UMPI for BA/LS w/Accounting Minor

[thecontrarian]

@thecontrarian, you have gotten a lot of advice, including some from me, and clearly it’s not exactly what you are looking for. I was thinking about what I would do, if I were in your shoes, and I knew at 18/19 what I know now. This is that I would do…

I would go get a job (goodness knows there are plenty now) at one of the many places that is offering money for college tuition reimbursement (plenty are offering around 5,000/yr). I would do some Sophia and study.com courses in the short term and, when done, would apply to Northern Arizona to do their competency based BA/BS in Management with an emphasis on Entrepreneurship and Business Development.  $3,000/6 month term, so, if you could finish your degree in 1 year, it would likely cost you around $1,000.

I would also sign up to take the income tax course at H&R Block. The course is free but the books cost $150.  Course starts in August. Call a local office, ask if it’s a corporate office (that matters) and, if it is, as for contact info for their district manager. Tell them you are 18, broke, and want to take the course and REALLY want to work for Block but don’t have $150 for the books. All the corporate managers have money for this sort of thing. Decent chance they will like you taking some initiative and will hook you up. Do well in the class and you almost certainly will be hired by Block. Six months from now, you will be doing people’s tax returns.

Ok, why am I big on Block?  You will have access to their really excellent continuing education library. You can learn more about taxes (and some about accounting) than you would ever want to know. Unless you are a tax nerd, like me, then you never will know enough. After you have done a tax season with them, assuming you work for a corporate store (not a franchise!) they will also pay for your prep class to become an Enrolled Agent and will reimburse you for the 3 exams to become an EA. Work another tax season or 2 for Block, if that makes sense.

After you have you bachelor’s done, do some of the accounting classes that are prerequisites for master’s programs. Do them quickly and cheaply, where and how is up to you. If me, I would do actual classes, though. University of the Cumberlands, Northern Alabama, even a community college online. More than study.com though.  Then get your master’s in accounting. Maybe that’s a degree from WGU or from a place like Emporia State (which is AACSB accredited, what I would do), but in any case, you should be able to finish that in a year or so (less, maybe).  Maybe you decide to go a little crazy and spend $25k or so for a joint MBA and masters in accounting from Eastern Washington or Southern Utah. Yeah, it’s a lot of money, but it’s less than what you would have been spending for a year of undergrad, you say. 

When you are 22, 23 at most, you could legitimately have a BS in Management, a master’s degree in accounting, be an EA, and have multiple years worth of tax prep experience. MBA too, if you want. The people you graduated high school with who studied accounting will have a bachelor’s degree in accounting.  And none of your “extra” stuff. If you were an employer, who would you hire?  You will also have a whole lot less debt than most of them, even if you finance your graduate program. 

You are so young, you have the opportunity to slow down a tiny bit. Not saying you need to do four years of conventional college, but I also don’t feel like it’s essential you are a CPA 2 years from now. If it were me, I would say, my classmates are taking four years to get their “education”. I would allow myself the same four years, but would want as much education and relevant experience as I could cram into that time. On May 30, 2025, I would want to make people in my graduation year who graduated with honors from an Ivy League school seem like lazy, intellectual slouches in comparison. I would not be trying to spring to a bachelor’s degree or even the CPA designation, I would be trying to put myself in the best position to be successful over a working career that could easily span 50 years. 

I’m not saying it’s the best way, not saying it’s the best way for you, it’s just what I would do…

Hi Freeloader, thanks for the feedback and your previous responses have definately been incorporated into my planning. I guess everyone has their unique motivations and part of the challenge for me is to get thru to the CPA as quickly as possible. I don't know how what the underlying thing is around it, but its what I'm after. How I get there I'm finding out has a lot of routes!