I began thinking about another qualification when I wondered how far my accounting experience could take me outside Korea.
In Brief
I started with the possibility of working abroad, then considered what would make that move more realistic. The US CPA exam became one part of that preparation, alongside professional experience and English.
1. After busy season
In the summer of 2022, a particularly busy period at work ended and, for the first time in years, I felt a little lost. I had spent so long working towards deadlines that it felt strange to have no immediate target. Around that time, I was approved for nearly three weeks of leave. For the first week, I honestly did nothing productive. I stayed at home with the air conditioner on, ordered delivery food every day and slept as much as I wanted. I still remember how comforting that felt after months of constant work.
Once I had recovered physically, I started thinking about the things that frustrated me, what I wanted to change and the future I wanted for myself. YouTube was recommending videos about productivity, personal development, ‘miracle mornings’ and studying while working. I was resting, but I also kept wondering whether I should be doing more. It was an odd combination: I needed the break, yet I was already looking for another goal.
I suspect other working professionals will recognise the feeling. You spend years pursuing a goal, reach it, and then find yourself asking what comes next. Part of me thought, ‘I can’t just let time pass like this.’ Another part wondered whether there was anything left that I wanted to challenge myself with. After several days, I asked a question that was easier to answer: ‘What do I truly want?’
2. A life abroad
The answer was surprisingly clear. I wanted to live abroad for a year or two. I wanted to go to work, struggle with unfamiliar situations, adapt to another culture and experience ordinary life outside the environment I had always known. A holiday could show me a place, but living there would let me find out what daily life was like. That was the experience I wanted to try.
Once I began thinking about the kind of life I wanted, I worried much less about whether I was being lazy. The question of how to become more productive had been difficult to answer because I had not decided what I wanted that effort to achieve. Living abroad gave me something more concrete to think about. Since most of my experience was in accounting and audit, the practical question became how I might use that experience to build a career overseas.
Accounting seemed a sensible place to start. I already had professional experience to build on, and financial reporting was work that businesses needed in many countries. Accounting standards and professional requirements differ across jurisdictions, so I could not assume that everything I knew would transfer unchanged. Still, I thought stronger English and a qualification familiar to employers abroad might help me put that experience to use. English felt like the most practical language to improve, and I saw the United States as offering a particularly wide range of possibilities. That was when I began researching the USCPA route seriously.
3. A practical next step
At first, I wanted a fairly direct answer: would passing the exam actually help me work abroad? I contacted people who were already working internationally and asked for their honest views. Their advice was realistic, but it was also encouraging. A qualification alone would not secure a job. English strong enough for the work, practical accounting or audit experience and the ability to adapt professionally would all matter. The conversations helped me see why the exam could be useful without expecting it to do everything.
They also gave me a more specific sense of where to look. Multinational companies, global accounting firms, overseas subsidiaries and international finance teams were possibilities to explore. I would still have to understand what a particular employer needed and how my experience fitted the role. There was no assurance that the move would work out, but it no longer felt like an idea with no practical starting point.
| What I wanted | What studying could contribute | What still needed work |
|---|---|---|
| A period of working abroad | A recognisable way to demonstrate knowledge | Country, role, employer and work permission |
| Greater confidence in English | Repeated exposure to technical language | Speaking, writing and workplace communication |
| More career options | A structured learning goal | Relevant experience and a realistic job search |
For readers considering the same route, one distinction deserves care. Passing the Uniform CPA Examination and obtaining a USCPA licence are separate milestones. State boards and other US accountancy jurisdictions set their own licensing requirements, including education and experience requirements. Passing the exam does not, by itself, complete those requirements. Any plan to work abroad also needs to consider the professional rules and work permission that apply in the intended destination. Those questions belong alongside the study plan.
The possibility of working abroad was enough motivation for me to begin. I started studying in August 2022 while continuing to work in audit. Looking back, what mattered was having a reason for the effort: I could connect the time spent studying to a life I wanted to try. The quiet first week of that summer holiday had given me room to work out what that was.
Key Takeaways
- Decide what you want a qualification to help you do before committing to another examination.
- Consider how your existing experience, English and ability to adapt would fit the work you hope to pursue.
- Keep exam completion, professional licensing and permission to work distinct when planning an overseas move.
The next article follows that decision into the reality of studying while working full time, including where my audit experience helped and where I had to learn unfamiliar material.
Passing the USCPA Exam While Working Full Time
References
- NASBA. How to Get Licensed. Steps 1 and 3 distinguish examination eligibility from the requirements for licensure in a particular jurisdiction. Reviewed 22 October 2026.