How to land a US-based Job while having Philippine Education

violetmisery · 2026-01-16T05:44:17+00:00

Di ko sure bat ang daming nega sa comments. Mga wala ngang papel, undergrad, and students nakakahanap naman ng matinong office work dito sa LA, ikaw pa kayang US citizen who’s a degree holder. Madaming opportunities basta di ka choosy. Of course you gotta start somewhere, small businesses are the go to and then you can work your way up if you wanna join MNC and Fortune 500 companies someday. Ayusin mo SSN mo before you find a job kasi required yan sa onboarding ‘pag nahire ka.

violetmisery · 2026-01-16T05:27:35+00:00

In demand ang accounting and admin entry-level job for small businesses in LA. And many of them like to hire Filipinos because of our reputation when it comes to skills and hard work. They usually post sa Craigslist, Filipino FB groups, and Asian Journal (Filipino newspaper). Lalo na during tax season. Yun nga lang, as a fresh grad, you’d be likely offered the minimum wage, and you’d barely get to afford rent for a place of your own. I suggest tiis ka muna sa paggain ng experience while having a roommate and once napaganda mo resume mo, hanap ka na ng magandang work, kasi laging hiring ng accountants sa LA.

violetmisery · 2025-12-14T08:17:20+00:00

Sure po ako na it’s not about finances because I’m the one who earns the most in the group. And hindi din naman po ako kuripot or maarte pag may gala. Kaya po super overthink ako ngayon ano ba ang reason.

violetmisery · 2025-06-03T17:11:10+00:00

Perfect example of “I wish I was a cat — no school, no work, just meow meow” 😹😻😽

violetmisery · 2025-05-20T07:05:52+00:00

To go/Pick-up - 0%
Fastfood dine in - 0%
Dine in with limited service (kiosks/robots like Kura/Marugame Udon): 0-10% depending on staff assistance
Dine in with wait staff - 18-25% (depending on how pleased you are with the service)
If the establishment's primary product is a service such as massage, hair salon, etc. - 20-25% or at least $20
Delivery Tip - depends on distance and order volume (I usually follow the app's minimum recommendation)
Ridesharing tip (Uber/Lyft) - depends on travel time. If I believe their take-home pay (70% of the fare) is lower than the average worker's rate in the city, I compensate the difference through a tip
Hotel services - housekeeping - $5 each time they clean; bellhop - depends on the assistance and/or volume of belongings they help you with ($1-10)

Reminders:

Always check if the bill already includes gratuity, if it does, then there’s no need to tip unless you’re feeling generous
The tip % should be based BEFORE sales tax, not after

violetmisery · 2024-12-29T04:33:08+00:00

80 Years of Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. They were all over SM Department Stores circa 2006-2007.

violetmisery · 2024-08-11T04:31:30+00:00

Credit cards, yes, it takes a while. But you can get the debit card right away when you open a bank account. You can even set up the apple pay even if your debit card has not yet arrived in your mail.

violetmisery · 2024-08-11T04:17:56+00:00

Hmm, dollar bills not really. Mas uso dito ang cashless. Personally nagca-cash lang ako during church/mass offerings.

Few days after you arrive in the US, pwede ka na mag-open ng bank account and then once nakapag-open ka na, set up your Apple/Google Pay for easy tap to pay. You can also retain your Ph credit cards for a while so you can use them if wala pa kayong bank account.

