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degrees

"the type of education most people have at the Big 4? What types of degrees and what level e.g. undergrad, postgrad?"

Most of the staff associates and senior associates have a Masters degree in accounting, along with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Managers and above usually have a bachelor's in accounting.
The main reason the staff and seniors have Masters' degrees is because some states require that CPA candidates have a 150 credits. So the colleges decided to offer Masters degrees (30 degrees) in order to meet this requirement and thus give candidates another degree.

Either way, it really doesn't matter. All that does is whether you have a CPA or not. Most staff associates are studying for it. Some seniors have it. And, with very few exceptions, all managers and above are required to have it. Whether you have a master's degree or not really doesn't matter, it's basically a way to get you to the 150 credit requirement.
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Anonymous said…
I work for a Big 4 in a major market and I would say only about 10% max of seniors and staff have a masters degree in accounting. I assume that is because there are two "pathways" to getting a CPA in California, one of which does not require 150 credit hours.

It would make sense that offices in states that require 150 credit hours would have seniors and staff that mostly have masters degrees.
July 6, 2008 at 10:37 AM
notfordisplay said…
right, it really depends on the region. If you need 150 credits for a CPA, then most people get masters degrees in order to meet that requirement. If not, a bachelor's is good enough. The CPA matters, nothing else really.
July 6, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Anonymous said…
Hi. As an undergraduate student from California can I still apply to Big 4 with a minor in accounting but major in sociology?
May 2, 2009 at 8:19 PM
notfordisplay said…
Sure, as long as you have the required accounting credits to take the cpa exam. You would just need to convince the big 4 recruiters that you do have the credits required to sit for the exam. Hope this helps.
May 3, 2009 at 9:14 AM
Anonymous said…
What happens if you do not attain a CPA within 2-3 years? Thanks.
February 16, 2012 at 6:04 AM
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