There are those for whom job hunting is easy because the jobs are clearly listed and there are those for whom job hunting is not easy because

• their current job title does not match how that job is advertised now or
• they are in the liberal arts.

For example, an accountant can find job listings on the all inclusive websites such as Monster and Yahoo! Jobs or on the more specialized, niche-specific websites such as Jobsinthemoney.com. However, where do art teachers look for jobs? Art teachers have to be incredibly creative in how they search and what they ask of the search engines. Why? Because search engines can be very dumb. Simple answer but very true. Therefore, you have to think pedantically and straight forward like a search engine if you want to gather job postings. The steps are:

• Open your favorite search engine window (e.g., Google).
• Type “art teacher job” in the search window.
• Click “Enter.”
• Look at the list of what comes up.

On Dec. 31, this job posting came up:

“Art Teacher” in San Bernardino on TopUSAjobs.com: http://www.job.com/my.job/search/page=jobview/pt=2/key=43595337/

K-8 Art teacher in Saudi Arabia with Aramco on Simply Hired.com: http://www.jobsataramco.com/Home/Job_Desc.aspx?SYS_REQ_ID=10858&source=w-simply

There were 21 jobs for art teachers on Simply Hired and 10 of those in California (http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-art+teacher/l-California).If you have no interest in moving to parts of California, Corpus Christi, TX or Alexandria, VA, then keep searching.

A teacher can not only work for a school district, but also as

• an adjunct art or graphic art teacher at a local community college or college
• art tutor for Tutor Nation, Z Club, Kaplan, and others
• private art teacher
• substitute teacher with multiple local districts and/or private schools
• private school art teacher
• home schooling art resource teacher
• online teacher
• teach art at a local community or senior center
• teach art at a local senior living facility (e.g., Atria)
• newspaper cartoonist
• advertising art/commercial poster design
• textbook and book illustration (McGraw-Hill)
• book or journal (magazine) editor
• layout editor
• art director for a publisher
• Arts Programmer (TV/radio)
• Professor
• art historian (Bridgewater College, CT)
• museum curator or director (Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago)
• museum art class teacher (San Diego Children’s Museum)
• director of a day or overnight camp  (Cedars Camps, MO)
• art teacher at a day or overnight camp (Idyllwild Arts Academy, CA)
• art critic for TV, online, or print media (Chrisitan Science Monitor)
• museum or university volunteer coordinator
• art writer
• art reporter
• Corporate History Preservation Officer
• Preservation Agency Officer
• Education Coordinator
• Research Assistant
• Cultural Events Planner
• Art therapist
• Art librarian
• Art handler
• Appraiser
• Arts consultant
• Furniture designer (IKEA)

For public school openings in California, check Edjoin.org. On Dec. 31, there were 18 openings at http://www.edjoin.org/searchResults.aspx?keywords=art+teacher.

If you are looking in other states, try Incredible Art Jobs at http://www.princetonol.com/groups/iad/jobs/openings.html which as a state by state listing of artist jobs.

Now, is it possible that one of these interest our mythical art teacher? Certainly. Is that a bad thing? No. Keep hunting.

On the same site, Incredible Art Jobs, there are career niche ideas for artists in:

• advertising art
• animation and cartooning
• graphic design
• illustration
• special effects
• video game design
• web design

At the end of each article is career guidance on how to enter that field.

On CollegeGrad.com, there were 27 jobs in art teaching listed (http://jobs.collegegrad.com/jt/jobs/search.php?search_string=art+teacher&search_string_type=48&job_function_id=&country_code=us&search=1&location_string=).

If you search simply under “art,” you get a longer list but there is overlap with other areas which are not art so read carefully (http://jobs.collegegrad.com/jt/jobs/search.php?search_string=art&search_string_type=48&job_function_id=&country_code=us&search=1&location_string=&x=14&y=14).

On Indeed.com, there were 1,066 jobs for art teachers with 117 of those in California: http://www.indeed.com/q-Art-Teacher-jobs.html. The Art Education Coordinator job at Cal State Long Beach is designed for someone who has taught art in a K-12 setting: http://careers.arteducators.org/jobdetail.cfm?job=3225859

and is on the National Art Education Association site. (Indeed links to NAEA.)

Now, what if our art teacher would rather work in a museum?

Look at Global Museum.com at http://www4.wave.co.nz/~jollyroger/GM2/jobs/jobs.htm

For instance, here’s a job posting from that site:

Educator Simi Valley, CA
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library has opened an experiential, interactive Discovery Center on American Presidential decision making. We are looking to hire Educators to engage students in our scripted Discovery Center scenarios. The ideal candidates are energetic, versatile professionals who can oversee groups of young people as well as interact with the educational community. The Discovery Center is a place where students can experience the responsibilities and challenges faced by the Executive Branch and those individuals closely associated with the administration. This comprehensive, high-tech learning environment includes a replica Oval Office and White House Press Room, a Boeing flight simulator, and a military situation room aboard a U.S. Navy ship. This individual will be an employee of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Air Force One Pavilion, the Center for Public Affairs and the Presidential Learning Center. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses over 55 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers, an extraordinary collection of photographs and film, and over 100,000 gifts and artifacts chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
Duties:
· Run scripted Discovery Center scenarios for 5th-8th grade students
· Supervise school groups of 5th – 8th grade students
· Administrative tasks, including compiling and sending materials to teachers
Qualifications:
· Bachelors degree required
· California credential is required; no emergency credentials accepted
· Experience supervising 5th- 8th grade students in a classroom, museum or other public setting
· Proven ability to think strategically
· Proven ability to adapt to change
· Must have experience with and a desire to work with a diverse population of students, teachers, parent chaperones, and volunteer docents
· Experience leading group discussions
Position Type: part time – fifteen hours or more/week
Salary: $15/hour
How to Apply:
To apply, please send cover letter and resume to: afodiscovery@reaganfoundation.org
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Please quote Global Museum Jobs in your application. Posted December 26^th

Can $15 per hour be negotiated up? In most cases, yes. Why? Because the employer is trying to get away with paying as little as possible. Therefore, if you are interested, craft the best cover letter and résumé you can, aim it with a “You” attitude (“here’s what I can do for you,” “Here’s how I can make your life easier…”). And follow-up. Less than 10% of all job seekers call the entity to whom they sent their hand-crafted résumé and then for the life them, can’t figure out why they didn’t get a call back. Call or e-mail. Reiterate your interest and why you are a terrific fit for this job. Sell yourself as the best person on the planet to answer their need for a great employee.

The world is wide and varied. My advice is to pick a job title you think you would like and search for it in your area—for instance, “art critic job New York City” and see what comes up. You may have to widen your search to get enough job postings to investigate. If you don’t like what art critics do after reading the job posting, that is fine. Search for another job title in your favorite city. By persistent digging, you will find what you seek!

