Marine Option - 5th Year CPA possible?

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NDROTCDad92

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My son will be pursuing an accounting degree and most states require a masters degree to obtain the CPA, which means one extra year. Has anyone had this issue and is it possible to finish your degree and then go to TBS?

I am assuming he would pay his last year.

Thanks in advance.
 
ROTC doesn't pay for Master degrees. He might be able to get an education delay but it's not likely... in fact it's extremely rare. He should speak to his cadre about it. He could pursue the Masters while serving, accumulate GI benefits and pay for it when he gets out later, or pay for it on his own after his service. These seem like more likely courses of action to me.
 
It’s even more rare on the Marine side for ed delay. Anticipate getting his degree in 4 years and reporting to TBS after that.
 
A better option may be to finish the Accounting degree, go to TBS, and pursue the Masters later online while serving as a Marine officer. There are several excellent online MBA's with accounting specializations.
 
I agree with all above: exceedingly rare. I have heard extensions can be granted to finish an undergraduate degree but not to complete a masters program. Best to speak with the cadre once he reports to school.

Things may have changed but CPAs used to require continuing education and work experience to stay active. Earning the certification just prior to starting a USMC career may make staying active difficult.

Finally, the other day my DS was telling me that Marine Officer's have to be pursuing a master's degree for promotion to Captain (think I have that right but if not, someone can correct me) so waiting to earn that Master's may make sense.
 
I work with tons of CPAs and many are right out of school for undergrad. But not sure on state by state requirements, but that has been true for 4 states I have recently lived or worked in.

I am surprised for promotion to Captain and would be surprised by that. That board for Capt is around the 3 year mark when very very few have touched a masters. Some might towards the end but most tackle it on there first B billet (shore tour) or they get sent to NPS for their shore tour. It had always been for Major. Career level schools such as EWS (formerly AWS) would definitely be looked at for Capt and Command and Staff after that.
 
you are correct Hoops. It is for promotion to Major. My bad.
 
I was an accounting major and the CPA test would be the easy part (which says a lot). Your son is only getting to the 150 credits which only makes him able to even take the CPA exams. The exams would take 6 months on a short track given that he passes them all and takes them with very little breaks in between. Once he passes these tests the student needs to work under a CPA for 1 year which puts your son at 1.5 years after commissioning (aka in training and working full time). After all of this the CPA needs to go though continuing ed every year to keep up the qualifications. All the requirements need to be happening after another because the CPA exams expire after 18 months. My plan is to work on my masters and keep the option open to going into something completely different than accounting. I've also yet to earn my CPA and if I do I will be doing it after I separate. They're academic tests instead of experience driven so if you study...you can pass them.

TLDR: You can't get a CPA because of the time restraints and requirements. Plan on getting the masters while in and CPA after separating.
 
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