for the gift shop. This is extremely easy though- since it is such a small place- and I wonder if this even counts as experience. There is a local Jackson Hewitt office inside our Wal-Mart that is hiring for the tax season. I have considered applying here for an extra job- but again I wonder if that would help my resume at all? </p>
<p>I have always planned on getting my masters degree a couple years after completing my bachelors, so that I would have the option to sit for the CPA exam one day. But I doubt any school will take my low GPA which brings me to thinking I can just take those extra 30 credits over the next couple years to satisfy the 150 hour requirement. </p>
<p>I have a ton of anxiety and I am on meds for this- but I still get extremely nervous in interviews. I am an introvert and am most comfortable 1 on 1 or with a small group of people that I know. I have all of this working against me. My husband is very supportive, as well as my academic counselor, but no other family thinks my degree is worth anything and think I am just an idiot for wasting my time and money on this online degree. Almost everyone thinks I am just set up for failure, so it makes me feel even more like I have wasted 10 years, $60,000, and all for what?? Will anyone hire me? I dont expect a large firm to want me to work, but will I be able to land an actual career? Making around $30,000-$40,000 to start is all I would want! I live in OK so that might sound low in other areas of the country. I am just starting to wonder if I should quit my last semester and not graduate- and just try to work like I have been- never really accomplishing any dreams I have always had .UGH I am so lost!! I dont know what to do!</p>