Would you like a really huge list of websites listing jobs for artists? Click on http://art.nmu.edu/department/AD_Career-Jobs.html for Northern Michigan University Professor Dennis Staffne’s list of dozens of websites:

NEW MEDIA / GRAPHICS

Advertising Age Job Bank
Adweek – Click on the Jobs link on the top of the page.
AIGA-Boston – American Institute of Graphic Arts
AIGA-Chicago – American Institute of Graphic Arts – Jobs and Job Listings.
AIGA-Cincinnati
AIGA-Cleveland
AIGA-Minnesota – American Institute of Graphic Arts – Minnesota Chapter – Graphic design and new media jobs in Minnesota.
AIGA – National web site.
AIGA-New York
AIGA-Portland
AIGA-Seattle
AIGA-St. Louis
Aquent – Aquent is the world’s largest talent agency for Creative, Web, and Tech professionals, with offices in more than 50 cities and 10 countries. Aquent is the Official Talent Agency of the AIGA, and the Official Career Partner of Lynda.com. Aquent maintains a large listing of job openings on their Job Search page, and accepts online Resume Submissions.
ArtCareer.net – Art Career Network sees beyond “art jobs” and offers a complete resource for your living, growing visual arts career. Access to job opportunity listings, our resume database, career guidance, perspectives from visual arts professionals, and links to other sources of information is provided here.
Art Directors Club of Metropolitan Washington (Washington DC) Job listings in and around the Washington DC area.
Art Job – Whether you’re looking for a new job, or just want to understand what’s happening in the arts field, ArtJob is the place to find comprehensive, up-to-date national and international listings of arts employment and other opportunities in the arts. As a print publication, ArtJob is a source for professional opportunities and key information in all areas of the arts, including: Presenting, Producing, Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Academic, Internships & Fellowships, Conferences, and Commissions, plus special feature columns.
Artists/Designers – Job listings for artists, desktop publishers, photographers, and web designers, all listed as telecommuting job opportunities.
Artist Jobs
Artist Resource – An artist resource for the San Francisco Bay area. Included in the various links is one for job listings.
Art Source – Job listings for digital media.
Artist Search Agency
CORE77 – Industrial Design Supersite
COROFLOT – Coroflot is dedicated to making the employment connection between designers and design businesses.
Career Path – The Career Path site has employment listings from newspapers across the country. Over one hundred thousand jobs can be searched from all forms of employment including graphics and new media. This site is worth your inspection.
Communication Arts – CA maintains an excellent job resource site. Search options have been expanded to include search by geographic region.
Creative Central – Job listings for new media, graphics, photography, and other areas. At last review job listings were for Seattle and Washington state.
Creative Freelancers – Help Wanted
Designsphere Online – Job Hunt – Jobs offered
DICE – Data Processing Indepenent Consultant’s Exchange – A computer consulting job search and employment database.
Digital Chicago – The Digital Chicago web site is no longer – information on how to subscribe and contact the publication.
Electronic Graphic Artists of Dallas – EGAD is a registered Apple Macintosh User Group for professional graphic artists working in the advertising, marketing communications, and graphic arts industries. This site has resources for job and freelance opportunities in graphic design.
FindCreative.com – FindCreative.com is a job search and job posting web site designed exclusively for the creative community. Additional information and forum relating to the creative job search is available.
Global Art Jobs
Graphic Arts Employment Specialists – A professional, nationwide recruiting and placement operation providing the printing, publishing, and graphic arts industries with management, editorial and production personnel.
How Magazine – Job Postings located on this well known graphics publication.
Industrial Design Network – Is now COROFLOT – Coroflot is dedicated to making the employment connection between designers and design businesses.
Internet Jobs – Related to internet positions.
Jobs – Positions available in graphics, new media, www, and related areas.
Jobs – As listed on the High Five web site (HighFive appears to be gone).
Jobs Jobs Jobs – Employment listings for California (especially the Bay area). Go to the “Browse Categories” page and search “artist” and “multimedia.”
MacTalent – Various positions, including art related, that require Macintosh experience.
MacTech Jobs
MacTemps – Now is a company known as Aquent.
Media Inc – This site appears to have been retired.
NationJob Network – A general job list / service.
Net-Temps – Job search and resume postings for Net related employment.
NetWork Job List – Employment listings in new media and design for California, Boston, and New York.
NYFA – The New York Foundation for the Arts – Click on the For Artists link then click on NYFA Classifeds and then click on Jobs in the Arts.
PINCWORKS – Part of the PINC (Printing Industries of Northern California) web site. By using their referral program, simply check which jobs you are interested in (mostly in the Bay area and Northern California) PINC will then fax your resume. Read over the informational page on how to join the PINC Referral Service.
Portfolio – Now is a company known as Aquent.
Print Jobs – Presented by Newhouse Associates, recruiting specialists for the printing and graphic arts industries.
PrintLink – PrintLink is a Graphic Arts Professional Staffing Service for senior/middle print management and all digital prepress positions. With offices in the US and Canada, PrintLink serves a regional, national, and international market.
VisualNation – Job site links

PHOTO / FILM / VIDEO
Studios rarely advertise entry level jobs for commercial photography. Most photography studios expect the traditional approach to the job search. That is, showing your portfolio or “book” in person, assuming you live in that metro area. Be sure to look at “Professional Organizations” and “Informational Resources” to assist in your search. Film and video production listings are also provided.

ASMP – American Society of Media Photographers (national link) – This is a very important professional organization for photographers. There are chapter groups of ASMP in many major cities.
Broadcast Employment Services – Includes listings for multimedia and post production.
B-Roll – Job listings for news video/photography.
Film and Television Production Jobs – From Mandy’s Film and TV Production Directory – job listing for the US and the entire world.
Photographers’ News Network – Various aspects of the professional photographic business are presented. (at one time a job listing page was available, but seems to be gone now)
Photo District News Classified Ads – Ads (including help wanted) relating to the commercial photography field.
Professional Photographers of America (PPA) – Today, PPA is the world¹s largest not-for- profit association for professional photographers, with more than 14,000 members in 64 countries. It is an association that seeks to increase its members¹ business savvy as well as broaden their creative scope. It aims to advance their careers by providing them with all the tools for success.

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

TEACHING / INSTITUTIONAL / MUSEUM / ARCHITECTURE
Teaching positions from K-12 to higher education are represented. In addition, museum and related employment listings are now available online.