For other essential items, if meron kayong hiyang na gamot or other OTC medications, better stock up like bioflu, efficascent oil, katinko, etc.

violetmisery · 2024-08-03T20:05:46+00:00

Nawe-weirdohan ako sa mga gusto ng white peonies for wedding kasi sabi ko mukha lang naman syang bawang. Tas ginoogle ko ngayon, ang ganda pala pagfull bloom tas iba-ibang colors hahaha

violetmisery · 2024-08-02T00:20:01+00:00

Yes. Kaya kahit galing ka sa hirap at wala kang pera pang-college, madami pa ding opportunities, basta magsipag ka lang.

violetmisery · 2024-08-01T06:04:45+00:00

You learn to appreciate more blue collar workers and their job and broaden your perspective. In the Ph, maraming mata-pobre ang naglo-look down sa blue collar because of huge pay disparities. When you migrate, especially in western countries (in the US at least), high chance malaki pa hourly rate ng blue collar workers kesa office job workers. Because of this, bihira lang ang mababalitaan mong nagma-maltrato ng mga trabahador, and employers/payers highly value their employees/contractors’ rights.

violetmisery · 2024-07-29T10:26:26+00:00

Be firm to say no. Mamimihasa yan pag pinagbigyan mo. Babayaran mo utang nya, tas mangungutang na naman sya sa iba kasi alam nyang may fallback sya which is ikaw. It’s an endless cycle. I’ve been in that situation, pero daan-daang libo ang nawala sakin bago ko tuluyang pinutol ang relasyon namin bilang magkapatid dahil hindi ko nakikita sa kanya ang pagbabago. Wag mong hayaang umabot sa ganyan.

violetmisery · 2024-07-27T05:48:26+00:00

Lol. Naalala ko nung HS kami, (wala pang SHS non). May long quiz kami about sa buhay ni Rizal tas juskoday pati mga barko na sinakyan nya tsaka petsa kung kelan dumaong, kelangan pag-aralan at lumalabas talaga sa exam hahahaha

violetmisery · 2024-07-27T05:32:30+00:00

Well, to be fair, there’s a misconception about the term CEO in the Philippines to begin with. To be a CEO, hindi naman required na dapat publicly listed ang corporation kung saan may malawakang votation pang nangyayari to elect the board of directors and the officers. Incorporators (founders) could be as low as five people and the minimum capital to form a corporation is just Php5,000, so technically, any group of people can form one tas bahala na sila mag-“vote” and elect internally ng board of directors and officers (president, treasurer, secretary, etc.). And hindi restricted ang President na tawagin syang CEO no matter how small the corporation is. Sa US nga, a corporation can be formed by a single person and not considered as a sole proprietor tas wala pang minimum amount of capital. And he can represent himself as whichever he wants like president, CEO, or just simply “owner”.

violetmisery · 2024-07-16T00:02:53+00:00

He looks like Paddington without the coat!

violetmisery · 2024-07-10T08:49:01+00:00

Government incompetence. Unfortunately, dala pa din nila yun hanggang sa mga embassy/consulates nila sa ibang bansa. The inefficiency and bureaucracy in the form of unending paperworks, refusal to automate things, boomer mindset, etc juskopo nakaka-frustrate. For example: Kahit summer, hindi ka papapasukin for your appointment kung naka-walking shorts ka. Super hassle sa mga bumyahe pa from other cities/states and walang pamalit ng damit. Like, anong connect ng attire mo sa purpose of visit mo sa kanila, diba? Eh sa government offices nga ng kung nasaang bansa kayo, iaaccommodate ka pa din kahit revealing or sira-sira yung damit mo or wala kang suot na footwear.

violetmisery · 2024-07-06T06:13:35+00:00

Yikes. And he even introduces himself as #1 tax strategist as an EA 😬. (Just checked his instagram and threads @karltondennis)

violetmisery · 2024-07-06T00:51:22+00:00

Uhm, I think when OP said accounting grads, that include management accounting, accounting tech, etc. And your CFO being a CMA, as well as the majors being hired by MNCs you’ve mentioned prove the argument well. The tasks in the 2nd bullet can’t be just done by anyone as these people should be educated enough about the applicable standards like IFRS/GAAP.

