"D.F. Manno" <dfma...[at]mail.com> wrote:

- quote -

In your shoes, I'd sit for the EA exam (technically the
Special Enrollment Exam). Relatively fast, relatively
inexpensive, and it gives you a solid tax credential. An
employer who doesn't want CPAs only IMHO would value it more
than a degree (because you can represent clients before the
IRS as an EA, but not with just as master's in tax), and an
employer who wants CPAs only isn't going to care if you have
a master's in tax.

FWIW, I've got a BA in Psychology, and have been an EA for
~8 years. In 2005, I went back to school for accounting
hours (48 hours but no additional degree) and sat for the
CPA exam this past January & February. We only do tax (no
traditional accounting or attest work), so it was more for
sucession planning and to improve my compensation should I
want to work elsewhere. Oklahoma has no audit experience
requirement, so all I needed was to get my hours and sit for
the exam.

Phoebe

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I'm considering a career change, and am giving some thought
to going into taxation as a full-time job. My experience in
taxation is as a tax preparer for Block, a local bank, and a
local accountant (sequentially, not simultaneously) for 15
years. My bachelor's is in political science with no
business courses except economics.

Is obtaining a master's degree in taxation a good way to
proceed? Would it help me in seeking full-time work? Would I
have to take undergraduate business courses first?

I'm not interested in accounting apart from tax work, so I'm
not planning on becoming a CPA.

If a master's is a feasible route, can anyone recommend
schools for me to consider? Preferred locations would be the
Philadelphia area or south Florida, but I wouldn't rule out
other locations

As I am currently homebound due to injuries suffered in an
accident (and expect to be such for the rest of the year, I
would be particularly interested in online courses.

Thank you very much for any help.

--
D.F. Manno
dfmanno[at]mail.com

Moderator:
A Masters is always a good idea. But "It depends." In
this case, it depends on the quality of the program.
Beware of straight correspondence course schools. Look
at the accredidation of the school; look at the outline
of the program. Sorry to learn about your being
homebound. From first hand experience, I kmow it sucks.

<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >