Is CA really hard?

Is CA really hard or we make it hard for ourselves? 

"Bachon ka khel nahin hai", "CA main aa kay pata chalta hai k kon kitne paani main hai".. "CA main aatay bhut hain, aakhir tak bhut kam phunchtay hain", these are some sentences which you must have heard many times as a CA student. But, what is the reality behind these sentences?

"Is CA very hard?" One of the most commonly asked questions in CA. "Yes, it is!" the reply we usually get. Everybody will define the difficulty level of CA in their own words, but you would hardly hear someone say,"CA is not that difficult."

But is it as hard as portrayed by the crowd???

As far as my experience till now tells me, I'd say "No, It is not! " or "Maybe. 

The difficulty begins after CA inter!!". It is of course, not a piece of cake but "THAT HARD??? "... NO, absolutely NOT!!!!

It is not a verdict, but here are a few points which will show you a different angle. It will show you that CA is not tough, but only our thinking make it so.

-The Fear of Failure:

Most of the students fail in CA because they "think" or they have "heard" that CA is very hard. In the beginning, this fear leads them to failure. After a few attempts, "CA is hard" becomes an excuse which they use to cover their own negligence.

You must have heard the story of the child who solved a very difficult equation, which no other student in the class did. Even the teacher was surprised that the kid was able to crack it. The teacher told the students that the equation was very hard, so the students didn't even try to solve the equation, and some didn't try hard enough.

The only student who was able to solve it was the one who was not in class when the teacher said that the equation is hard to crack.

This small story and thousands of other such stories prove that nothing is difficult, but we make it so by our own perception. Psychologically, when we hear that something is difficult, most of us simply give up or put little to no effort and say that we tried.

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Hence, we have to eliminate the fear first and not let anyone make us believe that CA is difficult. CA is a journey with a lot of learning and a destination that is worth working hard for. You can only enjoy this journey and reach till the end if you can fight the fear of failure.

The fellows who succeed have the same number of hours in a day as you. They study from the same teachers, and they don't have a machine fit inside their brain either. If they could pass the papers, you could too. You just need the right amount of effort in the right direction.

-The Wrong Decisions:

"If we judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it'll spend its whole life thinking that it is stupid.". Similarly, you will keep failing and feeling stupid if you try to follow or copy any other CA student, be it a successful senior or someone who failed multiple times.

One of the major reasons that result in "CA is hard" mantra is terrible decision making.

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Instead of analyzing our own time and capabilities, we tend to look at our seniors for the selection of institutes and subjects.

CA is a journey that requires a different strategy for all. You will come across a student who missed all the classes and sat in the cafe throughout the day but ended up passing. While another student who attended all the lectures, sat in the library for hours, but couldn't manage to pass.

It is because everyone has their own way of learning. If you are a library student, you could never pass "the cafe" way, and if you are a "cafe" student, the library way will never work for you.

How many hours you study doesn't matter. How smartly you study does.

​Hence, if you analyze yourself and select papers according to the time and retention, you will see that CA is not as hard as you think it is.

-The Benefits We Have Over University Students:

If you have your friends or siblings in the universities, you'll understand the struggle. They daily grind to prepare assignments; they have to give presentations and then face the ultimate struggle of doing projects. And when they are not giving assignments and presentations, they are busy in mids, vivas, or finals. 

In the end, the whole struggle is futile if they aren't able to flatter their teacher well. Running behind the teachers is another story altogether.

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We are free of this constant stress of assignments, projects, mids, and vivas. Though we have to study more than university students, we don't have weekly or daily deadlines. We can make our own schedule and study accordingly.

This makes CA more flexible than any other course. Just remember that you don't have to take up five subjects at a time, not even 3. Choose wisely.

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-All You Need Is To Plan Your Schedule Smartly: 

-"Seniors aur teachers se discuss karain gay k kitne subjects uhtaen"

-"Result k baad decide karain gay kya karna hai"

-"Scehdule bnaen gay"

-"Pata nahin chal raha kon si book follow karain" 

-"Audit tou first attempt main kabhi pass hi nahin hota", these are not just sentences, this is the mindset which leads students to failure.

You will see that the students who pass in the first attempt are the ones who have it all planned. They know which papers they are going to study for the current attempt, how many for the next one, the books they'll follow, and how many hours they'll study. They have a full plan even before they enroll for any class.

Passing in the first attempt or scoring merit is not a miracle. There is a strategy behind it, a plan that has no "dekhain gay kya karna hai".

You can pick and observe the students who fail. You'll see that they fail because they had no plan. However, the ones who are first attempters have a clear vision of what they are doing.

If you also plan well, you will never fail.

-Availability Of Online Study Support

We, as CA students, enjoy a whole range of online study support, including notes, guidance, and support from teachers and seniors, online books, and lectures. I don't think that in Pakistan, there is any course other than CA, which has such a large variety of formal lectures from top teachers of CA across Pakistan.

Nearpeer provides you access to the complete lectures from the best teachers across Pakistan, that too at home. Everything at your fingertip, throughout the session.

-Flexibility

Even though we have an extensive syllabus to cover, we have a choice when it comes to numbers of papers and the subject combination. We have the choice of self-study, coaching centers, and the study schedule.

If we don't want to go and attend the classes physically, we can study from home. Like at Nearpeer, you have complete control of your own learning.

What you need is to discipline yourself to get positive results. If you are undisciplined, CA is not for you, and you'll only find CA hard.

I hope all these points show you a better picture of CA Studies. CA is not just about the results only. It is much more than that!!. It should excite you, and although challenging, it must not be a nightmare. It must be a Dream, a Passion!

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Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, all you have to do is to STUDY, with proper planning. Yes, you only need to study without the fear of failure, just the way you used to study in schools and colleges. There is no special trick or magic spell to clear the "CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY" exam. You need to understand the study material, learn those concepts, and practice those questions and VOILA!! 

This is the only way to clear the exams. You have to study, and you have to study hard and regularly. That's it, and for an extra edge, Nearpeer makes it easier for you to save traveling time, and you can sit at home with your books and use the traveling time for some fun alongside.

In conclusion, it's not CA that is hard. We make it hard by not putting in the right amount of effort, in the right direction. If you keep a few basic tips in your mind, you'll only find it easy. 

Do you think the hype of "CA is very hard" is real?

Do let us know in the comment section below.

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