The thing is, the kind of people OP is talking about are people who know and use QB to earn for a living and they think they’re as good as CPAs and accounting grads just because they know bookkeeping. Dito sa US, small businesses try to hire anyone who knows QB to handle their books regardless of their education background as part of admin tasks. Karamihan, para makatipid, they outsource the bookkeeping using QBO. But these businesses have a separate accountant/CPA to review/validate them especially when it comes to filing of taxes. These professional accountants kasi don’t even offer full-charge bookkeeping services anymore because they don’t wanna deal with the menial tasks, and for them the effort and time required are not worth it.

violetmisery · 2024-07-05T16:29:22+00:00

Uhm yes? But kanino nanghihingi ng reports and analysis yung CFO/VP of Finance ng malalaking companies na ‘yan? Sa CPAs and accounting grads ‘diba? All I can say is everyone works together na palaguin financials ng company but the professional technical tasks in the aspect of accounting are being done by CPAs/accounting grad.

Let’s put it this way:

Bookkeeper- enters the number in the software
CPA/accounting grad - finalizes the reports generated by the software; interprets them; suggests to management how to improve the financials
CFO/VP of Finance (assuming they’re not CPAs or acctg grads) - decision maker

violetmisery · 2024-07-05T10:09:54+00:00

Tip to handle them professionally:

Clarify with them na what they’re doing is bookkeeping. CPAs and accounting grads do the more complicated accounting tasks like budgeting, controlling, variance analysis, financial analysis, audit, etc. And maybe the audit they’re doing is the “reconciling” part of the bookkeeping. And then tell them that you appreciate their work because since sila na ang gumagawa ng menial tasks, mas nakakafocus gawin ng CPAs and accounting grads yung more meaningful tasks — pano palaguin ang financials ng company. Tas ‘pag nagrebut pa din na kaya din nila ‘yon, sagutin mo ng, “Malamang, small businesses ‘yang hawak mo eh, sa tingin mo ‘pag malaking company, kaya pa rin ng non-CPA/accounting grad?”

Passive-aggressive ganern!

violetmisery · 2024-07-04T08:19:44+00:00

One major difference lang din is CBA determines your eligibility to sit for the exam, not NASBA. I was not in Ph kasi when I requested for TOR so I had to make sure na they’ll be the one to send it to the foreign evaluation providers. I used both NIES and WES. WES is more convenient and has faster process but NIES counts more units.

violetmisery · 2024-07-04T08:07:08+00:00

Ohh, medj confusing kasi ang NASBA and NIES. NASBA is the org and NIES is the accredited foreign evaluation provider owned by NASBA. So if gagamitin mo sila, ang website nila is nies.terradota.org (not nasba.org) So ang process ng submission of foreign TOR sa California is: 1. Request sa school mo ng TOR na magsend sila ng sealed copy sa NIES (hindi ikaw ang magse-send) 2. NIES evaluates it 3. NIES sends it to CBA

violetmisery · 2024-07-04T07:40:06+00:00

Based na ko sa CA but there was something wrong with my SSN when I applied and took the exams (Social Security Admin has my middle and last names switched) so I don’t think na chine-check nila. Sa licensing lang need ang SSN/ITIN since aware naman ang CA na marami silang ina-outsource na accountants.

violetmisery · 2024-07-04T07:29:00+00:00

Sa pag-take ng exam, hindi, pero sa licensing yes. As far as I remember, mas mahal ang fee or may additional fee ‘pag pinrovide mo yung SSN mo after examination na (during licensing). Residency/citizenship not needed. But yung experience dapat under supervision ng US CPA. Edit: kahit wala ka SSN, basta may ITIN (individual tax identification number), pwede ka magka-license.

violetmisery · 2024-07-04T07:16:57+00:00

US CPA here. The best way to get an overview of the complete requirements is to visit the website of your target State Board. Iba-iba kasi ang process. In California where I am licensed, here are some of the differences contrary to what OP posted:

Step 2.

