Hey guys, I just scheduled my Part 2 for July 11. Is 8 weeks enough time to really lock in and prepare? Any tips on studying efficiently? For context, I’m a CPA with three tax seasons under my belt. I’m using Surgent along with the Hock book—do you think that’s sufficient? Any tips will be grateful.
I just passed all three parts of the SEE and I'm officially an EA candidate. Two seasons of tax experience under my belt. I genuinely thought this would open doors, but I've been applying and… nothing.
What makes it more frustrating is that my background isn't traditional. I have a bachelor's in CIS and an associate's in accounting, so no CPA, no pure accounting degree. But I figured the EA designation would signal enough competence to get my foot in the door somewhere. Apparently not.
I'm based in Orange County, CA, so it's not like I'm in the middle of nowhere — there are plenty of firms and tax offices around. Which makes it even more discouraging that I'm not getting any traction.
I'm not sure if it's the nontraditional background that's killing my applications, the fact that EA still doesn't get the same respect as CPA in hiring circles, or if the job market is just genuinely rough right now. Maybe all three.
For those of you who've been through this, did it take a while after getting your EA before things clicked? Did you have to reframe how you were presenting yourself, or target specific types of firms/roles? I'd love to know what actually worked.
And honestly… is this just the reality of the EA path unless you already have a foot in the door somewhere?
Title says it all. Currently studying for the CFP, and if I pass this summer, I’d like to start studying for the EA in January.
With that said, I don’t have any tax experience and am early in my career. The only exposure to tax I have is studying for the CFP and educating clients on tax implications.
Seeing that I have little to no real-world tax experience, I would love guidance on how to actually prepare for this and learn it well.
These are the questions I have:
I would appreciate any insight from this community! I am not kidding myself, this will be a challenge - but well worth it!
any tips for remember the basis in involuntary conversion and like kind exchange?
I’m starting a study group for Test 3, and we’re going all in.
We’ll be studying 6 days a week for 2 months straight, no skipping, no excuses. Just focused prep, accountability, and crushing this thing together.
If you’re serious about passing Test 3 and want to be added to the group, drop a comment below and I’ll add you.
Let’s get it done this summer.
Hi everyone, I recently had someone request that I add the EA exams to FreeFellow, and so I've got a question bank with over 1,500 questions across the 3 parts that can help you prepare at zero cost. Most prep providers force you to pay for a package to even study, but my ethos is to give what's needed to pass for free, and only charge optionally for premium features like flashcards or analytics.
Would love if people could take a look and see if this is serving its purpose. FYI I have over 30,000 practice problems across 30 difference exams in finance, and have personally passed 13 of them myself, some using only my own website. My goal is to take the best study practices and put it into a platform that is extremely affordable. FreeFellow is a CFA Institute Prep Provider and currently used by over 2,000 students.
All questions are completely free to access, and this weekend I will also be releasing a condensed topic outline and formula sheet I've been working with others on (also for free!)
Happy to answer any question or comments.
Hi! For some background, I'm a WFHM that has been freelance writing/marketing (SEO, website marketing material, etc) remotely for a decade. Unfortunately, the writing space is being devoured by AI at record speeds and I'm looking to make a career shift.
I'm pretty savvy with numbers, memorize information well, always enjoyed filing my taxes even when they were complicated, and so with a little deliberation I'm on track to take my EA exams this year.
I CANNOT go to in person work. I MUST work remotely and part time.
What I need to know is this:
TLDR: Is it possible to land remote, part time work in the tax space as an EA even if I have zero tax experience?
Genuine question! Why??
Trying to take more of our jobs?
I’m considering studying for the EA exams and then immediately starting my own small tax business returns + basic tax strategy work.
I currently have a separate full time job, but my schedule would realistically allow me to dedicate around 30–40 hours per week to this as a second career.
For those who’ve done it (or are in the field):
How realistic is it to go from zero experience → EA → running your own practice?
What does the early ramp-up usually look like in terms of clients and workload?
What kind of ROI or income potential is realistic in the first few years?
I have no prior tax experience, but I’m willing to put in the work to learn. I’m also not dependent on the income right away, so I’m fine with it taking a few years to build.
Would appreciate any honest insight or advice.
Anyone want to join a group on Group Me to be study partners or share tips etc on the level of what where you at. Please see link. https://groupme.com/join\_group/114804684/DetEXem8
It seems there are no evening slots only in the morning. Do you folks working full time jobs take a sick day on the day of the exam?
2026 was my first tax season working as an EA and it was a very busy 3 months. Now it’s completely dead in the office and I’m only working 15-20 hours a week. What do you guys do during off season? I’m looking for part time work to make up for the extra time I have, but it seems like tax offices are very slow to respond and don’t want to hire. Thoughts?
Would it be smart to go ahead & book Test 2 in like September, and Test 3 in maybe November? Just to go ahead & start mapping out my study plans? Or nah?
Thanks in advance for any insights 😇
I've been an EA for a decade or so, working for H and R Block in Cleveland. I do 300 returns or so a year, almost all 1040s, but I need a change. With the new bill I probably qualify for Canadian citizenship.
So is there anybody who has an EA job in Canada?
Today May 5, 2026 around 3:15 at polling question 4 the webinar locked up. I tried to relaunch it and could never establish the link. Anyone else have this issue?
