SAHM considering training as CPA

I am a 36 year old stay at home mom, with eight years paid work
experience in market research and MIS doing analytical work, bachelors
degrees in economics and mathematics, and good grades in a couple of
accounting courses. I've been out of the work force for almost four
years.

I am considering re-entering the workforce as an accountant. Before I
invest time and money retraining and gaining experience, I want to be
confident that I will have made a sound decision.

Before I move forward, I would like to know the answers to these 9
questions:
1. How many hours on average each week does an accountant work?
2. Am I too old to start in this career?
3. Should employment prospects be good in the next 15 years?
4. Is there ageism in this profession?
5. How long will it be before I start earning at least $38K a year?
6. How does one gain entry into this career?
7. What kind of people excel in this career?
8. What is the career path?
9. Are jobs only plentiful in big cities?

If you are a practicing accountant, would you mind briefly responding
to some or all of these questions?

Cristina Sovereign wrote:
> I am a 36 year old stay at home mom, with eight years paid work
> experience in market research and MIS doing analytical work, bachelors
> degrees in economics and mathematics, and good grades in a couple of
> accounting courses. I've been out of the work force for almost four
> years.
>
> I am considering re-entering the workforce as an accountant. Before I
> invest time and money retraining and gaining experience, I want to be
> confident that I will have made a sound decision.
>
> Before I move forward, I would like to know the answers to these 9
> questions:
<snip>
> 4. Is there ageism in this profession?

I could be wrong, because I haven't observed this directly, but it
seems to me that there might be less ageism for those who want Big Four
experience who are entering the tax field vs audit. Tax in general
requires less travel, so there isn't the issue of being away from the
family all the time, although the hours are still obviously long during
tax season and really throughout the year as well with planning, etc.
So, a Big 4 tax person is probably going to be in his own bed at night
a good bit more than an audit person. Someone correct me if I've given
the wrong impression.



<snip>

R wrote:
> On 19 Aug 2005 13:34:14 -0700, "Cristina Sovereign"
> <> wrote:
>
> >I am a 36 year old stay at home mom, with eight years paid work
> >experience in market research and MIS doing analytical work, bachelors
> >degrees in economics and mathematics, and good grades in a couple of
> >accounting courses. I've been out of the work force for almost four
> >years.
> >
> >I am considering re-entering the workforce as an accountant. Before I
> >invest time and money retraining and gaining experience, I want to be
> >confident that I will have made a sound decision.
> >
> >Before I move forward, I would like to know the answers to these 9
> >questions:
>
> Cristina,
> There are several different career tracks in accounting. It all
> depends on what you want and how you define "success." If you want to
> be at the top of the field, then you'd better be prepared to put in a
> lot of hours. But you might be happy in a part time job where you can
> spend time with your kids. I'll answer your questions from my
> perspective and give you my opinion, but you know what they say about
> opinions ;-)
>
<snip>
>
> >4. Is there ageism in this profession?
> Again, if you're looking to start with a big four firm, then the
> answer is a definite yes. In other jobs, public or industry, if they
> are interested in hiring you, one of your qualities will be your
> maturity and experience.
>

Do you think it's more an age issue or a "married w/kids" issue?

For example, all else equal, would a Big Four firm rather have a single
28-year-old person over a 23-year-old person who's married? married w/
a kid? Does the answer change when one considers tax vs audit?

"Cristina Sovereign" <> wrote in message
news:.googlegroups.com...

> I am a 36 year old stay at home mom, with eight years paid work
> experience in market research and MIS doing analytical work, bachelors
> degrees in economics and mathematics, and good grades in a couple of
> accounting courses. I've been out of the work force for almost four
> years.
>
> I am considering re-entering the workforce as an accountant. Before I
> invest time and money retraining and gaining experience, I want to be
> confident that I will have made a sound decision.
>
> Before I move forward, I would like to know the answers to these 9
> questions:
> 1. How many hours on average each week does an accountant work?
> 2. Am I too old to start in this career?
> 3. Should employment prospects be good in the next 15 years?
> 4. Is there ageism in this profession?
> 5. How long will it be before I start earning at least $38K a year?
> 6. How does one gain entry into this career?
> 7. What kind of people excel in this career?
> 8. What is the career path?
> 9. Are jobs only plentiful in big cities?
>
> If you are a practicing accountant, would you mind briefly responding
> to some or all of these questions?

entry level jobs are available for a "36 year old SAHM" if you live near a
big city. CPA firms employ younger workers but banks, insurance, financial
firms, tax preparers, etc. will value your background. Contact the state
CPA society to see if you can attend a meeting and ask about career paths.
You might want to start out working part-time while attending college to get
a better understanding of the work involved,

In article < .com>,
<> wrote:
>
>Cristina Sovereign wrote:
>> I am a 36 year old stay at home mom, with eight years paid work
>> experience in market research and MIS doing analytical work, bachelors
>> degrees in economics and mathematics, and good grades in a couple of
>> accounting courses. I've been out of the work force for almost four
>> years.
>>
>> I am considering re-entering the workforce as an accountant. Before I
>> invest time and money retraining and gaining experience, I want to be
>> confident that I will have made a sound decision.
>>
>> Before I move forward, I would like to know the answers to these 9
>> questions:
><snip>
>> 4. Is there ageism in this profession?

I've read somewhere that H&R Block offers courses on tax preparation, and
then they might hire you part-time during tax season, with very flexible
hours, to prepare people's taxes (taking the courses is no guarantee of
being hired). I wonder if that would look good on a resume.

--
"A good plan executed right now is far better than a perfect plan
executed next week."
-Gen. George S. Patton