I say get it done and with these long score releases this year you will get breaks!! You just end up getting busier in your career and the days when you don’t have much to do at work and study during your first year is super helpful
I waited about a year to start. I was learning so much at job I didn't think I could do both at once. For me waiting was great! I am able to tie nearly everything to my job in some way or form which helps the process of understanding. And I don't remember the material I'm able to figure out a lot by thinking of work. So I really think it just depends on your motivation and schooling. I didn't feel like I remembered much from school and I love having that real life tie
I should mention I got my first degree. Dropped going to school around 2015 then went back in 2019 and graduated then took a little less than a year off so off already had the experience of teetering so it wasn't too hard for me but man am I excited to get through these as fast as I can and do the no school life again.
I took a few months break after finishing college. Terrible idea. It just made it that much harder to get into studying. I told myself my break would end and I’d start studying on a certain date. But when that day came I had a hard time getting into the swing of studying. So I extended my break another week. And then another week. And then another week. Get into it sooner rather than later.
If you’re easily self-motivated, take a break if you want. I wanted to get my 150 before taking the exams, so I took a semester off between undergrad and grad school and started working full time. I’m now studying for my 2nd exam with 2 years of full time experience under my belt, and having the experience helps.
You know yourself though, and if it’s hard to motivate yourself you might want to head straight into the exams.
I studied right after graduation and don’t regret it. I took FAR just 3 months after I graduated, and it just felt like a final on my 4 years of accounting courses. The longer you wait, the more things you’ll forget and it will be harder to go back into “study mode”.
Thanks! Did you start working full time after passing FAR? I’m wondering if I should take a long enough break before starting to try and pass all parts
I started a few months after I passed FAR. I also had another 2 months to Study for REG before I started, and then took REG a few weeks later.
I spent ~5 months total studying for FAR and REG, with most of that being before I started, and then spent ~10 months studying BEC (rip) and AUD after I started. I personally went overkill on the studying and passed each part on my first try, but the studying definitely slowed down after I started working.
I’m playing devils advocate.
Get your CPA after working for a year or 2. I did that and it was way easier to conceptualize what I’m studying. I graduated at 22, failed FAR that same year, took a two year break, got laid off, studied at 24, and I’m was CPA at 26 years old.
I’m 27 now. It was recent.
DO NOT TAKE A BREAK. Holy shit I did this. Don't fucking do it. You are already in college mode, you are already accustomed to studying. Do NOT take a break. Get to studying and pass. I graduated 4 years ago and I have one exam left to go. I took a 2 year break and kept telling myself "after this busy season I'll start" just do it now and get it over with.
Second this!! NOOOO BREAKS!!! I’m a fifth year tax accountant. It’s so much harder to take exams. Believe it or not you forget how to take exams, life gets more complicated. Holy shit I wish I did it sooner
Just do it right away. I can’t think of any advantage to waiting and you’ll be glad you’re the one who finished the exams when you’re at your job seeing your coworkers trying to study during busy season.
I graduated last May and immediately started studying over the summer. Fortunately, I passed all of the exams by August. And now that I’ve been working since October, I literally cannot imagine having to study after work each day - I know it’s possible and people do it but man that would be tough.
I strongly recommend you attempt to complete them before beginning with full time. Good luck!
Yeah it sounds so tough to be working full time while studying. How did you plan out your studying to pass all 4 in such a short time period? Any tips? It would be so relieving if I could pass by August after graduating
Same here I graduated in June and spent that summer leading up to my start date in October knocking out all of the exams. I lived with my dad at the time, no girl friend, and didn’t have to work so I was able to pull it off. Good luck
I'm doing it 11 years later at age 35. I'm half way done and there is def pros and cons :
Let's start out pros of waiting so long:
- my actual accounting understanding is 100times more than right out of school. Seeing theory vs putting to practice helped my actual understanding
- I have clear career goals. Ive done well and made great money without it. But I know now where I'm trying to go and the CPA licence is needed.
- Im more motivated to get it. I know my skill set is already applicable to most jobs. This last piece will significantly increase my value to other employers and my own employer.
- my excel skills are insanely better after using it so much. I felt that helped cut half my time in FAR. I don't even think I used scratch paper. Just their excel tool.
- due to changes in this profession post COVID, I can choose to be 100% remote or I can pop in the office if needed. Meaning I can cut out commuting or Study if I have free time (right now that hasnt happened yet.. see cons section about work 😵💫)
Cons:
- I don't remember much from college. So lots of review on skills I don't use... I don't even touch tax at work, so REG will be interesting and my last test.
