I am graduating with a degree in Economics and Criminal justice this year.
I realize that job prospects are not great for the majors I selected. I’m interested in Accounting and have read a Masters in Accounting would undo all my problems.
However, my loans are through the roof and it would be so much easier for me to get accounting credits at my community college for just a year (and finish off a couple general business electives). This would save me so much time and money.
Then just go for the CPA.
I have 80k in student loans.
I don’t know what to do. Any input is greatly appreciated.
You do not mention which state you are in but make sure you will meet the education requirements for sitting for the CPA exam with just that one year of classes. Also, see if you can get an internship or PT busy season job to see if you actually like the work before you invest in the classes. The hours can be long so liking the work is important.
If you get a masters in accounting you will be fine. If you have no formal accounting degree and just classes from a CC it could be a real issue in terms of both getting a job and passing the CPA exam. Also I agree that you should check with your state board to be sure you get all the required classes.
In your opinion, if I went through with the full associates program instead of a Macc, would that be acceptable? I just can’t fathom another 20k of student loans.
Honestly, I think you may have to look at your current student loans as sunk costs. I think spending another $20K on a masters in accounting will be money well spent. It will put you in the best position to pass the CPA and get a job that will help you service your debt.
Can you really get enough accounting classes to sit for the CPA exam from a CC?
IMO it would be hard to get a professional track job with just an associates degree in accounting. You will constantly be up against students with BS and MS degrees in accounting for jobs. But why don’t you talk to the career placement people at the CC and see what their experience with recent graduates has been?
Thanks for all of the input. I am 100 percent certain I can get enough accounting classes to sit for the cpa at my community college but now I don’t know if its a good idea.
Not so long ago I was in the similar situation as you but because I don’t have anywhere near 80k in student debt, I am taking the long way out. I have a Bachelor in Economics but I decided to go back to school and start on a Bachelor in Accounting, which will eventually take me into a Master’s in Accounting.
As someone who had a very similar issue, my best advice to you is to do a lot of research and not go by worth of mouth. You certainly do not want to be down another 20k because someone was misinformed and misguided you. Originally I also wanted to use my Bachelor in Economics to go directly into the Master’s of Accounting. However, the Master required a lot of upper division/intermediate accounting courses. It turns out that even with the BA in Economics I still needed about 85% of the Bachelor of Accounting courses. My economics courses only covered general business electives and I still needed to take core accounting courses. In other words, I might as well take 1 or 2 accounting courses more and get the BACC. I’m not sure how Community Colleges are structured in NY but down here in Florida, they are mostly designed for lower division credit. Community Colleges do not offer any 3000-4000 level courses, which are often a required for entry into a Masters.
Another thing is that graduate programs mainly look for two things: GPA and undergraduate degree. Assuming that your GPA will remain constant, your odds of being accepted into a graduate program are much better with a BACC than with a BA in Economics and some accounting courses. So my recommendation is to contact someone from the graduate program and ask them what courses are actually needed to apply for the program and then make sure the Community College you want to go, actually offers those courses.
As for the CPA, you certainly want to have a couple of Accounting courses under your belt. And just as others have suggested, make sure you have enough accounting credits for certification because I don’t think a 30 credit Masters is enough. Hope this helps and good luck!
Interesting, back in my day (in the dark ages) I seem to recall CC only offered lower division accounting classes.
Here in CA, those with a bachelors (not in accounting) will sometimes go to UCLA extension (for example) and get an “accounting certificate.” This enables them to sit for the CPA exam. I’m not sure if anything like that is offered in the state you intend to practice.
That is some really good advice from @blubandit, indeed do all your homework so you can make an informed decision.
Yes, you definitely do not want to jump ship so quickly without doing proper research. I knew very early that I needed to go back to school and work on an Accounting degree but I spent a little over 4 months doing my homework. I researched the program, both the Bachelor and Master, and learned the sequence in which traditionally courses should be taken. Also I met with advisers about transferring some of my Economics credits to check if the Accounting Department actually accepted them; despite the fact that I’m taking both careers in the same University.
Arc918 you are correct, Community Colleges generally are designed to only meet lower division criteria. I was only allowed to take the introductory Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting courses in 2012 (maybe I’m a distinguished member of the dark ages too =/ ). However, I believed Marc stated that he was from NY, maybe they are structured differently over there.
As of February 14th, 2015 the requirements for CPA license in the state of NY can be found in the link below.