This all sounds like an excellent plan. Yes, get your CPA as soon as possible. If you work at a large public firm they will usually pay for your study materials which makes it a no brainer! Accruing job experience + the CPA is the move

I don't know if it's common knowledge (it wasn't to me), but the GI Bill limit of ~20K annually for tuition doesn't apply if the school is registered with the VA making it an uncapped benefit. I recommend going to a top 10 or top 20 accounting school since they have Meet The Firms programs where the largest public accounting firms hire directly from the student population with incredibly high job offer rates (95% of students had a job lined up). I got my masters in accounting from UNC Chapel Hill (ranked 11). The degree would have cost me $60K over my 12 months of grad school, but it was completely covered by the GI Bill. Since the GI Bill only charges time (per diem too, so not counting in between semesters) and not by the dollar cost, you can stack a ton of courses and save your eligibility in the GI Bill for future degrees.

@@jep05f this is gold thank you for the insight on this since I’m trying to see if it’s worth going back to school at a brick and mortar at a more prestigious university because I definitely see value in working at Big Four. Thank you 🙏🏼

@@marcoechevarriaThaRula a lot of these programs are also available remote as well. That does affect your BAH you get which is at a reduced payout so that is something to consider when budgeting. I think it would've been $1,450 per month in person, but they only gave $890 instead. I don't recall the exact figures and I'm sure they've adjusted them for inflation. 36 months of school completely free is absolutely worth using. I got two masters degrees with it and I have benefit left for a 3rd if I had the energy and willpower to go back.

For sure! It’s a big decision. Do you have another degree you’d rather study? I think an incredible thing about accounting is that it can take you anywhere you want. Knock out the degree, spend some time in public accounting, and the world is your oyster. For me I didn’t have another area of interest that fit neatly into a degree, and although I find the degree itself super challenging, I enjoy working in the field and the culture of the firm I am at. That being said, if you have another area of interest it would also be good to pursue that. Just my opinion but I think a computer science degree is an equally good or better choice, if that interests you.

Also I wouldn’t worry about a B. Honestly school and the job itself are entirely different beasts. Just focus on getting through school with a 3.0 or above and you’ll do great 😁

Thanks man. UW-Madison has a really strong Real Estate program. Finance also seems interesting too. A lot of kids double major in Finance and Real Estate. So I’m considering that. I’m not very good at computer science though so I’m between Accounting and double majoring in Finance/Real Estate. Let me know what you think!

@@caseyclark7940 okay this is my gut reaction here. Real estate - if you really want to get into real estate, you could become an agent. Either residential or is probably argue for commercial (more $$$). No real need for the degree though. I also went with a lot of kids who double majored in accounting and finance. Generally I think an accounting degree let’s you do anything a finance degree would let you do but not necessarily vice versa. That being said, I think double majoring could be a strong option for you because you aren’t entirely sure what you want to do (completely normal and fine). What specifically draws you to real estate and finance? That’s actually an area that is personally interesting to me, and one way I’d like to integrate that interest into my career is positioning myself in a more deal-centric niche. Look into Transaction Advisory Services or National Tax Office speciality areas when/if you apply to intern in a public accounting firm. I think you may find that work a little more exciting and I wish I had known about them prior to starting my career

I’m not sure exactly why I’m interested in real estate and finance. Probably because it’s something I’d like to learn more about. Also, I will probably only major in one thing because I don’t have enough room in my schedule to double major. Also, my school has the option to set you up to major at a big 4 firm the spring of your senior year so I might do that. The only issue with that is I would have to take summer classes which I’d rather not do. Thanks for replying man means a lot.