u/ComprehensiveRule582

Long post ahead 😭 please bear with my rant because I genuinely need some advice and guidance.

Hey guys, I really need some advice regarding AUD, future job opportunities, and honestly just guidance from people who may have gone through something similar.I gave my first ever CPA exam (REG) in Nov 2025 and cleared it on my very first attempt. I had no prior work experience because I’ve been studying full-time and I’m currently unemployed. Clearing REG in one go honestly made me so happy and proud because for me it felt like a huge achievement.

After REG, I planned to study FAR next. But in December, I wasn’t studying very seriously. I think I became too relaxed after passing REG. Then I realized discipline exams happen quarterly and results take months, so I decided to take TCP in January because I genuinely enjoyed REG and most of the concepts were still fresh in my mind.The problem was that I didn’t really have good TCP resources. My review course is MILES (and personally I didn’t find it that great), and I had already spent so much money on it that I couldn’t afford Becker/UWorld/Gleim. I did take Ninja monthly subscriptions for REG, TCP, and later FAR too.

I started studying properly for TCP around 3 Jan and scheduled the exam for 20 Jan. Thankfully, it went well.

After taking a short break, I started FAR again around the end of January and scheduled my exam in March because I wanted the result ASAP. Looking back now, I think this is where I made mistakes. It’s not that I didn’t complete the syllabus — I did complete it, revised, gave mocks, and even got decent mock scores. But I think mentally and physically I was exhausted. What scared me most was that before FAR, I didn’t feel confident entering the exam hall at all. Before exam day, I genuinely thought, “Yes, I studied, I can do this.” But on the actual exam day, everything changed. I got extremely nervous even before starting the exam.

During the exam, my concentration was completely off. I still remember the first MCQ — I knew the concept but my brain just froze on how to solve it. I had to stop, calm myself down, and keep reminding myself that this wasn’t even my first CPA exam anymore. I somehow completed the MCQ testlets, but they took way too much time. Then came Testlet 3… and honestly, the SIMs felt horrible. Some SIMs genuinely made me think, “What is this even asking?” I kept rereading instructions multiple times because they felt vague to me. A few SIMs were manageable, but overall I felt lost. Usually I take breaks during exams (I did during REG and TCP), but during FAR I sat continuously for almost 4 hours straight because I was panicking about time. After finishing the exam, somewhere deep down, I felt like I might not pass.

Then I started overthinking everything. I thought maybe I had become overconfident after clearing REG in one go and feeling good about TCP too. On 13 March, I got my TCP result and although I passed, my score was much lower than I expected, which made me even more nervous about FAR. And then on 16 March night, I saw the FAR result… and yes, I failed. I was honestly devastated.

But from the very next day, I started studying again. First, I tried to understand what actually went wrong during my first FAR attempt and then planned differently for my retake.

I gave my FAR second attempt on 11 May, and this experience felt completely different from the first one. This time I was confident — not overconfident, but confident in my preparation.

Before the exam, during the exam, and even after leaving the exam hall, my mindset felt calmer. The MCQs felt much better this time. I hardly marked 2–3 questions. SIMs were also much more manageable compared to my first attempt. At least this time, I was able to understand what the questions were asking.

I’m not saying I got everything correct, but I don’t feel completely lost like last time either. Overall, the experience was definitely better.

Now my result comes on 27 May and I’m honestly praying I pass because I genuinely cannot afford another 86k INR for a retake. CPA exam costs in India are no joke 😭 so please pray for me guys.

Meanwhile, I don’t want to waste more time sitting idle, so I want to start AUD now. I wanted advice on whether AUD can realistically be completed in around 7–8 weeks considering I have zero audit experience and I still want to clear it in one go.

Also, since I’m currently unemployed, I wanted to ask:

• Should I start applying for jobs now based on REG + TCP?
• Or should I focus on completing all CPA sections first and then apply?
• For people without prior experience, what helped you get your first opportunity while pursuing CPA?

Would genuinely appreciate guidance from anyone who has been in a similar situation.