I started to pursue my Masters in Accounting from The University of Texas at Dallas last fall, where I am a semester away from graduation. Due to funding, I needed to take a break from UT Dallas and pursue my MBA Finance at Southern Methodist University. I have a year of GI Bill left, so I wanted to use that to pay for the more expensive private school, and use my state funding to pay for the much cheaper public school.
I will graduate from SMU May 2020, should I return to UTD to finish my Masters in Accounting and take the CPA? If I pursued this route, I would be done with Masters and CPA in the Spring of 2021. Others have told me to take advantage of the network opportunities and freshness of my MBA by getting a job immediately after MBA and finish UTD via night courses.
My desired roles are in Corporate Finance/Accounting or Consulting.
Any advice would be very useful.
Answers
Hi Brandon,
Those two different degrees prepare you for different career paths, so I think the first question would be, do you want to work in tax and audit with your CPA, or do you want to work in consulting? You can work in consulting with a CPA, but your MBA would be better suited to consulting work. CPA certifications are hard to obtain and are valuable to have, so you don't want to go down the path of getting it and not using it. Both an MBA and a CPA are valuable, but you have to decide on which path you want to take and tailor your education from there. I hope that helps.
Best,
Andrea
Figure out what you want to do (accounting or Finance) - or which one you want to do FIRST - and then go for that.
The CPA designation is approved by the State you are in - and states have different educational requirements before you can take the exam. Look into that - you may need to have an MBA (or almost have an MBA) to take the CPA.
Don't know if that helps or not!
Hey Brandon, I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer, but I would suggest testing the waters with your MBA. Receiving an MBA is a great accomplishment and will give you a competitive edge, so take advantage of it. You can always go back and finish your Masters in Accounting.
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