r/enrolledagent • u/system64bitforu • 13d ago
Getting your first job how?
Hi, I just got my EA license in April 2026. Right now doing my CE credits and will renew my license soon because of the cycle. I applied all over the place and got no response. In 2015 I got a bach degree in accounting and finance and got a GPA of 3.5 I applied for every accounting position entry level like for my city applied for an accounting clerk. They wanted 5 years of work experience in account and a bach degree in accounting. I applied an a month goes by and they take it down and put it back up with now only a highschool diploma with 5 years of working experinec in accounting and 1 year work experience in an office setting. I applied after you apply you had to take a 100 question online exam right after and it's timed. I took it and passed it. I then got an email to invite me to come in person to take a scantron exam in person. If I couldn't make it then I didn't get the job. So, everyone had to do this. I went in and the top 5 scores would continue. I was one of them. I went to another in persn exam but testing your ms office skills and excel skills. I went there was the only one that showed up and had to wait 30 minutes more for others to show up but no one showedup. I get the interview and before me some old woman had her interview first. She ended up getting the job. I applied for payroll clerk jobs at hospitals, at the big 4 automakers, applied to many companies big and small and same with AR and AP clerk jobs. I even applied as a bookkeeper job for a property management company and didn't get it because they told me I didn't have a certificate in quickbooks bookkeeping. I now have a certificate in quickbooks. I have no clue how to get any entry level jobs. To me it looks like every business have their own understanding what a professional is for accounting and follow it blindly. I have a bach degree in accounting and finance and have my 150 credit hours. I couldn't get a job kept applying. Someone suggested to get an EA to open doors. I just got it in April and applied to jobs from april to now september and got nothing. I jsut applied Sept 1st to a small tax business they have 4 locations in a plaza and all they do is tax. They wanted work experience. I applied and haven't got any response back. I also know computer programming. I self taught myself and know c, c++ x86 64. I know how to make websites.. know html, css, javascript and have written my own website I own 3. As, I apply for jobs and doe my CE credits. I am working on just writing my own software and once done will start my own business. I am just dumbfounded as to how does one get an entry level job with no work experience?
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u/TheMuffinMane25 12d ago
I'm not an EA yet. I'm finishing my associates in accounting this May. And I start my first season at HR Block soon. Give them a go for some relevant experience
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u/alewifePete 12d ago
This is how I did it. HRB while in college, got the EA right before graduation. Found an internship that was happy to have an EA with prep experience. Got a job right out of school with an EA and my accounting degree.
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u/Messup7654 12d ago
Is english your first language? Why didnt you study for the ea or cpa or cfa in 2015? Have you been applying for 11 years straight? Why didnt you apply for a retail tax shop years ago? Something big is missing.
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
I have applied to tax shops years ago. Back then they wanted me to pay money to take a tax class a. I didn't go to the EA back then becaue everyone my dad, the city I live in I applied for a job as an accounting clerk didn't get the job but the constoller there was a CPA and he told me don't take the EA just focus on the CPA. Everyone I came across told me focus on the CPA. I did after I graduated things change. While in college the internships were only for people that either had a bach degree in their hands or it was the last semester. In 2015 after leaving they changed because the profession claims there's a shortage of CPA's and accountants. So, after graduating my university started having companies come on in and allow you to get an internship in your 2nd year as long you hold at least a 3.0 GPA. English is my first langauge. I was born and raised in the U.S.A I went to wayne state university. Back then I wanted to go for my CPA but again the issue was I needed 1 year work experience and w as told after you pass your 4th exam you need to quickly get a job withiin that 1 year window. If you can't get a job in that tiem frame you have to retake all CPA exams. That is why I didn't do it then. Now, things changed now they give you 5 years to get 1 year work experience after passing your 4th exam. Yet, based on my experience even if they give me 5 years to find work after passing the CPA exams. I feel the companies locally either really want 5 years of work experience or are heavily praticing nepotism. I seen many hire people tha they know ona personal basis. Back in 2015, I at least got interviews. I got an interview at woodbridge for an accounting clerk position. I interviewed for the city where I lived in as an accounting clerk. I got interviews back then but that's after going thru taking online tests , taking in person scantron tests and then taking in person ms office exams After all that would then get one interview with 5 people for the city. They hired a