Engineering or Accounting
Hi, Long time stalker, first time poster. I am a graduate that has finished a double degree in Engineering and Commerce (accounting major).
I got three job offers recently, one in a big 4 accounting firm and two engineering (one utilities and one gas and oil). Up until recently I hadn't given much thought to finance but speaking to friends in finance it seems interesting (I will admit the money certainly makes it attractive too). I haven't tried applying for finance jobs (banking or consulting) since I feel I honestly won't know a thing about them at this stage, however I will like to get into finance a few years down the track and from what I see I have two options.
A) Do engineering in a reputable company for a few years, then apply for an MBA in a top uni (preferably in the USA) and then go to finance.
B) Do my CA in big 4 then jump into corp finance division and then move into banking. (maybe chuck in an MBA for good measure...probably not cause after a CA I may not ever want to touch a book again).
I am getting mixed opinions from people saying I should go for one or the other. However I would like to ask people in the industry do they see more people from accounting moving in or engineering? And do you reckon I should try and apply for consulting now? What do you guys reckon. Also I am female ... random thought I will put it in.
I see a lot of engineers with two or three years of company, go to b-school and then break into buy-side. Particularly, is what i seek for me. This way you enjoy the high level pay of entry-level eng jobs.
When you say you want to do finance in the future, are you talking about moving into a finance role in general, or "high finance", such as investment banking, private equity, hedge funds... etc?
My opinion would be to do engineering at the reputable company, go for MBA, and then try to enter finance. Within finance you'll have your pick of private equity opportunities, investment banking jobs (especially a sector coverage dealing with industrials or whatever your engineering job will give you perspective in), or even a great Fortune 500 corporate finance job.
Accounting doesn't really have the same opportunities... at least from what I"ve seen.
Do you live in Canada?
engineering -> MBA for sure. Accounting pigeonholes you into F500 type gigs (not always, but usually). if you're playing the odds, go with the engineering gig.
I am from Australia. And I mean high finance jobs.
Here is the next question. Everyone has said engineering but I would have thought working in a commercial/ financial environment would have been better since you are understanding markets but from a different perspective. Why is this the case?
I think it's mostly a matter of what people are used to seeing. Tons of engineers are able to levarage their technical backgrounds to bring a valuable perspective in IB, PE, and HFs. If you're talking about corporate jobs, they can fill a managerial role by managing engineers (because of obvious reasons), and they can also fill a corporate finance role because they can relate to the product / service that the company sells at a much deeper level.
Accountants aren't normally seen doing any more than advancing within their vertical ladder (maybe becoming a controller or CFO in their corporation), and most accountants don't go back for a MBA, and thus you'll see less of these people transitioning between different industries.
So what if someone works in a CF/consulting role in accounting Big 4 then after doing a CA they do an MBA?
I am getting the feeling an MBA is the trick to get into High Finance from a different field not so much engineering or accounting. Would that be correct?
I was an accountant pre-MBA and I do believe it helped me get into a high finance role after school. While many accountants stay in that realm (I initially thought that's what I wanted to do after undergrad), there are quite a few that go back to school.
In general, I do think that going the engineering route may help in the sense of putting together a compelling admission essay when applying for schools. And it may be beneficial if you decide to get into high finance that focuses on a sector that you've previously had experience in (i.e. tech IB after spending some years working in engineering). Also, I find that it was a little more difficult distinguishing yourself with purely an accounting background.
However, some of the banks that I interviewed with saw my CPA as a plus, and that helped (especially in bypassing accounting interview questions). So it's not completely worthless. The engineering route might just be a better one.
Thanks so much kjl. Is it ok if I pick your brains for a few more qs in the coming days.
Sure thing. You can post here or PM me if you want.
Bump. Any more opinions from people?
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