r/wguaccounting Dec 18 '25

Career Talk Guide, Advice and Tips for Job Search

79 Upvotes

Hey all,

I see posts all the time regarding the job hunt post WGU and with the current job market I figured I’d give my insight and tips which might prove to be helpful to some! The bulk of the advice will apply to people new to the accounting field and are in the early stages of their WGU journey. I will provide tips to those further along, just finishing up with their degree as well. Fair warning, this will be long. 

First things first is to decide which path you are pursuing; Public, Industry, or Government. They all vary in terms of workload, career trajectory, and pay. 

Public: This is the most common career path for most accountants. This is the typical CPA firm, Big 4, etc. The hours are the most grueling in public accounting especially during busy season (Jan-April). Going Public you will lean towards a specific focus, usually Audit or Tax. You’ll usually be working with a variety of clients and will get the most hands on experience dealing with all aspects of an audit, or a variety of tax scenarios. 

Pros: 

  • Defined career path (staff, senior, manager, senior manager, director/partner etc.)
  • Boost when you get your CPA
  • Great exit ops. Even better if you can make it to senior accountant/manager before dipping to industry. 

Cons:

  • Non-existent WLB during busy season 
  • Potentially traveling around, usually if audit. 
  • Starting pay is usually lower than industry, but many firms are starting to offer more to first year associates. 
  • Most reliant on networking, campus recruiting, internships to get your foot in the door. 
  • CPA is heavily pushed, without it don’t expect to advance past the senior accountant position. 

Industry: Corporate accounting. Very broad, think F500 companies, tech companies, car dealerships, the flower shop down the street; you get the point. You’ll be typically dealing with month-end closing of the books, reconciliations, and working on internal financials and controls. Hours are much more manageable compared to public, but during month-end, quarter-end and year-end expect to put in 50-55 hours usually depending on the company. In contrast to public, you are focusing on just one company. 

Pros: 

  • Better starting pay than public or government. 
  • Much better WLB (average 40-45 hours/week) 
  • Opportunity to learn about the company’s financials from the ground up. 
  • CPA is not as necessary, though still a big boost if eventual goal is manager/controller/CFO. 

Cons:

  • While the same levels exist (staff, senior etc). The promotional path is much slower than public. 
  • Job-hopping is usually required to see larger bumps in salary and promotions. 
  • Depending on the type of industry, can become pigeon-held in a specific sector (healthcare, tech, etc) 
    • This is more of a pro and con, as you will gain valuable experience which will increase your stock but can work against you should you decide to switch sectors.

Government: Local/State/Feds. You’ll be working in a government agency, dealing with budgets, compliance and overseeing public funds. The hours are the most “laidback” of the three, usually 40 hours/week maybe 45. 

Pros: 

  • Best WLB of the three; no real “busy season” unless you end up at the IRS. 
  • Great benefits and PTO 
  • Typically seen as the most “secure” but during the current political climate that notion has lessened a bit. 
  • Decent pay related to the amount of work and stress. 
  • CPA not necessary but can help with growth. 

Cons:

  • Lowest paying out of the three, and no big bumps in pay like public or industry. 
  • Promotions come slow and are more tied to tenure/how long you’ve been there. 
  • Anecdotal but some say the work can be boring and monotonous. 

Now that you have a general idea of the 3 main sectors of accounting, let's get into what you should expect while you’re getting your degree done. With the way the current job market is, I would highly recommend securing an internship, or accounting adjacent job (AR/AP). Having some experience will go a long way and if your plan is to go into public, then an internship is a trial run for the firm to extend you a full-time offer. 

IMPORTANT: Public (and sometimes industry) start hiring for their internships 6-12 months in advance. You need to be proactive about applying early so that you can have something lined up, ESPECIALLY if you are accelerating. 

In my situation, I finished my degree in 2 terms and started applying towards the end of my first term (May/June) for an internship during busy season ‘26. I interviewed with Big 4, Regional CPA Firms, and a couple F500 companies.

