My current career goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant, and to have a job working full time as an accountant after graduating from LSU in May 2014. I am planning to get an internship during the spring semester of 2014 possibly working for a local CPA firm or for a local company. At this time, I am leaning toward working in managerial accounting. As a managerial accountant I would be working for a particular company instead of working as a public accountant for a CPA firm. Managerial accountants collect data and prepare reports for internal business managers. They do not provide quarterly or yearly financial statements for external users such as investors. Managerial accountants work on budgets and deal with business costs.
Whether managerial or public accounting, I plan to take and pass all parts of the CPA exam within a year of graduation. As of May 2014, I will have all the required courses needed for the CPA exam. Because of a previous BA degree, I have more than the 150 hours of college credit that I need to take the exam. The CPA exam in the state of Louisiana has four parts, and it costs a total of about $1000. One year of job experience under a licensed CPA is required in Louisiana before a person passing all parts of the exam can receive his or her CPA license.
I am currently living in the Baton Rouge/Ascension Parish area and will continue to live here after graduation. My husband has a job in the area, and we own a home here. I would prefer to work in Ascension Parish, but Baton Rouge is also a good possibility. According to www.accountingedu.org/louisiana-accountant-salary.html the median annual salary for an accountant in the Baton Rouge
area is $57,410. This is less than the national median pay of $61,690 for accountants being reported by the Department of Labor. The cost of living in the Baton Rouge area is lower than in many larger cities around the country. Also the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated a 16% job outlook for 2010 to 2020 which is about the average growth rate for jobs.
In 5 years, I hope to have finished school, pass my CPA exam, and be working full time as an accountant in the Baton Rouge/Ascension area.
Ten years into the future seems to be a very long time from now. I do hope that I am still in an accounting career. I may be interested in managing other accountants by that time. Accounting is my plan B career after I tried teaching high school many years ago. I do not have any other plans for a career in another field. I am sure that if accounting does not work for me, I will stay in some type of business-related job.