pear, you can go and get your cpa certification right now. all the major tax services offer free classes that last about 6 to 10 weeks and all you have to pay for is the books.
Liberty tax service has a free tax course that runs about 6 weeks and all you would have to pay for is the books which run about $20 to 50.
H&R Block has a free tax course that runs about 6 to 8 weeks and the books are like $150 a pop.
You could become a CPA within the next month and they might offer you a job so its a win win.
https://www.libertytax.com/tax-education/
https://www.hrblock.com/corporate/income-tax-course/
Getting your CPA license and paying to get certifications to prepare taxes at places like H&R Block are two very very different things.
The CPA License is like sitting for your nursing licence. You need a college degree + to take it. There is an Accountancy board that issues your license, etc.. Depending on what state you want to be licensed in, you need at minimum a bachelor's degree with x amount of credits towards accounting and x amount in business courses. PLUS what they call your "5th year", which is an additional year of college courses. Most states require 150 credit hours just to sit.
The CPA exam is a grueling 4 part, 14 hour exam that is very hard and expensive. At a firm I worked at with 70 employees, there was only one who passed all sections on the first try. It's kinda rare.
It is an awesome career path. I am not a CPA, but I am an accountant, and I love my job!
http://www.aicpa.org/BECOMEACPA/LICENSURE/REQUIREMENTS/Pages/default.aspx