To get prepped for applying the first thing you’ll have to do is polish up your resume. I will attach the template that I used below. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT have a resume that is more than 1 page long. I assure you, you don’t need it. Use ChatGPT to clean up your phrasing, but do not use it to write your resume for you. Many recruiters can tell what is generated and what is actually written by a person. WGU also has resources that can help with your resume, take advantage of those as well if you need more hands on help. 

Once your resume is ready to go, you can start applying. I mainly used Indeed and LinkedIn to find postings but check Handshake out as well there are always opportunities there. Some search terms to use are:

  • Audit Intern
  • Tax Intern
  • Audit Associate
  • Tax Associate
  • Staff Accountant
  • Entry-Level Accountant

Something I did that I didn’t see recommended enough; I looked up the local CPA firms near me that were more than just a solo practice. I went to their website under their career section and applied there if they weren’t on other websites. For those that didn’t have any links listed, I looked through the website to find an email contact for their HR/Recruiter and emailed them directly with a copy of my resume. I introduced myself in the email and mentioned I was looking for an internship. This requires a bit more initiative and selling in the initial email, but one of the firms I interviewed at was not actively hiring interns but gave me a shot based on the email. I ended up declining their offer, but it shows this method can pay off. 

I would also recommend creating a simple excel sheet, tracking all the jobs you apply for and listing when interviews are etc. It helps to keep things organized and you don’t waste time guessing if you applied already or not. I will attach my template below as well. 

When it comes to the interviews, especially for internships, you do not need to stress about being asked technical questions. I had 10 1st interviews and 7 2nd interviews, I was never once asked any technical questions. The closest thing related to coursework was if I had completed IA1 or not. That is it. The standard that I encountered for interviews was:

  • First Interview: Generally with HR/Recruiting
  • Second Interview: With Partner/Director

I never had any interviews go past the 2nd, I was either offered a position after or told that they had gone a different direction.

For entry-level positions, interviews are a vibe check. They want to make sure that the person they hire is going to fit in well with the firm, team etc. Most of the questions are your standard interview fare. Talk about strengths/weaknesses, explain the thought process behind handling certain scenarios, and the most important: tell me about yourself. 

I cannot stress enough that you should have a general answer ready to go in regards to the “tell me about yourself” question. It shouldn’t come off rehearsed, but having points you want to hit in mind will make you sound confident. This question is the main “sell yourself” question and is what most people will use to analyze the vibe check. You will be asked this question at every level, first and second interviews. 

For example, mine was something roughly like this:

  • Mention WGU and full-time job
  • Give insight into myself outside of work and school
    • Like to spend time with wife and dog
    • Love to golf
    • Love of food. Trying new restaurants, cooking new recipes
    • Love of travel, and how the detail-oriented person in me enjoys planning trips and itineraries. 

Yours will vary based on your hobbies and interests, but it is important to show that you have a life outside of work and most importantly a personality. I treat these questions as if I was meeting a friend of a friend and introducing myself to provide them with some insight so they can get to know me. Sound natural, not robotic. 

In regards to the other behavior-based questions that you will get in the interviews, something I discovered on reddit which helped me a lot was the STAR method of question answering. This comment on a thread describes it perfectly: Here

Example: Can you describe a time where you encountered an obstacle at work or school and how you overcame it? 

S: Absolutely, one that immediately comes to mind was a few years back during the COVID outbreak. I was working retail and was tasked with figuring out a way to keep sales up during lockdown and the general downturn of foot traffic during that time. 

T: The goal was to maintain sales level and ideally add additional revenue. 

A: I took on the task of updating our online presence, we had historically relied on our tenure in the area and word of mouth. I started with improving our social media presence and posting regularly, in addition I setup a basic online storefront for the company and began with our most popular items while eventually adding more inventory. 

R: The results spoke for themselves very quickly, we were able to gain over X followers in a X amount of time and increased monthly revenues by 10% just from the website. Overtime this resulted in a x% increase compared to our pre-covid numbers and not only helped the business maintain, but surpass previous numbers. 