Academic Employment Network
American Planning Association – Employment listings for community and environmental planning.
American School Directory – An internet guide to all 106,000 K-12 schools.
Association of Science-Technology Centers – Designer job listings are found under the Exhibit/Curatorial link.
Employment and Careers – Planning and Employment and Careers – Architecture – Architecture Employment Listings – Cyburbia (The Planning and Architecture Internet Resource Center) has two excellent employment listings for architects.
Career Alternatives for Art Historians – Alternatives compiled by Charles M. Rosenberg.
K-12 Academic Employment Network – Job listings for K-12, higher education, teaching, and administrative. Perhaps not a long list of positions, however, all states are listed.
K-12 Education Jobs – A job list maintained by NationJob Network.
K-12 JobWeb Database of US School Districts – A searchable database of 16,588 U.S. School Districts.
K-12 Private School Employment Network
K-12 Teacher Jobs – Teaching and administrative job listings. This site maintained by National Educators Employment Review.
Museum Employment – Chicago Art Institute – Job listings for both the museum and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (non-teaching). All types of jobs are listed from technical support to administrative.
Museum Job Resources Online(UPDATED LINK)
Museum Resource Board – Job Database – An excellent listing of museum related job opportunities from around the country.
Teaching – Positions in academia, a list of internet references/links from the JobHunt resource.
Teaching – College Arts Association – The CAA provides a number of career development services for its members.
Teaching Jobs – Presented by Education Week. Job listings by region including positions from K-12 to higher education.
Teaching – NationJob Network – Teaching positions from K-12 to college/university with an emphasis in the the Mid West.
Teaching – Higher Ed Jobs Online – An excellent resource for those seeking teaching positions in higher education.
Teaching Positions – College/university level teaching positions as listed by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
University Positions

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

ART/DESIGN EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
Most agencies work with advanced individuals seeking mid and upper level opportunities. However, some do work with entry level positions and freelancers.

Find Net Work – A new media placement agency specializing in senior-level new media opportunities. Placement opportunities in web development, project management, programming, internet and intranet design, marketing, new business development, and technology management. Their site also has tips on resumes, interviews, and more.
Graphic Arts Employment Specialists – Graphic Arts Employment Specialists provides professional, nationwide recruiting and placement services.
Graphic Resources – A national recruitment firm, specializing in printing, packaging and electronic publishing.
RitaSue Siegel Resources – A design executive search consulting firm. Positions are listed for the entire country and abroad.
RGA – Roz Goldfarb Associates – This is an agency that mostly deals with finding people for senior level jobs (design related), however, some starting/production jobs are listed. Contact with the listed employers is handled by RGA. Most of the positions are in the East (in or near New York City).
TempArt – TempArt is a Temporary Employment Agency for Ad Agencies, Graphic Design Firms and Corporate Art Departments.
Wert & Company – An international recruitment firm specializing in executive searches within the creative community. Wert & Company represents high quality candidates.

Yes, this is an accounting blog so at least you are pretty clear that you want your career to focus on accounting.  Good start! The English majors don’t even know this much yet! J

Whatever it is that you do, when your personality, abilities, and values align with the organization which hires you, your chances for workplace happiness are much higher. For instance, a non-smoking CPA might not be happy working for a tobacco company lobbyist because their values don’t align.

The first step is helping you identify your personality, abilities and values and for that the world on online career testing rises above the horizon. Why are these becoming so popular? The tests are very accessible, free, and can be done in privacy of your own computer instead of entering the office of some neck-tie ninny who will pontificate about your career path.  And as I said, the tests are free.

You can complete the tests quickly—the Princeton has only 24 questions and no essay questions.  I can hear your sigh of relief from here. After you finish, the test not only makes observations about your personal qualities, but also your career strengths and skills vs. the career options from which you should probably run away in abject horror.

Caveats:

1. Most of the free tests are abbreviated versions of the more extensive (and expensive) tests. The website’s goal is to get you to pay for the more extensive test. Duh.  This is the land of capitalism after all.  Read carefully before you sign up for any test.
2. The website may try to capture your data so they can happily inundate your mailbox later. While the test may ask for your name and address, be alert to any opportunity to opt out of receiving future marketing blurbs.
3. The test may not necessarily be accurate. If you didn’t read the question correctly, your answer may not display who you really are. If the results don’t feel right to you, they probably aren’t. On shorter tests, they may have categorized you where you shouldn’t be because they did not have enough data to make a decent observation. Forget the test and take another one or two or three. Listen to your heart. If the ideas ring true, great! Learn from the results and let them guide you on your career path.
4. There are no external standards for these tests. No one has to pass the career counseling version of the CPA before they post one online.

For this reason, you may wish to take at least six tests in the hope of getting overlapping/confirming results.

Here is a short list of free online career tests. These represent a good sampling of the tests which are online.

Similar Minds Free Online Career Tests

Answer 71 questions in approximately 20 minutes. View your sample report. See which job tasks you prefer and the top 11-20 jobs that suit you. Follow a link to more research material – You are offered the chance to purchase a more detailed report.

The Princeton Review Career Quiz™

This is a shortened method of The Birkman Method®. After answering 24 questions, you receive a description of your interests, skills and preferred style – using the Birkman color approach – plus a list of the careers this points to.

Web Tickle free career online placement tests

This site offers “PhD certified” tests of various natures that offer thought-provoking test questions. The individual analyses encourage you to pursue your goals. Tickle’s Career Personality Test pinpoints your workplace strengths and directs you to a profession that best compliments your unique personality. It is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® Instrument. You have to register as a member to take part.

Prospects Planner Free Online Career Tests

This test helps you clarify your ideas. It is a shortened version of a longer test for University graduates. You’ll need to register and then answer some questions about your skills and what you want from a job. The results show what you might do for a career. You don’t have to explore all the options at once, as you can return and view the results again on your next visit.

MAPP™ Assessment – free online career assessment tests

This assessment (MAPP stands for Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential) is designed to reveal your motivations, interests and talents for work. You’ll need to register with the site first. The free mini-analysis is a sample of the larger analysis you can purchase and includes five job matches with occupational documentation, a selection of real job matches and a free resource guide for career changers. (Note: many websites offering career tests are offering the MAPP assessment.)

iVillage Free Online Career Tests

This website for women offers various tests, one of which is career related. Answer 30 questions by selecting one of two options. At the end, you’ll receive a list of about 20 career options and a one page report on your personality and career type.

Careerlink free career online placement tests http://www.mpcfaculty.net/CL/climain.htm

I admit it: I liked this test but it was because of the cute little frogs in the sidebar.

This site, run by Monterey Peninsula College, asks you to respond to a series of questions by picking one of two options. After working through four pages, you will receive a list of job categories along with percentage matches to your results. The CAREERLINK Inventory is designed to match the way you see yourself with available career information from the United States Department of Labor.

Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Where do you want to go in the world? In which niche of business do you want to work? The great news is that there is probably a job there waiting for you.

First, let us take a quick look at job titles in the accounting field:

Accounting and Financial Operations Job Titles:

• Accountant
• Actuaries
• Auditors
• Brokerage Clerks
• Budget Analysts
• Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and Investigators
• Certified Public Accountants
• Debt Counselors
• Economists
• Financial Analysts
• Financial Managers
• Financial Services Sales Agents
• Insurance Sales Agents
• Insurance Underwriters
• Loan Officers
• Personal Financial Advisors
• Securities and Commodities Sales Agents
• Tax Inspectors, Collectors and Revenue Agents

These job titles could pop up in any type of business. Do you think your doctor does his/her own tax preparation? Probably not. A doctor is in solo practice may hire an outside CPA to keep the books and file the taxes while a doctor in group practice may have an in-house accountant. So if your mom always wanted you to be a doctor, this may be as close as you get because you are doing a doctor’s taxes.

