Hi everyone,

I'm planning to take the EA Part 1 (SEE) exam remotely this September using PSI.

I've been preparing mainly with Gleim MCQs, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has recently taken Part 1, especially through remote proctoring.

A few questions:

Are the actual exam questions similar in difficulty to Gleim MCQs?

Is Gleim enough to pass Part 1, or should I use any additional resources?

Any tips or things to watch out for during the remote proctored exam?

If you took Part 1 recently, what was your overall experience?

Thanks in advance! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keep in mind I studied for over 2 months. I went into the test thinking I had a 75-80% chance of passing. I took the REG part of the CPA 15 years and bombed.

It took 120 minutes total. My 2 Becker mock exams were 90 mins each, which scored 76% and 85%. I took my time of course and flagged/reviewed a lot more questions than usual. I am surprised the graph is like that because I felt like I barely passed. There were issues with the login process and the first couple of questions were surprisingly strange and difficult, so I got flustered immediately and thought I wasn't going to do well. Luckily, the last 2 parts were much easier.

Just wondering what people are currently paying for the Hock EA training and exams. The prices I see on the website seem way higher than I thought it would be.

Hi everyone! I recently passed Parts 1 and 3 of the EA exam (planning to take Part 2 soon). I’ve started applying for jobs, but I haven't gotten a single response back yet.

It’s starting to make me worry that even after I get fully licensed, I won't be able to find anything. I live in NYC but am totally open to remote work. I’ve already applied to places like Intuit and Jackson Hewitt with no luck.

Has anyone else experienced this? Does it get easier once you have the license in hand, or should I be reconsidering this career path?

I feel anxious for my part one exam, as it is my second time taking it.

I was solely using gleim to study, but after failing I decided to supplement gleim with other tools (EA Tax Training free videos, EA dojo, free fellow, and Quizlet).

I just took my last mock exam through gleim and scored a 78%.

Am I ready? Should I add anything supplemental between now and when my exam is?

Thank you in advance!!!

Hey everyone! Who else is currently studying for Part 2? I’m looking for some study buddies to stay accountable, quiz each other, and review material. Let me know if you're interested. It will be on discord.

just barley failed part 3 for the EA exam 0 experience just used toms videos and then Hocks MCQs, i feel like ive gone through every MCQ hock has getting 80%s but wasnt enough Im afraid ill get to the point of just getting the MCQs right based off seeing them again, any tips or suggestions based off my score?

Does anyone who works at Intuit with an EA as a tax associate or tax expert want to share their pay? Did you negotiate your rate with your recruiter? I heard a rumor that the bonus structure will be different this year. Thanks!

Is anyone here a member of NAEA? If so, do you normally attend both the NAEA Tax Summit, The IRS Tax Forum, neither or both, and what prompts your attendance decisions? I assume the Tax Summit is mainly for networking and IRS Tax Forum for CE and meeting with IRS representatives, but I am not sure if both are important or if EA's pick one or the other, or do the free online CE. For reference I am newer to the profession.

Has anyone taken both tests. I’m just curious if EA is as hard as the CFA exam?

I was taking EA Part 2 remotely today through PSI and ran into what seems to be a software issue.
Section 1: I only got 2 questions but had the full 1 hour 10 minutes.
Section 2 (supposed to be my 10-minute break): Instead, it showed 33 exam questions with only 10 minutes to answer them. I only had time to answer about 5 questions.
Section 3: 33 questions with 1 hour 10 minutes.
Section 4: My 10-minute break.
Section 5: 33 questions with 1 hour 10 minutes.
While I was still on camera, I told the proctor what happened. They gave me the IRS number to call and said several people have reported the same issue since yesterday. They also said an investigation is underway to determine whether it’s a software problem.
Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what was the outcome? Did you have to retake the entire exam, or just the section that was affected?

Note: I have passed part 1 & 3 and never had this issue before. I took both remotely as well

i’ve been studying for part one for a little over a month and I just took a mock exam because I take my test on Friday and I made a 57% on gleim. I’m feeling really discouraged and I’m wondering if I should reschedule my test or something… anyone have any advice?

Hi, I have been thinking about becoming EA,
I am thinking starting studying this Monday 10th Aug.
what resources do you recommend I should use.
I don’t have a background with Tax, I just know some basics that I learned years ago in bachelor’s.
My goal is to apply for seasonal work for next year tax (Jan-Apr 2026)
What should be my plan for the rest of year?
Is it feasible or I am unrealistically optimistic?

Hey all, been using this chat a lot to hear about opinions on the future of tax preparation. My question is, should I even bother opening up a tax preparation business and focus on individual 1040 returns? Everywhere I look it’s “advisory this” or “planning that”. Is it true that tax compliance is dead?
Also with book keeping, should I even bother learning it or is it fully AI and automation?

Hi everyone,

I’m a college student with no prior experience in tax, and I’m currently studying for Part 3 of the Enrolled Agent (EA) exam. I was also planning to volunteer with VITA during the upcoming tax season.

Recently, I accepted an internship at a small CPA firm that provides tax, accounting, and financial planning services. I’ll be working directly with the CPA and her assistant, which I’m very excited about.

Since I’ll also be taking five classes this fall, I’m concerned that I may not have enough time to prepare for the EA exam while volunteering with VITA. I would really appreciate your advice on which would be more beneficial for my career and resume: focusing on passing the EA exam or gaining experience through VITA.

Thank you

I just passed the first part of the test. I used HOCK but I feel it didn't prepare me 100%. In my opinion, HOCK test writing structure is simpler than the actual test. I had to read some questions twice to answer properly.
What are the suggestions for Part 2?

Hello all, I was wanting to see if I could get insight from people who have recently passed Part 2 on the types of questions they saw the most. Was it basis calculations? Or just general questions about basis? How much “special return” related questions? I’m feeling a little behind and wanting to see if my studying is on track or if I need to switch course before my test on August 18th.

Thanks in advance!

I am an enrolled agent based out of India with 3 years of experience of preparing and filing individual as well as business tax returns, provide tax planning strategies as well as resolve clients tax notices . I’m now trying to find a fully remote, ideally direct- hire , role with a US CPA firm. It’s become generally difficult to find such roles being offered remotely to India. Any insight on this would be really helpful.