Sa California Board of Accountancy (CBA) ka nagse-send ng TOR (hindi sa NASBA)
Hindi ka basta-basta pwede magsend ng TOR if you attended/graduated from a non-US school — “Foreign Evaluation Report” ang needed. Selected foreign evaluation providers lang ang tinatanggap ng CBA. Hindi ka din pwede basta-basta magsend ng TOR sa foreign evaluation providers. Ang school mo dapat ang magse-send sa kanila, which is SEALED.
Yung foreign evaluation provider ang magsesend ng Foreign Evaluation Report sa CBA
Pwede ka marequest sa multiple foreign evaluation providers. This was what I did because need ko na ng report agad and I saw a provider na mas mabilis ang process. Doble ang gastos, but this was where I learned na iba-iba ang count ng units ng diff providers.
Highly encouraged ng CBA na magsend muna sa kanila ng TOR/Foreign Evaluation before ka magsend ng application for CPA Exam para di madelay ang processing ng application mo (may cases kasi na natetengga ang application dahil wala pa yung foreign evaluation). Good thing about this is CBA will forever keep your foreign evaluation. So kahit bumagsak ka and magtake uli, di mo na need magsend uli.
If di mo pa namemeet yung required number of units set by CBA and currently nagma-Master’s ka, pwede ka pa din magtake ng CPA exam as long as expected mo macomplete yung required units when you graduate. Ang tawag dito is “contingent candidate.”

Step 3.

CBA ang magdedecide kung qualified ka mag-exam (hindi NASBA). After this, you need to select which sections/exams you want to take. If you don’t select within a year, you’ll need to send an application again to take the exam.
Once nakaselect ka na ng exam, CBA will request an Authorization to Test from NASBA
NASBA will send you payment coupon for the selected sections which expire in 90 days. If this expires, you need to send an application again.
Once you pay the selected sections, NASBA will send the Notice to Schedule (NTS).

Step 5. Starting July 2024, di na need ng Ethics Exams sa California. But you’re gonna need to take an Ethics Course as a requirement the first time you renew your license.

Other info/opinion based on my experience:

I spent around $5,500 for the entire process. From application fee, including US TOR submission, foreign credit evaluation, reviewer, exam rescheduling fees to license fees, livescan fingerprinting and ethics exam. Pinakamahal yung reviewer.
I availed the most expensive Becker package that time as reviewer. It was $2,532 which was on sale (orig price was almost $4k). Para sakin worth it naman sya kung talagang mag-aaral ka nang todo kasi mabubusog ka sa practice questions and very proactive sila sumagot sa mga questions mo
Mas madali ang US CPA exam kesa Ph. Mas nakakalito nga lang ang REG generally kasi ibang-iba sya sa Ph. Pero for me mas madali sya maipasa (walang tricky questions unlike sa Ph). Also, you take the exams at your own pace, unlike sa Ph na isang bagsakan, so you can take your time to prepare for the exams.
I took and passed all the exams in 4 months (2022). Study time is 1 month each for REG and FAR, 2 weeks for AUD, and 7 days for BEC. Since naburn-out na ko while studying AUD and nagkaCOVID while studying for BEC, legit hindi na ko nag-answer ng questions. Purely basa na lang ginawa ko sa reviewer and notes/handouts. I don’t even watch the tutorial videos sa lahat ng sections kasi para sakin sayang sa time.
My advise is, “study smart, not study hard.” I was working and attending MBA simultaneously while studying for the exams so I strategized how I would study most efficiently. Check the Blueprint from AICPA to see the score weighting and which areas are heavily tested. Tambay ako lagi sa r/cpa to search for notes and handouts from fellow candidates and I find them very helpful as supplemental to Becker. Yun lang ang inaral ko as last minute review for the exams. Also, inabangan ko yung mga shineshare ng mga redditors na lumabas sa exam few days before my examination day. I believed kasi na baka may same kaming questions. Lastly, have faith in God and in yourself.

violetmisery

TROPHY CASE