Here are some other scenarios: Are you loathe to leave the ivory towers of academia? Consider a job either working in accounting or financial aid at a college while you pursue additional degrees so that you can teach accounting at a university. AICPA offers scholarships for those aiming at a doctoral degree in accounting who have the goal of college teaching.

Does the music of Mariah Carey set your soul to dance? Look at her record label (Island Records) and her management company. Either one may need your skill set.

Are you concerned how quickly the cheetah is disappearing from the planet? Cheetahs were once found on five continents. Now because of loss of habitat, conflicts with humans, and loss of genetic variation, the cheetah population has diminished to 10,000 worldwide. Monique Escurat was so concerned that in 1992, she left her accounting consulting practice in France to join the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Nambia. She uses her skills in accounting and finance to benefit this beautiful animal (http://www.cheetah.org/?nd=monique_escurat).

Combine your interests. If you’d like to be a pilot in your spare time, then be around aircraft at work. Aerospace giants such as Boeing and private plane designers such as Cherokee hire accountants. Bell Helicopter in Roanoke, TX has a job posting for a Sr. Accountant on Indeed.com (10/31/09). Add to this list the airlines (Southwest all the way down to the local puddle jumpers), airports, and tour companies which use airplanes to give the tourists a birds’ eye view of Hawaii, and you have quite a list of companies to research—and work for! .

To give you a launching off point, here is a very short list of industries which hire CPAs and accountants:

Engineering—Aerospace, Agricultural, Chemical (J.P. Oil), Mechanical

Agricultural—Conservation/wildlife biologist, farmers/organic farmers, commercial fishing companies (e.g., Star-Kist Tuna), forestry/logging companies, ranchers,

Non-profits which fundraise for medical, conservation issues, or the arts

IT—Hardware, Software, Information Systems, Telecommunications Companies

Government—Local (your city or county), State, National, International (UN, UNESCO, etc.)

Construction and Architecture

Creative Jobs—network TV, theaters (from Broadway to North County Rep in San Diego County), newspapers/print media, online media, book publishing companies, recording companies (hip hop to classical)

Education, K-12, community college, technical college, online universities (e.g. Ashford), public and private colleges and universities

Health Care: physicians, hospitals, chiropractors, dentists, orthodontists, home care agencies/private duty nursing registries, hospice, psychologists/psychiatrists, physical therapists, veterinarians, vitamin and food supplement producers

Hospitality, Transportation, Restaurants,

Banking, Finance, Insurance

For accountants, the career path upwards requires becoming a CPA, a Certified Public Accountant. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Interested in career as a Certified Public Accountant?

Each of the jurisdictions which offers the CPA Exam has its own qualifications for sitting for the exam. The person who might not qualify in New York may qualify to sit for the Colorado exam.

In California, the requirements are:

• A bachelor’s degree;
• 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
• 24 semester units in business-related subjects;
• 150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education;
• Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
• One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
• Passing an ethics course.– http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx

Logging 500 hours of attest or auditing experience will allow you to obtain the authority to sign attest reports.

In many firms having a CPA license is the only way one is promoted into upper management. Becoming a CPA increases your opportunity for promotions and a higher salary.

How do you become a CPA? While you could buy books and study on your own, you’d be missing several key learning modules featured in CPAexcel, a CPA review course for the CPA Exam:

Would you like a personalized study plan which takes into account how many hours you can study without loosing copious amounts of sleep? With CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can create a study plan. Based on the metrics of thousands of CPAexcel students who have passed the CPA Exam, Exam Planner lets you know when you will be ready to sit for the exam and when you need to apply—critical information if you want to be ready to sit for the exam.

Did you enjoy asking your professors questions when you were in college? Professors promptly answered your questions, explaining thorny issues and problems. You can’t get that from a book.

Did discussion sections monitored by your professor add to your learning? In this small group setting, you could explore concepts not covered in class. You can’t do that with just a book.

Would you like to create your own classes so that you can skip over what you already know and concentrate on what you need to learn? At CPAexcel, you can create your own courses from our extensive list of assignments—and invite your friends to join you. Education personalized for you!

CPAexcel students pass at nearly twice the national average. That power to pass can be yours today so that you can have a brighter future tomorrow.

At the top of the corporate food chain, many senior corporation executives have a background in accounting, internal auditing, or finance. Ah, you ask, how did they get there? In all likelihood, they started out at the bottom of the corporate food chain and worked their way up…unless they took a short cut and married the boss’s daughter.

On a typical career ladder, beginning public accountants advance to positions with more responsibility in 1 or 2 years. A few years after that, they advance to senior positions. Those who excel at climbing the career ladder may:

• become supervisors, managers, or partners within the firm; or
• open their own public accounting firm; or
• transfer to executive positions in management accounting or in internal auditing with private firms.

Cost accountants, junior internal auditors, and trainees for other accounting positions can be promoted to positions as management accountants. From being management accountants, they climb the career ladder to become the:

• accounting manager,
• chief cost accountant,
• budget director,
• manager of internal auditing
• controllers,
• treasurers,
• financial vice presidents,
• chief financial officers, or
• corporation presidents.

Public accountants, management accountants, and internal auditors usually have a high degree of occupational mobility. Public accounting practitioners often shift from management accounting and into internal auditing—or the other way around A rare career path would take an accountant or an auditor from either management accounting or internal auditing and move into public accounting. Additionally, because they learn about and review the internal controls of various business units within a company, internal auditors often gain the experience needed to become upper-level managers, especially when they become CPAs as well.

For accountants, the career path upwards requires that becoming a CPA, a Certified Public Accountant. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Interested in career as a Certified Public Accountant? Here is some more information.

Each of the jurisdictions which offers the CPA exam has its own qualifications for sitting for the exam. The person who might not qualify in New York may qualify to sit for the Colorado exam so you have to check the requirements carefully.

In California, the requirements are:

• A bachelor’s degree;
• 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
• 24 semester units in business-related subjects;
• 150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education;
• Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
• One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
• Passing an ethics course.– http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx

Logging 500 hours of attest or auditing experience will allow you to obtain the authority to sign attest reports.

In many firms having a CPA license is the only way one is promoted into upper management. Becoming a CPA increases your opportunity for promotions and salary increases.

How do you become a CPA? While you could buy books and study on your own, you’d be missing several key learning modules featured in CPAexcel, a CPA review course for the CPA Exam:

Would you like a personalized study plan which takes into account how many hours you can study without loosing copious amounts of sleep? With CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can create a study plan. Based on the metrics of thousands of CPAexcel students who have passed the CPA exam, Exam Planner lets you know when you will be ready to sit for the exam and when you need to apply—critical information if you want to be ready to sit for the exam.

Did you enjoy asking your professors questions when you were in college? With Professor Mentored Learning, top accounting professors from leading universities promptly answer your posted questions, explaining thorny issues and problems. You can’t get that from a book.

Did discussion sections monitored by your professor add to your learning? In this small group setting, you could explore concepts not covered in class. With CPAexcel’s Student Discussions and Private Discussion Groups, you can share your ideas with other students. You can’t do that with just a book.