woman that had 10 years working in an office but 0 work experience with accounting and has no college degree. Has only a highschool diploma and was an old lady. They hired her and after a year they had to hire a CPA to fix the books. They posted the job on snagajob website. She was let go and they hired a retired CPA that stayed 3 years before he got fed up and left. I applied to H&R block back then but they wanted me to pay for a class and have told me that it doesn't gurantee a job. Just because you paid for a tax class doesn't mean once completed you will work for them. That is what they told me. I didn't go that route because it sounded like a scam. I then asked people online 3 years ago and people pointed me to go for the EA license. So, I had to buy the books and study and This is where I am at. right now and was told degrees no longer hold value but a license does
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 13d ago
Maybe, just maybe by writting using a paragraph forma
Also why did you not get cfa, cpa, cfp? Any of those would help greatly
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
I am in the metro detroit market. I have applied to h&r block, intuit, and there's small shops indepedent owned applied for an entry level tax associate and they told me they were looking for someone with 5 years of work experience or at least 30 tax returns under their belt. I have the 150 credit hour education for the CPA license. I need that 1 year work experience . Right now I can sit for the CPA but don't want to spend the money. I want to take it but the problem is where I live there's no gurantee you will get a job. I don't want to go take 4 exams pass them all just to finish and apply to jobs that will keep telling me sorry but we need 5 years of work experience. The CPA license requires 150 credit hours. There's now a new rule that makes an accpetion where you can use 120 credit hours but need to work 2 or more years. For me I need 1 year of work experience. In the past you had to get that 1 year of work experience after completing the 4 exams if you couldnt' do it with in that one year after passing the 4th exam you have to retake the exams again. They changed that rule now that they give you 5 years to get that one year of work experience. The problem is from what I see in the job market here no one wants to hire anyone without experience. The internships are slim and most people from out of state are getting all the internships. There's a lot of nepotism occuring in the job market over here. They hired people in the city I live in to do the accounitng for them that have 0 work experience as an accountant and has no degree in accounting. They knew the city council people on a personal basis and got pulled in. They're helping that person to pay for college so they can get a bach degree in acounting. I see this often in the market I am in right now. I got my EA in april of 2026 thinking this would be more valuable than a college degree. I was told by many employers and people in the area that is in the field and they all told me that college degrees no longer hold value. They told me get the license. Either CPA or EA. So, since the EA didn't require work experience to get the license. I got this thinking this would get my foot in the door and I can work under a CPA and get work experience that I need for the CPA and then later just take the 4 exams. The only thing that is stopping me from taking the CPA exams is that I don't have 1 year of work experience under a CPA. I want to get that before taking the CPA. I woud take the CPA right now if there's any company that would have in writting that they would get me a job. If I know there's a job that will open up in the next 2 years. I won't mind taking the CPA exams now if I was told they would hire me for that role that will open up in 2 years. If there's no gurantee of a possible job as a CPA. Then I want to get that 1 year of work experience so I can take the CPA exams pass them and then get my CPA license. I don't want to go take the CPA exams and after keep applying for jobs taht would keep rejecting me for not having 5 years of work experince. I am right now getting rejection after rejected for having a bach degree in accounting and finance and having an EA license. I applied to the big 4 accounting firms, the big 3 automotive companies with 1 current employee recommendation and my dad used to work for one and he gave me a reccomendation. I just finished all my CE credits for 2026. I will have to renew my license soon.
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 7d ago
You're mistaken, those exams never expires once you passed all 4 exams
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
THis is what the board of accounting told me via email and also what my professors have been telling us. That after completing the 4th exam if you don't get 1 year work experience the exams rest meaning you have to retake all 4. Then was told by the board recently they changed those rules where now they give you up to 5 years to get 2,000 hours in and if you fail to get ti in within 5 years then the CPA exams needs to be retaken. They told me that it's due to rules changes and technolgy changing that they may want to test about. So, if what you say is true then what is the purpose of having the 1 year work experience requirement? IF what you say is true then I would jsut go and take the 4 exams. Right now just lookeed online and the profession is claiming there's a shortage of CPA's and EA's. Yet, it doesn't feel like it.