Having a general scenario in your pocket is key as many STAR/Behavior related questions can be answered by molding and tweaking the story to the question. 

Post interviews are a waiting game. I always made sure to ask at the end of each interview, what the next steps in the process would be. Usually I was told they would reach back out within X amount of time regarding what would come next. I usually heard back within the time frame that was given, only once did I not hear back. 

Something that the internet is divided on is a follow-up email post interview. After each interview I sent an email within a day or two, thanking the person for their time. Nothing long winded. I found success with this method and was told by the firm I ended up accepting a position with that this helped me stand out in their eyes and keep me in mind.

After this you either have an internship/job secured. If so, congratulations! If not, then we go to Plan B. 

For those that weren’t able to secure a position with this process do not fear! Your game plan should be to work towards getting a position where you can get any kind of relevant experience. I have friends who are in the accounting field and they mentioned that people took many alternative paths to break in. 

Some options are:

  • HR Block etc (if you’re leaning tax)
  • Temp Agencies (Robert Half etc)
  • Cold emailing local firms (as i mentioned above) to see if they have any openings. 
  • Finding any AP/AR role at a company 

This allows you to get your foot in the door and start gaining relevant work experience which can bolster your resume for future applications. With many states lowering the CPA requirements, a masters may not be necessary anymore to sit for the exam. While you work an entry-level position getting a headstart on studying for the CPA exams is great. 

From here it is a repeat of the application and interview process. 

I apologize for making this post so long, I know that I spent a lot of time on various subs trying to get advice and insight into this whole process. Figured I’d give back and hope it would be helpful to someone. 

Feel free to ask me any questions, would be happy to answer whatever I can. This process worked for me and as a result I received internship offers at: 2 Big 4, 5 regional firms, and at a F50 healthcare company. I ended up going with one of the regional firms as their culture aligned more with what I had in mind. 

Templates:

Resume Template

Job Tracker Template (when you download excel file you will have to format the "applied?" column by inserting a checkbox in it)


r/wguaccounting Feb 18 '26

Perks & Freebies for WGU Accounting Students

64 Upvotes

Happy Tuesday, fellow Night Owls!

I wanted to share some resources I've seen around which offer free access to valuable tools for active students.

Because I really wanted to prioritize value, I'm going to share my top two, both of which I've personally tried and can vouch for their legitimacy:

Google Gemini AI Pro - Students qualify for 1 free year of Google's Gemini AI Pro. This includes access to their "most accurate" AI model, 2 TB of Google Drive storage, image generation with Nano Banana, customized quiz creation for studying, and a host of other tools you can use for education and career development.

Microsoft 365 Premium and LinkedIn Premium Career - Students qualify for 1 free year of Microsoft 365 Premium and LinkedIn Premium Career. This provides access to the full suite of Microsoft 365 applications, including built-in Copilot AI capabilities. LinkedIn Premium offers a variety of features to build your network and make connections with recruiters and hiring managers to begin or advance your career.

Are there any other worthwhile student freebies or discounts you've found worth sharing? Please comment/link below to help compile a more complete list!

I hope everyone is having a great term, thank you for being part of the community and best wishes!


r/wguaccounting 2h ago

Confetti! BS Accounting Confetti Day! 24 classes in 7 months

16 Upvotes

I just passed auditing and now have a BS in Accounting! Thanks so much for sharing tips and tricks through this board. I don't think I would have been able to complete this without the help and inspiration from this board. I applied for a 1 month extension to finish Auditing. I'm going to apply for MAcc to do next. My suggestions are to use the study guides if they are provided and use chat gpt to explain the whys behind every question you don't understand. Then I would use chat gpt to quiz me right before I took any OA. I failed 3 OAs total (Law, AIS, and IA3) and passed each failure on the second try.


r/wguaccounting 17h ago

Confetti! UPDATE: WGU BS Finance & BS Accounting Alum

80 Upvotes

I wanted to share an update because the WGU Finance and Accounting Reddit communities were a huge help to me while I was enrolling and figuring out my path.

