Starting Grad School Today...ahhhhh!

[Chuck C]

I'm starting grad school today...I'm working towards my MS in Accountancy. I registered for two 3 hour classes which last 5wks and plan to take 2 courses per semester until I earn my degree.

Questions:

-Has anyone worked towards an MBA or MS in Acc?
-What should I expect in regards to the course load? (I hear it is rough)
-Anything else I should know?

The goal: To work for a CPA firm and qualify for the CPA exam.

 

[LDfan]

God help you Chuck. My question is: Do you really need a Masters degree? You don't need it to sit for the CPA exam do you?


Jeff

 

[Patrick_S]

Best of luck, in the long run having a Masters couldn't hurt your earning potential.

 

[Phil_L]

I got my Masters straight out of college and have never regretted it. It was an incredible two years. I learned a great deal from my job as a research assistant and made some of the best friends of my life. I did not pursue a degree in your field Chuck, but an education is something that no one can ever take from you. It will be of great benefit. The work load in my program was indeed heavy, but manageable if you know how to budget your time. My program was very reading and research intensive, but I don't know how yours will be. Good luck, and enjoy it.

 

[SethH]

My fiancee is getting ready to start the Masters of Accountancy program here at Virginia Tech. Turns out that approximately 45 states require a minimum of 150 hours of coursework to sit for the CPA exam. Here at Tech they turned it into a 5-year Master's program that last for 152 hours.

Good luck. I know my fiancee isn't looking forward to the coursework, but if accounting is what you want to do it's hard to avoid.

 

[Eggert]

Having just graduated from grad school yesterday I can tell you that the course load was rough. It's not that it was overly complicated, but rather the volume of stuff to read and do is so great.

I, however, didn't graduate with a degree in accountancy (I did a general MBA, and an MS in Information Systems) so I'm not sure how well my experience applies to what you will be studying.

But as others have said an education is something that can never hurt to have enough of.

Best of luck to you.


Best regards,
Eggert

 

[CameronJ]

Jeff - most states now require 150 credit hours to sit for the exam.

Chuck - I got my MBA in Accounting and MIS back in '97 (undergrad finance). I went to work for one the Big Four, and am still here.

Course loads are tough to evaluate, what I considered hard you might consider easy, etc. If you're taking two classes at a time, it shouldn't be too bad, as long as you try and structure it so you've got one hard class (Intermediate) and one easier class at the same time.

Good luck.

 

[Joseph S]

Since when? My sister took her CPA exam out of college in '01.

Then again, I had 157 course credits after 4 years undergrad. Of course the 4 credit science classes don't help for accounting degree progression I assume.

 

[CameronJ]

Depends on the state. In Colorado, the big push to get this as a requirement was in 1998 - 1999, although the governor didn't go along with the new plan and the old hours requirement is still in place.

Most schools where this is a requirement are now structuring their programs to allow students to get the minimum number of hours in. As Seth mentioned, a lot of schools now have a 5-year program where you graduate with both your bachelors and masters.

 

[Chuck C]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I had my first class today. It's called 'comparative accounting' and deals with comparing accounting systems between the US and other countries. The syllabus is intense...several writing assignments with two term papers..in fact, I have a 7 pager due on Thursday. I'm gearing up for the hardest of times, but I know it will be worth it.

 

[Philip_G]

I'm starting my MBA on Sunday (why sunday of all days to start the semester..whatever)
Good luck to you!

 

[LDfan]

Good Luck!

One of my coworkers has a cousin that is an auditor for Ernst and Young.
She is 32 years old and is making a 6 figure salary! I bet she works insane amounts of hours though.


Jeff

 

[Chuck C]

Jeff---no doubt...I bet your coworker's cousin works 60-70 hrs/wk during busy season (Jan-April).