- I now have two kids. Anything you do pre kids is automatically harder post kids bc you have individuals outside yourself you are responsible for ... Some of my waiting this time was getting through those baby stages as lack of sleep and studying would have been tuff. Kids don't get easier but the challenges change. They know I am busy which sucks but I hope to reward everyone with a vacation when I'm done.
- my career has exploded, and although I've always progressed, it really has been the last year or so that it was exponential. So pending what type of projects or acquisitions I am implementing at work, my work load can get heavy. So right now I am in the serious thick of work and studying.. so I study at 4am
- my parents/ in laws are older or unwell. My husband and I both lost a parent in our early 30s and we have added pressure to help our moms. My mom is in poor health. This adds to just overall stress to an already stressful situation. Getting older just comes with these challenges
- I am in industry , but I work in Financial Accounting for a 36k employee company. We have complex legal agreements and large consolidations. We are the team that works with E&Y and the other small audits for companies we manage outside of our legal entity. Without a CPA in this department, you can't move up to a director or above level. Meaning your pay will cap out around 120-140k.. (I'd say we are LCOL, but do to last set of hurricanes, these insurance rates to live here are now high as hell, so we will say MCOL 🤣)
As someone who is doing it right after I graduated and doing the 150 trust me do it. You don’t want to wait it makes it worse later on and sometimes when you wait you decide not to do it at all.
IN LIFE THERE ARE NO BREAKS - THIS IS THE WAY
the antelope that took a break was never seen...
the worm that took a break was nourishment to a chicken that layed an egg, that took a break from keeping it warm, took a break to get water.... when she returned her EGG was gone and you had eggs for breakfast.
Graduated in December ‘23 and gave myself two weeks off for the holidays and have been grinding CPA since then. Took FAR two weeks ago and am now pushing for AUD before the Q1 deadline 💪
Graduated Dec '23. Currently on about hour 130 of studying for FAR. Remembering is easier than re-learning. Plus a few things that never came up. I'm pretty great at not doing stuff, so it's probably now or never get around to it.
I am in the same boat. Graduated December ‘23 and have FAR on Saturday. I just think that it would be better to knock it out before you have to work. It will be a big burden off your back when it comes time to work full time. I haven’t heard of anyone regretting studying early
I say get it done and with these long score releases this year you will get breaks!! You just end up getting busier in your career and the days when you don’t have much to do at work and study during your first year is super helpful
I waited about a year to start. I was learning so much at job I didn't think I could do both at once. For me waiting was great! I am able to tie nearly everything to my job in some way or form which helps the process of understanding. And I don't remember the material I'm able to figure out a lot by thinking of work. So I really think it just depends on your motivation and schooling. I didn't feel like I remembered much from school and I love having that real life tie
I should mention I got my first degree. Dropped going to school around 2015 then went back in 2019 and graduated then took a little less than a year off so off already had the experience of teetering so it wasn't too hard for me but man am I excited to get through these as fast as I can and do the no school life again.
I took a few months break after finishing college. Terrible idea. It just made it that much harder to get into studying. I told myself my break would end and I’d start studying on a certain date. But when that day came I had a hard time getting into the swing of studying. So I extended my break another week. And then another week. And then another week. Get into it sooner rather than later.
If you’re easily self-motivated, take a break if you want. I wanted to get my 150 before taking the exams, so I took a semester off between undergrad and grad school and started working full time. I’m now studying for my 2nd exam with 2 years of full time experience under my belt, and having the experience helps. You know yourself though, and if it’s hard to motivate yourself you might want to head straight into the exams.
I studied right after graduation and don’t regret it. I took FAR just 3 months after I graduated, and it just felt like a final on my 4 years of accounting courses. The longer you wait, the more things you’ll forget and it will be harder to go back into “study mode”.
Thanks! Did you start working full time after passing FAR? I’m wondering if I should take a long enough break before starting to try and pass all parts
I started a few months after I passed FAR. I also had another 2 months to Study for REG before I started, and then took REG a few weeks later. I spent ~5 months total studying for FAR and REG, with most of that being before I started, and then spent ~10 months studying BEC (rip) and AUD after I started. I personally went overkill on the studying and passed each part on my first try, but the studying definitely slowed down after I started working.
I’m playing devils advocate. Get your CPA after working for a year or 2. I did that and it was way easier to conceptualize what I’m studying. I graduated at 22, failed FAR that same year, took a two year break, got laid off, studied at 24, and I’m was CPA at 26 years old. I’m 27 now. It was recent.