Would you like to create your own classes so that you can skip over what you already know and concentrate on what you need to learn? At CPAexcel, you can create your own courses from our extensive list of assignments—and invite your friends to join you. Education personalized for you!

CPAexcel students pass at nearly twice the national average. That power to pass can be yours today so that you can have a brighter future tomorrow.

Yes, this is an accounting blog so at least you are pretty clear that you want your career to focus on accounting.  Good start! The English majors don’t even know this much yet! J

Whatever it is that you do, when your personality, abilities, and values align with the organization which hires you, your chances for workplace happiness are much higher. For instance, a non-smoking CPA might not be happy working for a tobacco company lobbyist because their values probably will not align. Similarly, an accountant who is a fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team might feel very uncomfortable working for George Steinbrenner of the New York Yankees.

The first step is helping you identify your personality, abilities, and values. For that, the world on online career testing comes into view. Why are these tests becoming so popular? The tests are very accessible, free, and can be done in privacy of your own computer instead of entering the office of some neck-tie ninny who will pontificate about your career path.  The tests listed here are free.

You can complete the tests quickly: the Princeton test has only 24 questions and no essay questions.  (I can hear your sigh of relief from here.) After you finish, the test not only makes observations about your personal qualities, but also your career strengths and skills versus the career options from which you should probably run away in abject horror.

Caveats:

1. Most of the free tests are abbreviated versions of the more extensive (and expensive) tests. The website’s goal is to get you to pay for the more extensive test. This is the land of capitalism after all. Read carefully before you sign up for any test.
2. The website may try to capture your data so they can happily inundate your mailbox later. While the test may ask for your name and address, be alert to any opportunity to opt out of receiving future marketing blurbs.
3. The test may not necessarily be accurate. If you didn’t read the question correctly, your answer may not display who you really are. If the results don’t feel right to you, they probably aren’t. On shorter tests, they may have categorized you where you shouldn’t be because they did not have enough data to make a decent observation. Forget the test and take another one or two or three. Listen to your heart. If the ideas ring true, great! Learn from the results and let them guide you on your career path.
4. There are no external standards for these tests. No one has to pass the career counseling version of the CPA Exam before they post a career test online so there are no quality controls.

For this reason, you may wish to take at least six tests in the hope of getting overlapping/confirming results.

Here is a short list of free online career tests. These represent a good sampling of the tests which are online.

Similar Minds Free Online Career Tests

Answer 71 questions in approximately 20 minutes. View your sample report. See which job tasks you prefer and the top 11-20 jobs that suit you. You may wish to follow a link to more research material where you are offered the chance to purchase a more detailed report.

The Princeton Review Career Quiz™

This is a shortened method of The Birkman Method®. After answering 24 questions, you receive a description of your interests, skills and preferred style using the Birkman color approach, plus a list of the careers this points to.

Web Tickle

You have to register as a member to take part. This site offers various “Ph.D. certified” tests which offer thought-provoking test questions. Web Tickle’s Career Personality Test pinpoints your workplace strengths and directs you to a profession that best compliments your unique personality. It is similar to the well known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator^® Instrument.

Prospects Planner Free Online Career Tests

This test, a shortened version of the longer test for university graduates,  helps you clarify your ideas. If you would like to take this test, you’ll need to register. Answer questions about your skills and what you want from a job. The results show what you might do as your career. You don’t have to explore all the options at once since you can return and view the results again on your next visit.

MAPP™ Assessment – free online career assessment tests

This assessment (MAPP stands for Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential) is designed to reveal your motivations, interests and talents for work. You’ll need to register with the site first. The free mini-analysis is a sample of the larger analysis you can purchase and includes five job matches with occupational documentation, a selection of real job matches and a free resource guide for career changers. (Note: many websites offering career tests are offering the MAPP assessment.)

iVillage Free Online Career Tests

This website for women offers a career evaluation test. Answer 30 questions by selecting one of two options. At the end, you’ll receive a list of about 20 career options and a one page report on your personality and career type.

Careerlink free career online placement tests http://www.mpcfaculty.net/CL/climain.htm

I admit it: I liked this test because of the cute little frogs in the sidebar. This site, run by Monterey Peninsula College in California, asks you to respond to a series of questions by picking one of two options. After working through four pages, you will receive a list of job categories along with percentage matches to your results. The CAREERLINK Inventory is designed to match the way you see yourself with available career information from the United States Department of Labor.

Through tests such as these, you might find that you have a proclivity for numbers and thus are interested in pursing a career in accounting. Accounting is a growing field and there is considerable career growth potential beyond accounting: become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)!

As an accountant, the career track which progresses upward at a faster rate is labeled “CPA.”

In many firms, you hit the ceiling and progress no further if you do not become a CPA. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Here are three examples of career paths for an accountant and for a CPA with the same education and experience:

Scenario 1: Two people in the same situation

Location: Austin, Texas

Graduates of/Degree: University of Texas, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Austin

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 2

On average, the CPA makes $10,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 2: Two people in the same situation

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Graduates of/Degree: UCLA, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Westwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 5

On average, the CPA makes $18,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 3: Two people in the same situation

Location: Boston, MA

Graduates of/Degree: Harvard, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Boston

Managing a team of: 25

Years of work experience: 15

On average, the CPA makes $25,000 more per year than the accountant.

Difference between top salary for CPA and for accountant: $45,000+.

Source: Payscale.com

Interested in career as a Certified Public Accountant?

Each of the jurisdictions (including US states and territories) which offers the CPA Exam has its own qualifications for sitting for the exam. In California, the requirements are:

• A bachelor’s degree;
• 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
• 24 semester units in business-related subjects;
• 150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education;
• Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
• One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
• Passing an ethics course.– http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx

How do you become a CPA? While you could buy books and study on your own, but you’d be missing several key learning modules featured in CPAexcel, a CPA Exam review course.

Would you like a personalized study plan which takes into account how many hours you can study OR prepares you to sit for the exam on a specific date? With CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can create a personalized study plan. Based on the metrics of thousands of CPAexcel students who have passed the CPA Exam, Exam Planner lets you know when you will be ready to sit for the exam and when you need to apply—critical information if you want to be ready to sit for the exam.

Did you enjoy interacting with your professors questions when you were in college? With CPAexcel Professor Mentored Learning, top accounting professors from leading universities interact with you, promptly answered your questions to explain thorny issues. Prior to exam day, your professor will email you test taking techniques and strategies. You can’t get that from a book.

Did discussion sections monitored by your professor add to your learning? In this small group setting, you could explore concepts not covered in class. With CPAexcel you can participate in Student Discussion Groups, which are mentored, AND you can start your own Private Study Group, to which you can invite your college friends, workplace colleagues, or students you met in your CPAexcel course. You can’t do that with just a book.

Would you like to create your own classes so that you can skip over what you already know so you can concentrate on what you need to learn? At CPAexcel, you can create your own courses from our extensive list of assignments—and invite your friends to join you. This is education personalized for you!

CPAexcel students pass at nearly twice the national average. That power to pass can be yours today so that you can have a brighter future tomorrow.

