Dear Accounting Majors...

I graduated a few years ago with an accounting degree. This is what I would tell my senior-year self (and everyone going into their senior year now).

Take your classes seriously.

I was loaded up on accounting classes my senior year and thankfully I took them really seriously. This helped me in a number of ways.

First off, I learned a lot and I became more interested in accounting. Secondly, I was better prepared when I started studying for the CPA exams right after graduation. And third, I raised my GPA a good amount which I was very thankful for when applying for jobs.

Don’t count yourself out of Big 4 positions. 

My first 3 years of college I always considered my future path to be outside of the Big 4, and not because that's what I wanted. It was because I wasn’t confident enough in myself. I thought my GPA wasn’t good enough, or I didn’t go to a well known or selective school.

As someone who ended up getting an offer from a Big 4, let me tell you you can’t count yourself out too early. Don’t make the mistake I made of looking at places like reddit where they will tell you the Big 4 only recruit from the top 50 schools in the country and your odds of even getting an interview are slim to none if you’ve never met a Big 4 recruiter. If you have a well rounded resume and above a 3.0 GPA you certainly have a shot. At the very least make sure to apply. It doesn’t take that much extra work to send in an application and you’ll never get an offer if you don’t at least apply.

But…Big 4 is not the end all be all

I would also point out that the Big 4 is not the end all be all. There are thousands of other firms that can give you amazing experiences. There are the big firms right outside the Big 4 like Baker Tilly and BDO among others. These are still huge firms with great reputations that can provide you with a great start to your career. And there are firms of every size from the huge national firms to the small local firm with just a couple employees.

The most important thing to remember is that you want to be a great accountant someday and that doesn’t happen by pointing to the name of your employer. That happens by getting experience in the industry, trying new things, meeting new people, and learning everyday. These are the things to consider when you are looking for a job at any firm.

Friends are important!

Make friends in accounting and try to keep those friends. Friends are one of the best parts of life and it never hurts to have friends in your industry someday. At the very least make sure to add your classmates on LinkedIn.

Don’t start to study for the CPA exam too soon.

In my state (and in most others I believe) you can’t sit for the CPA Exam until you have graduated. So if you’re graduating in May I wouldn’t even start thinking about studying for the CPA exam until January. Around January you may want to start looking into review courses and if you find one you like, purchase it, if that makes sense. I used Becker and the courses are available from the time you purchase and won’t expire anytime before you pass. So you can get the review course and just hold on to it, start poking around in it, and maybe closer to April or May start studying. Everyone will be different based on school and life schedules but this is what worked for me.

Have fun!

College is a unique time and place in your life. It’s your last year of that before “the real world.” So make sure to enjoy it while you can.

Don’t rush into “the real world.”

I know the standard path after graduation is straight into the workforce, but that doesn't mean you’re required to do that. Consider if you want to take some time in between graduation and getting into your career. Maybe you want to take a gap year to travel or follow some sort of goal/passion.

Personally, I love traveling and had always wanted to live in another country, so I went to Spain and taught English for a year. I was able to study and take 2 CPA exams while I was there as well.

Some people might warn you that this gap year won’t look good on your resume but I think in most cases it will actually help you and make you stand out, especially if you did something interesting during that year and/or were able to get some CPA exams done. If you’d like to hear more about taking the exams abroad feel free to email me.

Life is long. 

Yes, the start of your career is a big step but I think we can all look back on our lives and say for the most part, things work themselves out in the end. With hard work and a positive attitude you will find success in all walks of life. You got this!

Good luck in your senior year!

Recommendations + Notes

1. Atomic Habits- I just finished reading this and it’s a 10/10. Has great insight that can be applied to CPA studying. Or if you don’t want to make the time to read it I’ll be sending out a list of things CPA students can learn from the book next week 😉

2. Go outside and enjoy the weekend. Summer is coming to an end so make sure to take a break from the studying to enjoy a bit of outdoors and sunshine 🌞

3. ❗Discount ❗Code: “back2school” for 15% off all orders on cpaexamplanners.com