College Senior Who Needs Advice
Hey Guys,
I'm 27, a college senior, majoring in accounting. I go to a tier 2 university around Dallas,TX. The reason I'm so old is I was in the Army for 5 years before returning to school to obtain a bachelors and improve my life. The Army is my only work experience. When I returned to college I chose accounting because I thought I would enjoy it but the more I do it the less I enjoy it. My school offers a 5th year masters program to give you enough credits to obtain your CPA but I'm not sure if I really want to go that route. If I choose to just graduate I could earn my BA in Accounting by this fall.
My questions to you are:
1.) What would you do in my situation? Do you think it would be worthwhile to obtain my CPA?
2.) Can I graduate and go into a different business field? Is there an entry level job that accounting majors can do that provides upside and excellent room for growth and or exit opportunities?
Any advice would be helpful. Thank you.
First off, thank you for serving our country.
1) This is tough and depends on what your goals are. Getting a CPA would definitely be a boost for you as it shows a high-level of aptitude, so getting a master's would be a little more leverage; but it's going to be a tough to get enthused about all the studying/testing. Nothing you couldn't handle, I just hate to waste brain power on anything that doesn't intrigue me.
2) Yes, I've seen people in accounting go into sales and marketing roles, as well as operations. Accounting gives you the economics perspective of pursuing certain sales targets, and holy shit does the world need more of those people ;) . Accounting also helps you in understanding process flow, so that's a major boost from a operations perspective. Both facets provide excellent upside; accreditation can be earned outside of school, in either one of those areas as well. It'll then be up to you to determine how much upside you want to pursue.
Best of luck!
Thanks for the advice.
Second the comment above about serving our country -- thank you. As for advice, there are plenty of accounting majors (myself included) who end up in non-accounting jobs. Being as you're in TX, I'd recommend looking into financial analyst positions in the energy space. Most of the big companies have some type of program for fresh graduates.
I'd also try to get some type of finance or accounting internship either during your last year, even a part-time, unpaid position at a small company will be a great boost to your resume. As a backup, doing the master's degree and working for a year as an accountant to get your CPA isn't a bad plan and will open up some doors for you in the future.
If you don't mind me asking jorn_umpo, how did you go from accounting to non-accounting? Also, do you think an extra semester to double major as accounting/finance major would be worth it? Or should I just graduate with my BA in accounting and look for a financial analyst position even though I really don't have any experience in finance?
I thought this sounded familiar
http://goingconcern.com/topic/open-items/messed-recruiting-season
Yep, that was me.
Dude. You have veteran's preference and the gov't gives all of two shits about what university you attended so long as your GPA is high.
Navy man, so cheers on your service.
Ok, so you're saying I should? Work for the government? I'm not interested in that.
I'm saying you have a leg up on a lucrative career field that will give you a good salary, benefits, time off, job security and a pension. Whereas the private sector generally under performs and the main fields of finance that outperform (IB, PE etc) are more than likely out of reach given the school you went to and no matter how anyone sugarcoats it; you are at the very least at a significant disadvantage for breaking into those fields.
A senior financial manager at JNJ, which is quite the career achievement makes just shy of 200k/yr. Look at what a GS 14 or 15 makes with locality + pension. It is roughly the same or more and you are much more likely to attain it given your background in the armed services. Hell you could even apply to the FBI as they value accounting majors and military experience.
You asked for advice on what we would do in your situation. If that doesn't interest you, then why ask? At the very least I hope you would at least look into it before brushing it off.
P.S. This site is filled with people that think making 350k by age 30 is behind schedule and don't get me started on their perceptions about prestige. Take it all with a grain of salt if you aren't already.
thank you for your service. grew up in Virginia and was surrounded by brave people like you. cheers
what is it you don't like about accounting? I think the answers here, while helpful, don't get to the root of the problem. no one likes every aspect of their craft, what is it specifically about accounting that you don't like? if it's something like the thought of pushing paper and using a 4 function calculator all the live long day, then my advice would be different than if you said you get nausea every time you look at the 3 statements.
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