Ava
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Post by Ava on Jun 1, 2017 6:18:22 GMT -5
I decided to apply to the Auditor position at my current workplace. I did some digging and one of the managers has a current and active CPA license in good standing. They will probably turn me down for the job, but hey, they don't charge for applying.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jun 1, 2017 6:53:11 GMT -5
I don't have the time to re-read everything.
But a few things strike me.
First, I know you still have to run a home by yourself. How can you make that more efficient? Can you get groceries delivered? Can you use the crock pot and batch cook and freeze? What about an instant pot? Why aren't all of your bills on auto pay? Seriously, we're a family of 5, and I spend like 20 minutes on finances a month. Because I've got bigger fish to fry. (I mean, trust me I could spend hours on our budget monthly like I used to when DH and I were first married. Ain't no one got time for that.)
Would you consider hiring a cleaning person to clean your apartment? You can't really get it that dirty, being that you are only one person and gone for, what 10-11 hours a day?
Can you study on your commute? You can get CPA exam study materials as MP4s. Even my 10 year old subaru has the ability to play mp3s/4s with the right gadgets. That's almost two hours of study time right there. Can you find someone to carpool with? If nothing else, to buy yourself an hour of time every day?
I work 3 jobs, I've got three kids, and I had to study for my GREs. That's no small feat when the last time you've used anything beyond estimating and fractions is over 20 years ago...and most of the reading you do involves picture books like good night moon.
Verbal is always easier for me than the math. So, I'd use commute time (I bus it, largely between jobs because paying for parking would eat into the extra income) to do the vocab review and study for reading comprehension.
Even now, work is busy (actually, I'm slammed, and that's being kind)...and I'm not studying for the GREs anymore on my commute, but instead of knitting, I've been doing work that I can get done without internet access on my bus rides.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Jun 1, 2017 10:56:59 GMT -5
One question, how are you going to rent or buy a place in Florida without a job? Don't most LL's or loan applications look for current employment? I would rent. I don't know how it works if you don't have a job. I guess you pay a deposit and sign a six months contract. I don't know. I'm sure I won't be the first person who ever moved to Miami without a job lined-up. I would look for a roommate arrangement if it weren't for my cat. She's very stubborn and set in her ways to live with anybody else. And she sheds a lot. The last place I rented wanted my employment letter/contact to verify employment. Without a job, the complex wanted a cosigner (I only know this because I overheard a phone conversation while in the office). I don't know if a bank statement with financial resources would have been sufficient to sign a lease. Also, IME about 10% of the rental units will accept pets. If you find one, they will also charge pet rent and/or additional deposits.
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on Jun 1, 2017 11:14:21 GMT -5
I don't have the time to re-read everything. But a few things strike me. First, I know you still have to run a home by yourself. How can you make that more efficient? Can you get groceries delivered? Can you use the crock pot and batch cook and freeze? What about an instant pot? Why aren't all of your bills on auto pay? Seriously, we're a family of 5, and I spend like 20 minutes on finances a month. Because I've got bigger fish to fry. (I mean, trust me I could spend hours on our budget monthly like I used to when DH and I were first married. Ain't no one got time for that.) Would you consider hiring a cleaning person to clean your apartment? You can't really get it that dirty, being that you are only one person and gone for, what 10-11 hours a day? Can you study on your commute? You can get CPA exam study materials as MP4s. Even my 10 year old subaru has the ability to play mp3s/4s with the right gadgets. That's almost two hours of study time right there. Can you find someone to carpool with? If nothing else, to buy yourself an hour of time every day? I work 3 jobs, I've got three kids, and I had to study for my GREs. That's no small feat when the last time you've used anything beyond estimating and fractions is over 20 years ago...and most of the reading you do involves picture books like good night moon. Verbal is always easier for me than the math. So, I'd use commute time (I bus it, largely between jobs because paying for parking would eat into the extra income) to do the vocab review and study for reading comprehension. Even now, work is busy (actually, I'm slammed, and that's being kind)...and I'm not studying for the GREs anymore on my commute, but instead of knitting, I've been doing work that I can get done without internet access on my bus rides. This is one of the ways I studied for the CPA exam. Listened to the lectures on my commute. Saved me a ton of time, even if I had to listen to them a couple of times to get everything out of it.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Jun 1, 2017 13:15:26 GMT -5
