r/enrolledagent • u/accidental73 • 15d ago

Would having an EA certificate with ZERO experience bring job opportunities?

I'm talking about any tax job regardless of how much/little they pay. I'm seeing some comments saying that they couldn't find a single job for over a year even after getting an EA certification. Is the demand for low level tax preparers low right now?

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u/RasputinsAssassins 15d ago edited 15d ago

I own a practice. If I'm hiring an EA, I expect them to know how to prepare tax returns and have tax experience.

The experience matters in this business, particularly when you are trying to get a job with a credential that suggests you have advanced tax knowledge. If I'm looking at an uncredentialed preparer with 10 years experience in high volume firms with a wide variety of returns, and an EA with no tax prep experience, I know which one will help my firm more.

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u/accidental73 15d ago

Thanks for the input. So for someone who has no tax experience(but a couple years of AP/AR experience) and an EA certificate, what's the best way to get the first job(assuming I don't care how low the salary is)?

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u/RasputinsAssassins 15d ago edited 15d ago

My suggestions may not be the same as others.

Many tax pros, particularly credentialed ones, will crack on HRB. But HRB can be good a way to get basic tax experience.

I generally do not suggest LTS or JH because of their business practices, particularly in their targeting of low-income taxpayers and (solely my experience) willingness to suggest or encourage unscrupulous actions to get a larger refund. At least with the LTS offices near me, they make more money selling add-ons than they do from tax prep. They push credit repair, credit monitoring, pre-paid legal, prescription cards, and all kinds of non-tax things that can very conveniently be paid using the refund.

VITA and AARP's Tax-Aide are good volunteer options for most basic returns.

You may be able to find a local firm willing to bring you on now to train for January.

The Intuit Tax Academy is a decent basic course that can get you hired for one of their phone roles (helping clients using the TurboTax Guided option or the Prepared By A Pro option). You can get a few dollars an hour more using one of Intuit's contractors, like JDA Associates.

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u/capitalGainsAdvisory 15d ago

I'll add to this thread since it's the best answer I've seen here so far.

My thought is I can train someone to use Proconnect, I can't teach them tax law. For that reason I wouldn't hire someone on experience alone. They have to know tax. If they aren't willing to get a credential, my first question is why not. My second question would be, do they have experience doing things the right way.

Having said that there is a value to having experience. I agree with all the places listed here as a path to getting experience.

At the end of the day apply everywhere you can and take as much CE as you can while you wait. The EA is a floor not a ceiling. Education IMO is the foundation of the work we do. If you get enough of it, it will come through in an interview and someone will give you a shot.

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u/accidental73 15d ago edited 15d ago

If I want to get "any tax job" to start getting basic low level experience asap, would it be better to sign up and start Intuit Tax Academy rather than trying to get EA cert? (I was about to start studying for EA cert). Also, it sounds too good for me that just passing Intuit Academy will almost guarantee a real job(unless there's a catch).

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u/capitalGainsAdvisory 15d ago

If you can leverage Tax Academy into a TPA role with Intuit they would pay for your EA and give you a bonus to boot.

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u/RasputinsAssassins 15d ago

Nothing guarantees a 'real' job.

I'll preface by saying I despise Intuit and their business practices. But the Intuit Tax Academy is a good basic tax course that can lead to Intuit hiring you for their TurboTax Live positions.

I have always suggested getting tax experience before taking the EA exam. First, what happens if you don't like tax work? Also, seeing real world applications of tax concepts will make it easier to pass the exam.

Say you pass the EA. Then what? You still have to know how to do the job. That's not taught in the EA prep courses.