A CPA who is as fluent in accounting as they are in information technology (IT) will find that there are no limits on their careers.

Why? If one sector on IT isn’t booming, another sector usually is. In at least one case, the location evolved into another area of IT employment. When the PASCAL computer language debuted in 1970, the University of California, San Diego (in La Jolla, a seaside community), recruited professors proficient in PASCAL and built a bustling computer sciences department. As a result, corporations which developed in the PASCAL environment clustered in the Golden Triangle area, east of La Jolla. Accountants who flourished in an IT environment were highly employable. As quickly as UCSD produced graduates, the surrounding companies hired them. To locals, this area bounded by the 5, 805 and 8 Freeways was dubbed the “PASCAL Valley.” As with all things computerized, other languages eventually supplanted PASCAL and the companies closed or moved.

As computer sciences waned, the biotech department of UCSD blossomed in the 1990’s. Result? Biotech companies developing everything from heart values to veterinary vaccines moved in to the office space recently vacated by the computer science companies. As the change-over occurred, accountants moved into biotech and remained consistently employable. What had been the PASCAL Valley was now known as the Biotech Triangle, hiring and absorbing every biotechnologist the university minted. In 2001, when the dotcom bomb hit the computer world from Silicon Valley (CA) to Silicon Alley (NYC) to Silicon Gulch (Austin, TX), the biotech industry continued to boom and is still a major employer in the San Diego market.

Upgrade Your Career Opportunities by Being a Techie

If you keep your technical skills on the cutting edge, you will always be employable. Here are a few examples of how you, as a CPA, fit into an IT world.

Resource Analyst IV!: General Dynamics Information Technology describes itself as “a top-tier IT integrator” in the defense industry. On December 2, 2009, there were 39 accounting jobs in the IT sector of General Dynamics in Chantilly, Virginia. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wl/jobs/browse-jobs/k-Accounting/fe-General+Dynamics+Information+Technology).  As a Resource Analyst IV, you’ll use your experience in developing and perfecting strategies to obtain accurate information consistently and comprehensively from even the most intractable or unique sources while creating tools to mine, evaluate, and present data culled from corporate repositories. Your ability to lead the directorate in developing a strategic plan for the budget is requisite.

Senior Manager, Tax Provision: Amgen is biotech leader in developing new therapies to fight illnesses. Your experience in tax provision and planning for global tax provision combined with your ability to develop new processes to improve business will land you this job.

Senior Manager, Corporate Accounting: Microsoft has openings for accounting professionals in nearly every corner of the world, giving you the mobility to move from Redmond, Washington to Singapore. The corporate culture of Microsoft will encourage you to stretch—in this case, covering both the Equity Accounting Department and the technical accounting area. In Technical Accounting, you will be responsible for managing the teams that oversee GAAP accounting. In Equity, you will be managing the team which tracks the accounting and reporting of equity, such as share-based compensation, dividends, and share buy-back.

How do you get there from here? To become a CPA in the IT environment, you should be as fluent in technology as you are in accounting. If you are still in college, consider a double major or a merged program such as the Accounting and Computer Information Systems degree at Ferris State in Michigan or the M.S. Computer and Information Sciences from Rensselaer Polytecnic Instittute. If you have graduated with your BA/BS, consider taking courses in IT to bring your total coursework up to the 150 semester hours required by most states before you sit for the CPA Exam.

How do you become a CPA? First, you need a bachelor’s degree with at least some accounting courses. Through CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can determine if you meet your state’s requirements and have all the contact information for the testing agency.

Since the national CPA Exam has a failure rate of over half, you may wish to consider a CPA review course. CPAexcel’s students pass at nearly twice the national rate.

By becoming a CPA, you expand your opportunities to move into management and to command the higher salaries which certified public accountants enjoy.

“Put me in Coach.

I’m ready to play today.

Look at me.

I can be center field.”—John Fogerty

While you may be better at crunching numbers than at sinking a putt or scoring a touchdown, that’s no reason why you can’t work with athletes as a CPA.

A CPA is a very important part of every sports team. Reggie Jackson heeded the advice of his CPA when he negotiated his contract with the California Angels baseball team in 1982. Since Jackson was such a famous baseball star and homerun king, his CPA felt that Jackson’s presence would increase attendance at Angels’ games. During negotiations with the team, Jackson stated that any seats sold in addition to what the Angels sold in 1981 was due to him and demanded that his paycheck should reflect that. He held out for a per seat sold bonus on top of his salary. The Angels were so eager to sign him that Jackson won the argument—and the bonus!

Yes, NBA Laker great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and NFL Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman do need personal financial analysts to keep them on the financial straight and narrow but there is more to being a CPA in the sports management industry than this one job niche. These job postings were found in just one morning of searching:

Controller for a Sports Entertainment Company: Bring your CPA and four years of experience to a senior management position with this Chicago company. Overseeing accounting teams (not the Chicago Cubs), you will track and analyze monthly operating expenses against the budget while retrieving revenue from third parties. You will manage the preparation of the annual report of expenses, revenues, and transfers as well as prepare financial outlooks and forecasts.

North American Finance Director: See yourself here in Orange County, CA if you are a CPA with 8+ years in professional operations and finance. Oakley will see its way clear to pay for your travel— which you will do 25% of the time for this $1 billion company in sports performance eyewear.

Accounting Manager: Cutters Gloves, Phoenix, AZ. Catch a great job with Cutters Gloves, which sells baseball gloves to high school, college, and professional sports teams from Portland Harbour, UK to Portland, Maine. You’ll handle all aspects of accounting, including Cutter’s US, Japanese, European, and Canadian accounting operations.

Accounting Manager, San Antonio Spurs Professional Basketball Team. Slam dunk your CPA license and your experience into a great career with the Spurs. Report to the Director of Finance and manage a staff of 14 accountants. You never know when Tim Duncan (all 6’11” of him) will saunter into your office!

Websites to search for accounting jobs in Sports Management:

Sports Career Finder: http://www.sportscareerfinder.com/jobcenter.php/

Flip Dog Sports Accounting Jobs: http://www.flipdog.com/jobs/sports/accounting/

Team Work Online: http://www.teamworkonline.com/xjobs.cfm?location=&s=accounting&Category=&x=0&y=0

Women Sports Jobs: http://www.womensportsjobs.com/default.htm

Game Face Sports: http://www.gamefacesportsjobs.com/moving_up/moving_up-exec_search.html

Sports Careers: http://www.sportscareers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=264&Itemid=157&segment=5

Jobs in Sports: http://www.jobsinsports.com/content/job-seekers/sample-jobs.cfm

Work in Sports: http://www.workinsports.com/

How do you get there from here? To become a CPA in sports management, you should actually like sports. If you are still in college, consider taking courses in sports management. If you have graduated with your BA/BS, consider taking courses in sports management, accounting, and/or IT to bring your total coursework up to the 150 semester hours required by most states before you sit for the CPA Exam.