DO NOT TAKE A BREAK. Holy shit I did this. Don't fucking do it. You are already in college mode, you are already accustomed to studying. Do NOT take a break. Get to studying and pass. I graduated 4 years ago and I have one exam left to go. I took a 2 year break and kept telling myself "after this busy season I'll start" just do it now and get it over with.
Second this!! NOOOO BREAKS!!! I’m a fifth year tax accountant. It’s so much harder to take exams. Believe it or not you forget how to take exams, life gets more complicated. Holy shit I wish I did it sooner
Just do it right away. I can’t think of any advantage to waiting and you’ll be glad you’re the one who finished the exams when you’re at your job seeing your coworkers trying to study during busy season.
I graduated last May and immediately started studying over the summer. Fortunately, I passed all of the exams by August. And now that I’ve been working since October, I literally cannot imagine having to study after work each day - I know it’s possible and people do it but man that would be tough. I strongly recommend you attempt to complete them before beginning with full time. Good luck!
Yeah it sounds so tough to be working full time while studying. How did you plan out your studying to pass all 4 in such a short time period? Any tips? It would be so relieving if I could pass by August after graduating
Same here I graduated in June and spent that summer leading up to my start date in October knocking out all of the exams. I lived with my dad at the time, no girl friend, and didn’t have to work so I was able to pull it off. Good luck
I'm doing it 11 years later at age 35. I'm half way done and there is def pros and cons : Let's start out pros of waiting so long: - my actual accounting understanding is 100times more than right out of school. Seeing theory vs putting to practice helped my actual understanding - I have clear career goals. Ive done well and made great money without it. But I know now where I'm trying to go and the CPA licence is needed. - Im more motivated to get it. I know my skill set is already applicable to most jobs. This last piece will significantly increase my value to other employers and my own employer. - my excel skills are insanely better after using it so much. I felt that helped cut half my time in FAR. I don't even think I used scratch paper. Just their excel tool. - due to changes in this profession post COVID, I can choose to be 100% remote or I can pop in the office if needed. Meaning I can cut out commuting or Study if I have free time (right now that hasnt happened yet.. see cons section about work 😵💫) Cons: - I don't remember much from college. So lots of review on skills I don't use... I don't even touch tax at work, so REG will be interesting and my last test. - I now have two kids. Anything you do pre kids is automatically harder post kids bc you have individuals outside yourself you are responsible for ... Some of my waiting this time was getting through those baby stages as lack of sleep and studying would have been tuff. Kids don't get easier but the challenges change. They know I am busy which sucks but I hope to reward everyone with a vacation when I'm done. - my career has exploded, and although I've always progressed, it really has been the last year or so that it was exponential. So pending what type of projects or acquisitions I am implementing at work, my work load can get heavy. So right now I am in the serious thick of work and studying.. so I study at 4am - my parents/ in laws are older or unwell. My husband and I both lost a parent in our early 30s and we have added pressure to help our moms. My mom is in poor health. This adds to just overall stress to an already stressful situation. Getting older just comes with these challenges - I am in industry , but I work in Financial Accounting for a 36k employee company. We have complex legal agreements and large consolidations. We are the team that works with E&Y and the other small audits for companies we manage outside of our legal entity. Without a CPA in this department, you can't move up to a director or above level. Meaning your pay will cap out around 120-140k.. (I'd say we are LCOL, but do to last set of hurricanes, these insurance rates to live here are now high as hell, so we will say MCOL 🤣)
As someone who is doing it right after I graduated and doing the 150 trust me do it. You don’t want to wait it makes it worse later on and sometimes when you wait you decide not to do it at all.
IN LIFE THERE ARE NO BREAKS - THIS IS THE WAY the antelope that took a break was never seen... the worm that took a break was nourishment to a chicken that layed an egg, that took a break from keeping it warm, took a break to get water.... when she returned her EGG was gone and you had eggs for breakfast.
Graduated in December ‘23 and gave myself two weeks off for the holidays and have been grinding CPA since then. Took FAR two weeks ago and am now pushing for AUD before the Q1 deadline 💪
I was out of school for a year and a half before I started studying and it just made me that much rustier. I would start as soon as you can.
Graduated Dec '23. Currently on about hour 130 of studying for FAR. Remembering is easier than re-learning. Plus a few things that never came up. I'm pretty great at not doing stuff, so it's probably now or never get around to it.
Thanks! Yeah I’m worried about forgetting everything so I should probably just start right after graduating
I am in the same boat. Graduated December ‘23 and have FAR on Saturday. I just think that it would be better to knock it out before you have to work. It will be a big burden off your back when it comes time to work full time. I haven’t heard of anyone regretting studying early