Anybody in Accountancy field ?

[Durant200 2]

Hello everybody 

 

I'm fully aware of that question must have been asked before and I apologies for asking it again but here is my situation so far.

 

I have received my EAD last week and yesterday was my AOS interview, everything went well ( gotta review the local office though I didn't do it yet )  after happiness we now have to face another challenge , finding a job.

 

 

okay so here is what my problem is , I have an accountant degree from France , I'm not having a lot of experience just a few internships , i worked in a restaurant too but that's another story.

 

what are my chances (surely close to 0 ) to be hired as an accountant here in the US , considering my experience is low , my degree is from abroad , accountancy is different from a country to another ,and we live in a rural area. 

 

Any suggestions of Job as a start ? Any of you had a similar experience? I read some topics on here before writing this one and some people had issues with this as well , is it gonna be the same for accountants ?

 

 

thank you in advance 

[Umka36 781]

I've hired a few accountants who got their degree outside the US. Unless you are looking to be a CPA (you'll need to sit for the CPA exam and be licensed), your degree for the most part shouldn't impact getting a staff accountant job. Debits and credits are universally used around the world in accounting.

 

Now your lack of experience may be the biggest hurdle to finding a job. Have you looked at a staffing agent to get your foot in the door? Account Temps/Robert Half/and etc.

[Durant200 2]

First of all thank you for your answer 

 

The first part of your answer is quite useful to calm my anxiety toward this issue , I'm now sure I can do it and learn everyday if I have to. 

 

I haven't look at any of it yet , I didn't know what to do except looking at jobs at indeed.com , I'm trying my best to sort things out . In France usually our method consists to stay in contact with the job office and they will help you to find a job. Now the approach is different , I'm not really used to it so I didn't know where to look specifically. 

 

I don't know what is the best thing to do at the moment 

[Umka36 781]

I only mentioned a temp staff agency, because that's how I was able to land a permanent job back in 2003 (I had just graduated with no experience). After getting my first gig, I was able to show my skills and the company using the temp agency bought off my contract so they could hire me directly.

 

 

[Durant200 2]

That would be an option to consider  

 

Perhaps it would be more wise to do so especially since I'm not really familiar with how taxes works here yet , I was looking for some courses online available on PDF to see if I can familiarize myself with it  

 

seems to be like this issue of lack of experience  was already a problem back at then 

[Umka36 781]

If you want to work in the field of tax accounting, then I recommend just taking a few course at a local community college/university focusing in individual/corporate tax since you already have an accounting degree. Some offer this as continuing education as well. Just a thought.

[Lemonslice 4,886]

You can also look at consulting firms advisting French clients in the USA - look up Axelia Partners, see if something similar exists in your area. 

[aaa2zzz 27]

IFRS and US GAAP are pretty similar. H &R Block does give classes in the off season for people who want to work for them as tax preparers. Tax season starts in January and goes through April and so you want to get that class done. The pay is not very good, but it will get you experience. Living in a rural area makes it very hard. You need to join groups like Rotary, Lions Club or whatever is big in your area, get to know people and that is how you can get accounting gigs. 

If you want to be more than low level tax preparer, you will need to do some serious studying and unless you are highly disciplined, online courses will not do it. US tax law is very complicated, and there are special provisions applicable to farming and agriculture. 

[Durant200 2]

I really didn't know about the class they give there that can be pretty awesome for experience I need to look into this for sure !! That could be interesting and a good start :thumps up 👏

 

I still wonder if it is worth it to continue in that field sometimes ... I was not planning on going back to school. 

[mallafri76 1,012]

OP, what kind of accounting degree do you have? I think I read in one of your other threads that you have a two year degree, which doesn’t really count for anything here in the US. Sorry to be blunt.  Accounting is one of those areas where you need to know state and federal law. If accounting is what you want to do, I would focus on getting an accounting degree here in the US. And you may be able to get some credit from what you’ve already done in France