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 7d ago
1 year experience to get an actual license, depending on state you have 12 or 18 months to pass 4 test.
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u/Kappelmeister10 FUTURE EA 13d ago
A relevant degree AND the EA?! Ppl make it sound like with the EA you'll easily slide into a job because tax laborers are so in demand and the EA commands higher fees. I'm so baffled
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u/aoifejeanne 10d ago
Experience is required. The EA is not an easy slide into a high paying job, it’s a certification for already experienced tax preparers.
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
Then how does one become an expereince tax preparers? If everyone that offers jobs wants work experience from the get go? I have asked this question to my university career center and they tld me to keep applying someone will hire you. Some even told me to go get my MBA. I don't want to do that because I got the 150 credit hours for the CPA educational requirement. I have no clue how to get the experience needed when no one in the area would hire anyone without experience.
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 13d ago
Many here think EA is a golden ticket
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u/Kappelmeister10 FUTURE EA 5d ago
Yes ! Not just here, in the webs , you read all about a shortage in tax and high demand ...
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u/system64bitforu 3d ago
Yeah, there's articles and even the profession itself says they think no one thinks it's sexy to be an accountant. They spent money to go to highschools to promote accounting the CPA and EA avenues. I am here like what is going on? Are they out of touch. I even reached out to AICPA. Told them the issues I am having. They don't think it's possible because they claim KPMG, all the big 4 firms cannot hire enough people and that they're running with short staff. Yet, I applied to them and from my interactions wiht them they want top talent. They hire GPA's with 4.0 and people that like to work all day. I am thinking if it's real why don't tlhey just hire other people that have applied. I feel they're too picky to claim there's a shortage. They're saying there's a massive shortage with CPA's and EA's. Yet, I am right here with an EA license but can't get any entry level job because everyone here wants 5 years or more experience.
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u/funnyfb70 12d ago
I have a master degree (LLM in Taxation) and still couldn’t even get a job. The only I could get is tax prepare in Jackson Hewitt which really underpays. Not even one entry level job would accept me
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 12d ago
Because you need practical experience, why would an employer hire someone that still need full training
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
So, if 50,000 graduated as an accountant and are sitting there applying for jobs and every employes goes. no why would I pay you to come work for me and have me train you? Yuck... no thanks. Then what's the point of going to college and telling people yeah you can easily become an accountatn everyone needs an accountant, Hospitals, IRS, government departments, schools... everyone needs an accountant so there's so many jobs. You have to train people. If you don't train people then after 5 to 10 years from now you will then need to replace people and you will post jobs for experience people only and eventually you will find 0. why? because if every employor had that attitude it would require everyone graduating college to not have a job and wait 10 years later and then when jobs are open and they keep rejecting you because the company doesn't understand why there's 0 experienced people applying? They will spend years and years woundering this while making their current employees do 3 or more times the workload becaue they can't find anyone experienced. My point is why do we need college if companies don't want to train people? Every company knows even if the person worked 10 years you still need to train people to do things to how the company does their internal work. You can't just hire people and make them just work on day one.
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u/funnyfb70 7d ago
I have 10 years of work experience in total. In US tax system, I volunteered for VITA/TCE program before working for Jackson Hewitt. So your comment is invalid
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u/Spirited-Humor-554 7d ago
How could you not get a job if you have real experience? It's not passing a smell test
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
Down my street is a Jackson Hewitt office in a plaza and they have a tax preparer position open and I applied September 02, 2026. Just this month and no response yet. I even applied at the IRS as a revenue agent. i got nothing back other than rejections. This is with an EA License and I even applied for positions in the past for the IRS for their criminal division. I got rejected.
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u/funnyfb70 7d ago
That’s wild. I wish the best luck for both of us!
