I know the advice is to go local so I was looking at graduate certificates in Hawaii. However, UH's graduate certificate in Accounting (AACSB college) is $16,562 (in state) but the program is not eligible for financial aid. I want to obtain a certificate in a local school for networking purposes but I'm not sure I can afford to pay $16,652 out of pocket in an 8 month period. The program is an 8 month (24 credit) program. It is also the only local graduate certificate program in Accounting I could find in my area. The graduate certificate would also fulfill the foundation course prerequisites into UH's MAcc ($30,000) program. I am currently an MBA Accounting student at American Military University. But I am thinking about entering AMU's Masters' in Accountancy program. I only need 7 more classes for the MSAcc program for an estimated cost of $6,825. I decided not to pursue an MBA yet because of my dismal work experience. I figure an MBA would be useless without useful work experience. I also plan on taking the CPA exam eventually and either program would work well for meeting the credits I need. My question is what would be the better option? A pricey local AACSB graduate certificate or a Masters in Accountancy from ACBSP AMU?
I am not an accountant but I think that the CPA is more important than the masters unless the masters is from Harvard or something like that.
The CPA designation is definitely a priority for me. However, to gain the CPA designation I would need to gain work experience under a CPA. With this economy I'm not sure if I can get this type of job by just taking credits and passing the CPA exam. I'm also taking accounting classes at the local college not only for the credits I need but for networking purposes. I tried approaching CPA firms for internships but I was turned down.
I agree that the CPA is more important than a masters degrees unless it is from a "Harvard type" university. I was looking at other posts in this forum and learned about EA and ACAT designations. I think the EA designation doesn't require work experience just a written exam. I would have an easier time gaining these designations than the CPA due to the required work experience. I'm not 100% confident that I would be able to get a job under a CPA to gain the work experience even after getting a Masters or certificate and passing the CPA exam. The EA designation might be the one I will go for first. Does anyone think it would be a good idea to pursue EA before I try to pursue the CPA? I heard the CPA exam is tough and the EA exam has a higher passing rate. I want to get into tax and I hope an EA designation would help me get a foot in the door.