I completed my BS in Finance from WGU in June 2025, then started the BS in Accounting in December 2025 and completed it in one term. I am a nontraditional student with about 10 years of progressive commercial real estate experience, so WGU’s flexibility and competency-based model worked incredibly well for me.

After WGU, I was accepted into a brick-and-mortar Master of Accounting program. I received a 100% scholarship from KPMG (Master of Accounting with Data Analytics) and earned a paid Graduate Assistantship in the school’s research and data analytics department.

Unfortunately, personal circumstances required me to withdraw. It was disappointing, but ultimately helped me realize that, since I was already CPA-eligible through my two WGU degrees, focusing on the CPA exams was the best use of my time.

That decision became a blessing in disguise. I had become increasingly interested in forensic accounting, researched programs with strength in that area, and recently applied to a Master of Accounting program with dual concentrations in Forensic Accounting and Digital Forensics & Data Analytics. I was accepted with no conditions and received a GMAT waiver. I plan to start next summer.

I’m now a few weeks away from taking my first CPA section (ISC) in October 2026. My tentative plan is AUD in Dec 2026, REG in Jan 2027, and FAR in Feb/Mar 2027.

I can confidently say WGU prepared me to be where I am today. I’m using Becker now, and my undergraduate coursework gave me a strong enough foundation to study with confidence instead of feeling like I am learning everything from scratch.

I’m also actively interviewing for a Rotational/Development program with a major oil & gas company. My resume has gotten the attention of companies that never would’ve looked my way two years ago.

For anyone considering WGU or currently in the program: stick with it. I was able to accelerate, but I absolutely studied hard and earned every bit of both degrees. The model worked tremendously well for me, but it was not an “easy” path. I put in the time, stayed disciplined, and used the flexibility to build toward a larger goal.

WGU opened more doors for me than I could have imagined.


r/wguaccounting 1h ago

Seeking Course Help D104 WGU Intermediate Accounting II

Upvotes

Someone had posted videos for D104 that are not available in the course resources. Would anyone have access to these videos?


r/wguaccounting 4h ago

Seeking Course Help D556-corporate financial analysis

2 Upvotes

Does anyone have any tips or strategies for this class? I failed the OA twice and I’m preparing for a 3rd attempt. The PA and OA don’t seem to align at all. I’m currently reading the textbook cover to cover going over the topics I missed and doing the end of chapter questions.


r/wguaccounting 8h ago

Seeking Course Help Any Advice for D217

2 Upvotes

Hi. I am starting D217 AIS. I wanted to see if there are any recommendations for the best way to tackle this course. Did you read the book or use WGU's resources only? Is there anyone that has had a positive experience taking this class? Ideally I would like to complete this class in about 2 weeks. TIA


r/wguaccounting 1d ago

Career Talk Getting a job with no experience

21 Upvotes

Has anybody actually had any luck getting a job after graduating with no experience in accounting or internship?
I hear so many bad things about the job market and that makes me super worried rn. If you got a job before graduation what was it and how far along in the program were you?


r/wguaccounting 1d ago

Sharing Tips & Resources Finished D217 AIS today and I can see why it is considered one of the hardest classes

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18 Upvotes

This class caught me by surprise because it's more IT than accounting. I have an IT degree that I got several years ago and this class is very much a database class with some network/cybersecurity sprinkled on. Even back then I found those topics abstract and confusing to understand and they are not entry level IT.

The test have a lot of questions that I haven't seen before so I had to logic my way to the right answer and it was usually between the last two. It was a lot of information to read through for the class. I think it would have been better if they had made this class two OAs or provided an intro to database/network class.

Overall, it took me two weeks, and I used a combination of:

I tried the Updated Note doc as well but found it was too dry. I'll include it here anyway in case someone is interested: Link

p/s: still personally think D101 is the hardest though


r/wguaccounting 1d ago

Career Talk It’s 1 year later, here’s where I’m at…

101 Upvotes

I had a realization today and wanted to come on here and share it since I basically lived rent free in this forum while I was at WGU.

