Accounting Major - Junior accounting student at Ole Miss
I'm a junior accounting student at Ole Miss. I do indeed like accounting (and I actually think doing the problems is pretty fun) but I recently decided that I don't want to be an accountant for a career now (The Big 4 works you to death for only around 50-55k/year out of school).
The problem is, my GPA is only about a 3.4 (got CS freshman year due to cockiness but have done well ever since) and even though the accounting program at Ole Miss is very competitive (Top 20 undergraduate accounting program by many reviews) the rest of the school is lackluster at best. I often regret coming here, as I got into other schools such as the University of Texas, Tulane, SMU and such however my Dad makes just enough where he can't afford 40k/year on college education (have 2 other siblings) but enough where I was not even close to getting need-based scholarships.
My question is, what should I do? I've always wanted to go into banking and have heard that accounting is the "right" major if you go to a non-target school but what type of job should I take out of college? I want to go work for a few years and then hopefully get into a good MBA program however the Big 4 (although I don't really want to work with them anyway) only hires graduates with 150 hours (CPA eligible) and I'll only have 120ish upon graduation next May.
Thanks guys, and I look forward to your replies.
your gpa is pretty low. you will need to get into banking by networking really hard to the top, or most likely starting at a boutique or smaller place to try and transition.
i have a 4.0 and wasnt even given any interviews at BBs, i got my spot through SEO. so you can see what lack of networking does in this job market.
most importantly, money at the low levels should not matter in your career decision. do what you like.
also thanks for beating us last year, go gators.
haha yeah that was a pretty good game. My roommate went to it and had a blast.
I guess I just don't want to do accounting because auditors work their asses off at an extremely boring job for 70 hours a week. If I'm going to be doing something that much I want it to at least be somewhat interesting/be lucrative in terms of future opportunities.
How do I meet these banks though? Cold-call in an attempt to get a job with a small place near Oxford (Memphis/Atlanta specifically)?
And in terms of GPA: yes, it is low. I did literally nothing freshman year and I made a 2.7 cumulative. Since then I've been making 3.6-4.0s but it really did kill me. Although I know of very few accounting majors with GPAs over 3.5 or 3.6.
Your statements "recently decided that I don't want to be an accountant for a career now," and " I've always wanted to go into banking" are contradictory. First of all it seems like you want to be ibanker because of $$$. I hope I am wrong, but if it's true, you need to rethink your future.
Secondly, there is no right or wrong major for non-targets, but you gotta have high GPA to increase your chances of getting in. Sorry, but Accounting is not as hard/analytical as Engineering, Physics, or Math. Trust me, you'll be competing against kids who have > 3.5 in those majors.
2lgarots519 is right. There are a lot of well-qualified non-targets and targets with high GPAs who could not secure anything good for this summer/future. Even if you find networks inside of the bank, what makes you special? What makes you better than 15 other applicants who have 4.0 GPAs, double majors, and Ivy League undergrad? Relevant experience matters a lot too, in some cases more than GPA. I might be wrong, but with 3.4 you better have stellar EC and amazing experience. Have you done any finance internships?
At this point you have about 6 months before FT recruiting season. You won't be able to get your GPA much higher than 3.4, nor get any relevant experience unless you are very lucky. In my opinion your best option is 2/3 year program at Big 4, then go into ibanking. That's one of the routes I am looking at.
P.S.: I am sorry I completely forgot to mention, I was talking about breaking into BB/elite boutiques/good MM. Idk anything about local/no-names.
i was accounting at a tier 1 accounting school and decided i don't want to work for Big 4 during my senior year. Stayed another semester and finished both accounting and finance (although finance is not that highly regarded at my school) and then managed to get an offer at a premier MM. Due to the extra semester, I'm also able to sit for the CPA, which I'm studying for now. You can actually get into Big4 without the 150 hours depending on the group - Advisory doesn't require the CPA, nor does tax. You could technically push back your graduation by one semester, get another internship and the recruit for full time in the fall, when your chances (especially due to the additional internship, the double major and the potential recovery in the economy) might look much better. Obviously, everyone has their own circumstances - this worked for me.
I don't have a high GPA 3.5, though from a target. got an IBD SA offer.
just apply to as many banks as possible
With a 3.4 at a non target, you will have a hard time getting interviews in the firsts place. Network your ass off and see if anyone can push your resume. Without that initial interview, you don't have a chance.
Also, London, I think it's a completely different case with a target. Even if you are 3.4 at a target, at least you have BBs coming to the campus, so you still have a shot.
What would your GPA be minus freshmen year? I know people who put: GPA since Freshmen year ____. It obviously signals that you didn't do very well freshman year, but still might work in your favor.
all my other friends have GPA >3.5...some don't have SA offers...I do.
it all comes down to how you present yourself during interviews. Also, European banks tend to be less anal about your GPA. For example, 3.4 could well be 2:1 equivalent and that's enough to get you interviews. In addition, Euro banks recruit strictly through web applications.
good luck
My GPA is like a 3.65-3.7 since my freshman year. Actually I did the "GPA over last 45 hours" thing for my Big 4 internship resumes.
Looking at all these replies, it makes me wish I actually had tried harder in school to make better grades; although there's nothing I can do about that now. I'll probably take one of the above guy's replies and just go Big 4 Advisory because they hire without being CPA eligible, and then try and get a job at a bank through a client.
wth?
I am an accounting major at a tier 1 LAC that is a non-target, 3.4 GPA, had no prior banking experience (interned at a Big 4 last summer), and got multiple offers during FT recruiting. I'd suggest networking your ass off.
One more question in here:
I got a sales internship this summer (definitely not first choice but I think it should show future employers that I can "establish strong customer relations" for interviews but the problem is that I'm going to have a tonnnnn of spare time this summer.
Do yall think I should study for the first level of the CFA in my enormous amount of spare time? I've been reading about it all morning on these forums and most people seem to think it's overrated? I also looked at a few practice questions and it seems like a test where I could do fairly well.
It will not position you for FT recruitment this year. Test days are June and December. It sucks because I was considering doing that too. You could always volunteer to get more leadership, study for GMAT, read practitioner's guide from scoopbooks (google it). Prepare yourself for tech. questions.
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