I would rent. I don't know how it works if you don't have a job. I guess you pay a deposit and sign a six months contract. I don't know. I'm sure I won't be the first person who ever moved to Miami without a job lined-up. I would look for a roommate arrangement if it weren't for my cat. She's very stubborn and set in her ways to live with anybody else. And she sheds a lot. The last place I rented wanted my employment letter/contact to verify employment. Without a job, the complex wanted a cosigner (I only know this because I overheard a phone conversation while in the office). I don't know if a bank statement with financial resources would have been sufficient to sign a lease. Also, IME about 10% of the rental units will accept pets. If you find one, they will also charge pet rent and/or additional deposits. The last rental I looked into required you to have at least 12 months of rent in your savings if you couldn't verify employment. I didn't ask about co-signers. Although I think the pets thing depends on the area. I've had a dog and when I was looking at rentals last year probably 30% of them allowed pets providing you paid pet rent, a pet deposit, and a one time pet fee. I think the bigger hurdle is finding an apartment if you don't have a source of income.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Jun 2, 2017 7:28:22 GMT -5
I think studying during the commute is great advice but that ship has already sailed. The software package I bought, while excellent, does not include audio. I briefly considered other packages that included audio but this one is the best one for me. The way they explain things is good for people who have English as a second language. Don't forget that the CPA is difficult, and add to that the language issue. I don't pay much attention to audio while I'm driving, anyway. I need to concentrate because it's a busy commute, with stop-and-go, texters, quick-lane changers, etc. I was doing audio books for a while and had to stop because I got distracted.
After reading all the comments I asked myself if I couldn't do a little better. I don't want to come up with excuses, but my time "budget" is well allocated. Yes, I could get someone to clean or get groceries delivered. First, I am trying to save money, second, cleaning takes 2 hours on Saturdays and grocery shopping takes another 2 hours on Sunday. They help me decompress and move from the computer a little bit.
I still don't think I have the time to conduct a full job search. Don't forget that there are time limits to the CPA exam, and if you exceed the limits you start forfeiting credits for the exams passed. I don't want that to happen to me. The sooner I pass all four parts, the better I'll feel.
What I've decided to do is take a weekend off in July after I take the part I'm studying for now. During that weekend I'm going to apply to all the jobs I see advertised in Indeed, both for Florida and Connecticut, see if I get any bites, and take it from there.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jun 2, 2017 7:58:26 GMT -5
After reading all the comments I asked myself if I couldn't do a little better. I don't want to come up with excuses, but my time "budget" is well allocated. Yes, I could get someone to clean or get groceries delivered. First, I am trying to save money, second, cleaning takes 2 hours on Saturdays and grocery shopping takes another 2 hours on Sunday. They help me decompress and move from the computer a little bit. Right. But here's the thing. Getting your groceries delivered runs $15 a week, if that. Short term, yes it's $60/month. Long term, it's an extra two hours a week you can spend looking for jobs. What's more important? Which will have a greater positive impact on you? Saving $60/month or having a job prior to moving to FL? You kinda remind me of my husband and clothe diapering. He's been very adamant about clothe diapering our kids. Because it's way cheaper and better for the environment. When we found out about this kid, one of the first things out of his mouth was "We still have all the clothe diapers we can use. That will save on costs." And, yes, he's right. It will save us anywhere between $15 and $30 a month. But, especially given our schedules, DH needs to be doing more value added things for our family other than washing human waste out of clothe diapers. We've got bigger fish to fry. Picking up more around the house and with the kids so that I can take two grad school courses in fall and get them done before I give birth has a long term better benefit than being ultra cheap now. (Lord people, can you believe I said that. I can't.)
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geenamercile
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Post by geenamercile on Jun 2, 2017 8:34:27 GMT -5
Have you checked to see if any of the grocery stores around you have a pick up service. We have a few here and they are free, but also save time. You order online and then just call when you get there and they bring it out.
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naughtybear
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Post by naughtybear on Jun 2, 2017 8:56:16 GMT -5
A bank statement with the resources and ok credit is what I had to rent, didn't need a co-signer.
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naughtybear
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Post by naughtybear on Jun 2, 2017 8:57:52 GMT -5
Is clothe diaper a brand name?
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Rukh O'Rorke
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Post by Rukh O'Rorke on Jun 2, 2017 9:36:57 GMT -5
if cleaning and shopping is downtime, somewhat enjoyable as a break, and only a few hours, then Ava should continue with what she finds is working for her.