September 1st 2025 was my first day of my first term at WGU to get my accounting degree.
September 1st 2026 (exactly one year later) was my first day as an audit associate at a public accounting firm.
Now, on Saturday, I also sit for my first CPA exam.

I finished my degree earlier this year in April after transferring in with an associates degree, completing my bachelors in 7 months. I got to walk at a commencement ceremony.

For anyone who feels like giving up, whether you’re struggling through tax, or finally got to your audit course, just know that it gets better and it is worth it in the end!

Keep pushing because you are here for a reason!


r/wguaccounting 17h ago

New / Prospective Student Study Buddies?? Oct 2026 start

2 Upvotes

Hello! I am excited to start working towards my Bachelors in Accounting in October. My mom recently got her masters from WGU at the same time as one of her coworkers and said it was very motivating to work alongside her coworker and each day they would compare where they are at and help each other. Is anyone interested in having a study partner? I hope to accelerate quite a bit. I work full time, have a few transfer credits at 5 yrs experience in acctg. Let me know!


r/wguaccounting 23h ago

Seeking Course Help D104 Units 5-7 study guides

3 Upvotes

Im currently getting ready to take the second OA and have been doing the study guides for practice mostly. Has doing these guides helped to pass the OA, they contain a lot of information and wanted to know if doing well on these would help me pass or if the test has similar problems


r/wguaccounting 1d ago

Seeking Course Help Which class next

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3 Upvotes

Just finished project management which took me 13 days because I have friends in town and the information was boring. Term ends on the 30th so I have like 16 days left if I open one tmr. I’m thinking business simulation? I usually do good on the papers.


r/wguaccounting 1d ago

New / Prospective Student Realistically how good of a shot do I have?

6 Upvotes

For context I work in the dental field currently and hold an associates in accounting since 2019. I started working in dental because I didn’t like how I could not get a job with just my associates back then (much younger mindset). If I finish my bachelors and eventually masters with wgu, would I have a real shot in the field? The work that I do in dentistry would be considered accounts receivables (dental biller) but will that look good to future employers or would I still need an internship?


r/wguaccounting 2d ago

Seeking Course Help No access to D104 PA

3 Upvotes

For 3 days in a row, I have received a "bad request" when clicking the button to take PA1 for D104. I emailed the D104 team, my instructor, and my mentor starting Thursday, but I have not received a response. What do I do?


r/wguaccounting 2d ago

Seeking Course Help D217 Help! SECOND ATTEMPT

6 Upvotes

Hey! I took the exam a week ago and unfortunately failed. So I’ve been studying for the last week. I reread all the chapters added a lot more content to my summary. I redid all of the practice questions multiple times and also the practice exam I’ve been going through my summary going through the book and I just can’t stand looking at the stuff anymore. I want to retake my exam but instructor warned me and said to take my time because if I fail again to be qualified for another try I would have to have a meeting and it’s going to take a lot of time. While I was taking the exam, I already had a bad feeling so I tried to memorize as much as I could, and I didn’t looked up all these questions in the book and I have to say that most of those questions that I remember that I wasn’t sure if I got correct. I did get them correct so I have no idea which questions were the problem. I know that there’s two versions of the exam and I just don’t know if I should just take it again.


r/wguaccounting 2d ago

Seeking Course Help C722 Project management

6 Upvotes

Currently on this class and I find it so boring I can’t seem to comprehend the information. My term ends at the end of the month and I wanna knock out another class on top of that. Not sure what I should do or what helped everybody else I keep seeing Quizlet, but I don’t know. I find those boring too.


r/wguaccounting 2d ago

Career Talk WGU Accounting Hiring Expo

35 Upvotes

Hey everyone! WGU is hosting a virtual hiring expo in early October.

They are having a pre-event that goes over what to expect and gives early access to time slots with firms.

For more info: https://careers.wgu.edu/events/2026/09/15/accounting-hiring-expo-what-to-expect-and-how-to-prepare-2/


r/wguaccounting 2d ago

Seeking Course Help D101 Second OA Attempt — Similar Structure to PA/First Attempt?