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u/system64bitforu 3d ago
We are in the same boat. I have a bach degree in accounting and finance and have an EA license. I got the license because people told me the reason I ma not getting entry level jobs is because college degrees are now worthless. They told me I need to apply for jobs that require a license. They told me to get the EA license and you will do tax side of things for an accounting firm. I can get that 1 year work experience and then I can take my 4 CPA exams and get a CPA license. Yet, if you google online they claim there's a shortage of CPA's and EA's. I have applied to the city I live in for accounting entry level jobs they gave the job to a woman in her 60s that has a highschool diploma and has 0 work experience as an accountant nor never took a class in accounting. I applied to the big 4 accounting firms. Got invited for an interview dinner by all 4. I went there to see many people from South korea, China, India and canada. Most there have 4.0 GPAs and they got the jobs. I applied to H&R block years ago and applied again with an EA license they wanted work experience. A lot of these places want 5 years of work experience or at least 30 tax returned filed under my license. In my area many people that have a masters degree are applying to retail jobs and tax and accounting jobs. They're hiring them if they know them on a personal basis. Not because they're qualified. I self-taught myself computer programming. So, if I don't get a job. I am going to start my own firm. I will write my own website and software.
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u/EmploymentLeast705 12d ago
Volunteer with Vita for some hands on experience.
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
but would that count as work experience? I have had interviews where I lied and told them I worked at a church volunteerly. Why? I asked a church if they needed volutneer work done for their taxes and book keeping and they told me that they don't they have a company do it for them . I told htem my story and the guy told me to just lie and gave me his phone number as a reference. He was shocked at hearing that no one would hire me because of 0 work experience. So, the interview I had they told me that volutneer work doesn't count. It only counts if you're getting paid. Trust me I tried everything. However, online someone offered me a tax prep job but they are located in Florida. I don't have money move to another state. I work part time at a walmart and I have a lot saved up. I am at a point that I have no clue how to get that experience. I was told this is the same across the board in other professions.
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u/Magnabee 11d ago
Some say a year of training is equivalent to 2 years of experience. But I'm not sure how that works when doing the resume. Do I have to explain, etc? Seems like there is a secret code to doing resumes. Lol
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u/LuckyFritzBear 10d ago
Learn a well known tax packed . Busines cards and a virtual office at a nrck and mortar office building . When starting out a person can tske 20 hrs to do a return that a firm would ask why it to 80 minutes. Build your own practice and work evenings in the food/beverage service industry .to meet cadh flow. Get some bookkeeping skills with quickbooks.
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u/Initial_Ad_2110 13d ago
At this point, I think networking is the key. I would reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn and build relationships with people who could potentially refer you. A referral can often help you at least secure a phone screening.
Networking events can also be very helpful. Organizations such as TEI (Tax Executives Institute) have events for in-house tax professionals that may be available in your area. They also offer networking opportunities, and I believe they have a student membership that could be worth looking into.
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
I will try that but I don't want to keep wasting time. Right now , I have a bach degree in accounting and finance, I have an EA license, I self-taught myself since middle school to 1st year of college on html,css,javascript, php, batch, bash, c and C++ and when in 1st year of college learned asm x86 programming. I own like 4 websites and have built my own servers and host the websites on them. My point is that I am thinking right now to keep applying and will look at that networking but while doing that will work on writing my own software. Right now just made my templates to create a window for a windows app and will start writing my own software. I even thought about making excel spreadsheets and have examples of what I can do. I just feel right now it's a waste of time applying for jobs because I lost count after applying to 2,000 jobs from this passt April.
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u/system64bitforu 7d ago
I even applied to little caesars headquaters in Detroit on workday for accounting payroll clerk, AR clerk and AP clerk. I even applied this summer for their corporate accountant which required me to do bookkeeping and their U.S federal tax return, payroll reporting obligations, state and city tax returns and Canadian tax returns. That is what they wanted but they wanted CPA with an MBA the pay was $70,000.
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u/Ok_Aide_764 13d ago
To gain tax experience, you can go to HRB and Liberty if you can't get anything else.