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phil5185
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Post by phil5185 on Jul 8, 2017 10:38:22 GMT -5
It's not a hard drive, two 10-hour days on I-95, all daylight driving, no stops/ mild traffic. I've driven it a couple times. But it depends on the person - I dislike being in an airport for over 3 hours at each end, sitting on a plane for 3 hours, and the hassle of rental cars - a wasted day. And for me, a scenic 2-day drive is pleasant.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Jul 8, 2017 13:40:38 GMT -5
We moved years ago but it was different. No we didn't have jobs.
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Jul 9, 2017 14:04:35 GMT -5
Well, I have discarded the idea of moving to Miami without a job lined up. Too risky for me and my savings wouldn't last long enough for me to be comfortable. For now I am job hunting from afar, though the results are not promising. I am willing to do this for a few more months before moving without a job. Anyway, there are cheaper areas than Miami to move to and still be within driving distance for a job interview. It would mean living in the boonies but the cost of living would be reasonable. I hope I don't have to resort to that, really.
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formerroomate99
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Post by formerroomate99 on Jul 16, 2017 20:09:20 GMT -5
I know people who went to Florida, got laid off over and over again, and had to leave. Florida isn't exactly known for having a booming economy.
I also know plenty of people who got jobs with just phone and skype interviews. If you're not getting a ton of phone interviews, that isn't a good sign. Is there some reason you can't wait until you pass the CPA exam and then put your energy towards job hunting?
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Ava
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Post by Ava on Jul 16, 2017 21:07:47 GMT -5
I know people who went to Florida, got laid off over and over again, and had to leave. Florida isn't exactly known for having a booming economy. I also know plenty of people who got jobs with just phone and skype interviews. If you're not getting a ton of phone interviews, that isn't a good sign. Is there some reason you can't wait until you pass the CPA exam and then put your energy towards job hunting? I'm not getting any interviews at all I only had one. After that, nothing. Today is exactly one month since I started looking for a job. Maybe I need to give it more time, I don't know. When I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, I was a cashier at a cafeteria. I had a couple of people review my resume and they both were very pessimistic about my chances of getting a job, because I didn't have any internships, etc. It took me three weeks, 40 applications and 3 interviews to get a job back then. Now, with 5 years of experience in banking and half of the CPA exams passed it's taking me longer. I guess it's because of being an out of state candidate. But I have applied to jobs here in CT and I've gotten no answer from them either. I don't know what to think, really. As for Florida not booming with good employment perspectives, it is not alone. CT is not exactly a good place to be for jobs hunters. The economy here is really bad. And I'm done with the never-ending winters and the snow. I'm not even applying to CT jobs anymore. I did it for a couple of weeks. No feedback of any kind. I applied for a job as an internal auditor with my current employer and I was turned down. I would have stayed for that job.
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janee
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Post by janee on Jul 17, 2017 10:26:26 GMT -5
Ava, Can you have a friend or someone with business experience look over your resume? It does take a long time to get a job but from your postings here you sound "not confident". Are you playing your skills, history, etc. to show well? Google Purdue resume--they have an excellent tutorial on resumes. Try different styles, use action words, give reasons why you're doing what you're doing.
I totally agree with starting with a temp agency--it's decent pay (better than retail) and lets you earn while you look. It also will give you local references. I have a friend who did that between accounting jobs (she's a CPA).
Good luck to you.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jul 17, 2017 21:14:16 GMT -5
Not having an internship is going to be hard. I'd look at Macy's and Nordstrom. My cousin works for Nordstrom. He loves it and they pay him very well. You need experience as more than a cashier and to finish off that exam.
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Shooby
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Post by Shooby on Jul 18, 2017 7:33:50 GMT -5
Well, I have discarded the idea of moving to Miami without a job lined up. Too risky for me and my savings wouldn't last long enough for me to be comfortable. For now I am job hunting from afar, though the results are not promising. I am willing to do this for a few more months before moving without a job. Anyway, there are cheaper areas than Miami to move to and still be within driving distance for a job interview. It would mean living in the boonies but the cost of living would be reasonable. I hope I don't have to resort to that, really. I think that is wise. Just keep your chin up and keep looking. Something is going to turn up at some point. Just be ready to go when it does.
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