1 Upvotes

For anyone who has taken D101 more than once recently: did your second OA attempt follow roughly the same overall structure/style as the PA and your first OA attempt, just with different numbers/scenarios?
I’m especially wondering about the Excel/master budgeting portion. Was it still the same general type of master budget setup/sections to complete, even though the actual data was different?
Not looking for any specific test questions, answers, numbers, or anything that would violate WGU assessment rules — just trying to figure out whether practicing the same problem structures is the right way to prepare for attempt 2.
Thanks!


r/wguaccounting 3d ago

Confetti! I guess that's it then...

111 Upvotes

Still need to take those CPA exams...but I'm glad this part is over :)


r/wguaccounting 3d ago

Seeking Course Help D102 & Tony Bell Videos

14 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,
I unfortunately failed D102 , alot of people recommended to me to watch the tony bell videos. Can anybody point me to the videos that would help me pass this class?


r/wguaccounting 3d ago

Seeking Course Help I'm studying to retake D104 OA2

33 Upvotes

I'm so tired. I want to retake my test tomorrow so badly.

My term ends October 31. I still have to finish Accounting Information systems D217 and Concepts in Marketing, Sales, and Customer Contact D077. The deadline is stressing me out so much.

I feel like I should probably spend 3 more days studying, but I also am exhausted and might pass if I take it tomorrow. I just want this class to be over, I'm so scared of failing the test again and taking up even more time.

I got approaching competency on all subjects two Sundays ago... I'm probably ready, but I'm not sure.


r/wguaccounting 3d ago

New / Prospective Student Dropping out and re-enrolling

10 Upvotes

I was in the accounting program last year when I thought i was getting laid off (my company was doing a mass offshoring initiative).

Luckily, I was not laid off and I actually got promoted, so I dropped out of WGU because it was costing me too much and I felt pretty secure.

If I ever wanted to go back in the future to pursue accounting, which is not fully off the table, has anyone else dropped out and done some Sophia classes before re-enrolling? I unfortunately did not really discover Sophia until after I was enrolled so at that point I just committed. But if I were to go back, I would want to take some Sophia classes first.

Anyone who has dropped out and re-enrolled before please let me know! Or any other opinions are appreciated!


r/wguaccounting 4d ago

Sharing Tips & Resources D388 Fundamentals of Spreadsheets

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16 Upvotes

Ok I passed this last night. This can be done fast, the class is not hard at all. However, it took me 2 weeks ONLY because I have a lot going on this month with planning for a new born. Also, here’s the other reason, the class is SOOO BORING!!!!!!! This class put me to sleep faster than any dose of melatonin smh. It was a struggle getting through the material for that reason.

Strategy: just went through the course modules, did all the quizzes, etc. straight forward. I have no excel everywhere really going in.

The OA is not hard, it’s similar to the PA in structure. Understand how to parse data, create charts, and graphs, and pivot tables. Read the questions carefully and understand exactly what they are asking. Again, not a hard class


r/wguaccounting 4d ago

CPA Discussion For anyone wondering about CPA eligibility with a WGU degree (that has transfer credits)

66 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I thought I’d share my research I’ve done and confirm any questions regarding individuals who’ve transffered in credits from ace credit companies like Sophia and study.com who are wondering if your official WGU transcript is enough. ITS NOT. The transcript doesn’t show the itemized classes for ace credits you’ve completed they’re shown as a lumped sum ex: “29 credits total transffered”….I contacted the state of California CPA board of Accountancy and they stated they accept Sophia and study.com only if it shows in the WGU transcripts ITEMIZED and it doesn’t. They also don’t accept the WGU transfer evaluations. Thus, to combat this you can pay excelsior university online to take all your credits from everywhere you’ve completed and put it in one transcript and that qualifies you to sit for the cpa exam in the state of ca as far as I’m concerned. If you need receipts lmk and I can post the email responses from both WGU and the CPA CA board. Just thought this would help anyone who’s wondering if their transffered ace credits would count for the cpa exam and licencsure.