Here is a link to a list of sports management college programs:

http://www.nassm.com/InfoAbout/SportMgmtPrograms/United_States

How do you become a CPA? First you need a bachelor’s degree with at least some accounting courses. Through CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can determine if you meet your state’s requirements and have all the contact information for the testing agency.

Since the national CPA Exam has a failure rate of over half, you may wish to consider a CPA review course. Since 1998, CPAexcel’s students pass at nearly twice the national rate.

By becoming a CPA, you expand your opportunities to move into management and to command higher salaries.

A CPA’s career in the entertainment industry can be much more than making sure that Tom Cruise has enough money set aside for retirement or that Meryl Streep paid her taxes on time.

Want to sashay down the red carpet with flash bulbs popping in your general direction? When you break into the world of entertainment accounting, there can be great perks such as being invited to parties and awards ceremonies. As the CPA for George Clooney or Mariah Carey, you can, like the Starship Enterprise, “explore strange new worlds [of entertainment]; to seek out new life [new acts] and new civilizations; to boldly go where no [accountant] has gone before.”

The website, EntertainmentCareers.net, on December 2 listed 28 accounting jobs for film production studios, a cable network, a TV station, a music production company, and an agency for actors and musicians.

Financial Analyst: Ever wonder how (or if) Jackie Chan (or Natalie Portman) gets all the royalties he/she deserves for every one of their motion picture, home DVD, and video-on-demand performances everywhere in the world? As a financial analyst for a film entertainment studio, you will ensure compliance with their contracts and calculate their payments from various accounting systems. Financial analysts who calculate royalties have many opportunities to work with publsihing companies and music companies too—further expanding your horizons.

Business Management Associate: If have a place in your heart for rock ‘n roll and previous accounting experience, then an agency may have a place in their heart for you. An agency could represent rock singers (and other genres as well), actors, writers, and other creative types. Your job is to make sure that accounting activities (like royalty disbursements) are all humming a happy tune.

Manager, Motion Picture Finance: Would you like to see your name roll by in the credits of next summer’s blockbuster movie? It could happen. Can you support value analysis of projects based on cast and directors? Can you assist with all paperwork associated with angel investments? Can you craft structured finance deals? Then you might get Executive Producer credit on the company’s film projects and get to walk the red carpet at the premier. Oh! And the perks? One motion picture studio listed an expense account, mobile phone, and gym membership in their job posting.

How do you get there from here? To land a job in Entertainment Land, you’ll need a CPA license, a couple of years of accounting experience and good grades in college.The more work experience you have, the less your college grades will matter.

Because the competition for these jobs is so rigorous, you will need to stand out from the crowd. You can do that by becoming a CPA—a Certified Public Accountant.

How do you become a CPA? First you need a bachelor’s degree with at least some accounting courses. Through CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can not only find out if you meet your state’s requirements but also have all the scheduling and contact information for sitting for the CPA Exam.

Because the national CPA Exam has a failure rate of over half, you might want to consider a CPA review course CPAexcel. Since 1998, CPAexcel’s students have passed at nearly twice the national rate.

By becoming a CPA, you expand your opportunities to move into management and to command the higher salaries which certified public accountants enjoy.

International Accounting

The global marketplace offers CPAs a variety of exotic locales around the world in which to work. As an accountant, you know the language of numbers (accounting); by learning foreign languages, you expand your career opportunities to work and travel overseas. With NAFTA and other trade agreements, it is predicted that there will be incredible job growth in international accounting. A CPA is recognized world-wide as someone with an incredible command of a body of accounting knowledge and therefore is an instant asset to an organization. This is a trade-centric world so get onto a career path in trade-centric accounting. In a job like this, pack your suitcase: you may be traveling the world!

Here are job postings on Jan. 4-5, 2010:

Manager of Internal Audit- Latin America

Florida

Conduct complex audits of information systems. Travel to the US, Caribbean, Asia, Europe and Latin America about 70% of your time.

Requirements:

• 6-10 years auditing experience with a public accounting firm, preferably “Big 4″, and/or with a world-class internal audit department, preferably Fortune 500
• Undergraduate degree is required.
• CPA is highly preferred.
• Demonstrate fluency in good witting and communication skills in English, Spanish and/or Portuguese. (http://www.businessworkforce.com/job.asp?id=22076740&aff=5B69D171-E6DF-4407-9864-3092BB91A6F2)

Staff Auditor II/ Internal Audit
Nebraska

Work with Audit Seniors and Directors to obtain management responses for audit findings that ensure attainment of audit objectives.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree, emphasis in Management Information Systems or a related field.
• Two to five years of public accounting and/or industry experience.
• CPA desired.
• Fluency in 2nd Language required: German, Greek, Polish or Korean desired other languages will be considered.
• Ability to travel internationally up to 30% or for three months at a time. (http://careerlink.com/0/3/0/2/po/010520f.htm?src=simplyhired)

Regional Senior Auditor, Business Unit/Audit

Novartis

Florida

Novartis is a biotech world leader, researching new drugs and vaccines. Its headquarters is in Basel, Switzerland.

The Regional Senior Auditor will be based in Latin American and will conduct a spectrum of audits while complying with internal audit standards and procedures.

Requirements:

University degree, preferably in a financial discipline.

CPA preferred.

Fluent (verbal and written) in English, and in Spanish and/or Portuguese (preferably both). Additional languages a plus.

Experience of 7-10 years in broad business and finance. (https://xjobs.brassring.com/1033/ASP/TG/cim_jobdetail.asp?SID=&jobId=1048209&type=search&JobReqLang=1&recordstart=751&JobSiteId=5050&JobSiteInfo=1048209_5050&GQId=0&partnerid=13617&siteid=5050)

International Tax Director for one of the TOP 10 CPA firms

Chicago, IL
Salary: $150,000 – $250,000

Since our International Tax Practice group is rapidly growing, we have expanded.

The International Tex Director will provide world-wide tax minimization planning, foreign tax credit, foreign assignment planning, international business advice, transfer pricing analysis, FAS 109, and outbound and inbound structure planning.

Requirements:

• CPA, must currently be with public accounting or consulting firm.

International Corporate Tax Adviser with CPA

San Diego, CA

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Tax, Accounting, Finance or Business Administration.
• CPA license or Master’s degree preferred.
• 4+ years work experience in international tax with a large corporate tax department or a CPA firm.
  (http://www.gadball.com/job/19446268/international-corporate-tax-adviser-with-cpa/?sid=22_)

International Tax Manager

New York City

Salary: $110,000-165,000

A large New York City CPA Firm seeks an ambitious and communicative International Tax Manager.

International Tax Manager

Sacramento, CA

Salary: up to $100,000

Requirements:

• CPA license (preferably in California)
• Bachelor’s degree in Tax, Accounting or related field
• 2+ years international tax provisions
• 5+ years of domestic Federal and State tax related experience
• Can prepare and review federal and state tax returns for multiple entities

Benefits:

• Competitive Market-Driven salary
• Performance Bonuses
• Comprehensive benefit package including insurance, paid holidays, paid time off and more
• Positive, fun, and supportive work environment
• Excellent opportunities for learning and advancement

International Tax Specialist/CPA
Armonk, NY

CPA with the main responsibility to prepare US consolidated federal return for a Fortune 100 Company.

How do you get there from here? To become a CPA in international business, you should have an interest in nations beyond your own and you should have a desire to travel.

If you are still in college, consider taking courses in international business, international politics, and history. If you have graduated with your BA/BS, consider taking courses in international business, accounting, and/or IT to bring your total coursework up to the 150 semester hours required by most states before you sit for the CPA Exam.

How do you become a CPA? First, you need a bachelor’s degree with at least some accounting courses. Try CPAexcel’s Exam Planner to determine if you meet your state’s requirements. Exam Planner can tell you what courses you need before you apply to sit for the exam and Exam Planner gives you all the contact information for the testing agency in your state.

Since the national CPA Exam has a failure rate of over half, consider a CPA review course. Since 1998, CPAexcel’s students pass at nearly twice the national rate.

By becoming a CPA, you expand your opportunities to

• move into management,
• travel the world, and
• command a higher salary.

AICPA has announced numerous changes to the content, structure, and format of the CPA Exam which will be given on or after January 1, 2011. These changes include:

1. replacing the one long simulation in the current format with several short Task-Based Simulations (TBS) in Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG)
2. deleting the testing of written communication from AUD, FAR, and REG
3. adding the testing of written communication to the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section
4. deleting 18 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) from BEC and REG
5. reducing the weight of MCQ in AUD, FAR, and REG by 10%
6. reducing the weight of MCQ in BEC by 15%
7. doubling the simulations in AUD, FAR, and REG
8. changing Content and Skill Specification Outlines (CSOs/SSOs),
9. adding testing content on IFRS

10. deleting some of the testing content on IT

11. adding testing content on project management.

It was previously decided to add planned authoritative literature release and to introduce a new research task format into the CBT-e schedule.

Time Allotment Changes:

A shift between two sections occurred which will not effect the total time to complete all four sections. While BEC will gain 30 minutes for its allotted time, AUD will decrease by 30 minutes. Total testing time for all four sections will remain at 14 hours.

How Questions Will Be Weighted and Scored:

New scoring has been approved as follows for multiple-choice questions (MCQs), Task-Based Simulations (TBS) and written communication tasks:

Section:                     MCQs                          TBS                             Written

AUD                       60%                       40%                       0%

FAR                        60%                       40%                       0%

REG                       60%                       40%                       0%

BEC                        85%                         0%                      15%

Current and 2011 Structure of the CPA Exam:

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

Current Structure                                  CBT-e Structure

• 3 Multiple Choice Question              Remains the same

(MCQs) testlets with 30

questions each (total: 90)

• 2 Simulations in long format           1 Testlet with 7 short TBS with

a research question in new format

• 2 written communication tasks       None required

Current Testing Time: 4.5 hours        CBT-e Testing Time: 4 hours

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

Current Structure                                  CBT-e Structure

• 3 Multiple Choice Question              3 Multiple Choice Question

(MCQs) testlets with 30                 testlets with 72 questions total

questions each (total: 90)

3 Written Communication

tasks on BEC topics

Current Testing Time: 2.5 hours CBT-e Testing Time: 3 hours

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

Current Structure                                  CBT-e Structure

• 3 Multiple Choice Question              Remains the same

(MCQs) testlets with 30

questions each (total: 90)

• 2 Simulations in long format           1 Testlet with 7 short TBS with

a research question in new format

• 2 written communication tasks       None required

Current Testing Time: 4 hours             CBT-e Testing Time: 4 hours

Regulation (REG)

• 3 Multiple Choice Question              3 Multiple Choice Question

(MCQs) testlets with 30                 (MCQs) testlets with 72

questions each (total: 90)              questions total

• 2 Simulations in long format           1 Testlet with 6 short TBS with

a research question in new format

• 2 written communication tasks       None required

Current Testing Time: 4 hours             CBT-e Testing Time: 4 hours

Changes in Question Distribution (Weight):

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

Regulation (REG)

Type of Question                 Current Weight                    CBT-e Weight

Multiple-Choice Question                70%                       60%

Simulations                                 20%                       40%

Written Communications                10%                         0%

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

Type of Question                 Current Weight                    CBT-e Weight

Multiple-Choice Question                100%                     85%

Simulations                                     0%                      0%

Written Communications                    0%                    15%

For the letter from AICPA detailing the changes, click here:

http://www.cpa-exam.org/download/CBTe_Announcement-Sections-TimeWeights-FINAL.pdf

As an accountant, the career track which progresses upward at a faster rate is labeled “CPA.”

In many firms, you hit the ceiling and progress no further if you do not become a CPA. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Here are three examples of career paths for an accountant and for a CPA with the same education and experience:

Scenario 1: Two people in the same situation

Location: Austin, Texas

Graduates of/Degree: University of Texas, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Austin

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 2

On average, the CPA makes $10,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 2: Two people in the same situation

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Graduates of/Degree: UCLA, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Westwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 5

On average, the CPA makes $18,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 3: Two people in the same situation

Location: Boston, MA

Graduates of/Degree: Harvard, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Boston

Managing a team of: 25

Years of work experience: 15

On average, the CPA makes $25,000 more per year than the accountant.

Difference between top salary for CPA and for accountant: $45,000+.

Source: Payscale.com

Interested in career as a Certified Public Accountant?

Each of the jurisdictions (including US states and territories) which offers the CPA Exam has its own qualifications for sitting for the exam. In California, the requirements are:

• A bachelor’s degree;
• 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
• 24 semester units in business-related subjects;
• 150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education;
• Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
• One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
• Passing an ethics course.– http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx

How do you become a CPA? While you could buy books and study on your own, but you’d be missing several key learning modules featured in CPAexcel, a CPA Exam review course.

Would you like a personalized study plan which takes into account how many hours you can study OR prepares you to sit for the exam on a specific date? With CPAexcel’s Exam Planner, you can create a personalized study plan. Based on the metrics of thousands of CPAexcel students who have passed the CPA Exam, Exam Planner lets you know when you will be ready to sit for the exam and when you need to apply—critical information if you want to be ready to sit for the exam.

Did you enjoy interacting with your professors questions when you were in college? With CPAexcel Professor Mentored Learning, top accounting professors from leading universities interact with you, promptly answered your questions to explain thorny issues. Prior to exam day, your professor will email you test taking techniques and strategies. You can’t get that from a book.

Did discussion sections monitored by your professor add to your learning? In this small group setting, you could explore concepts not covered in class. With CPAexcel you can participate in Student Discussion Groups, which are mentored, AND you can start your own Private Study Group, to which you can invite your college friends, workplace colleagues, or students you met in your CPAexcel course. You can’t do that with just a book.

Would you like to create your own classes so that you can skip over what you already know so you can concentrate on what you need to learn? At CPAexcel, you can create your own courses from our extensive list of assignments—and invite your friends to join you. This is education personalized for you!

CPAexcel students pass at nearly twice the national average. That power to pass can be yours today so that you can have a brighter future tomorrow.