Is it true that I'll get grilled harder in interviews if I write that I took an accounting class in college?
I hear the bankers here saying that financial accounting is very helpful, but then countless liberal arts majors from schools with no business school break in, and I've heard one interviewer say "when I see that the guy took accounting courses in college, that just makes me want to grill him that much harder" 💀
Therefore, yes or no? Should I just take it for personal benefit and not put it on my resume? Issue is, I can either take it at my community college where all they teach is the accounting equation and even braindead ppl can get an A whereas (aka 0 learning) or do it at my college where it's curved and insanely difficult but learn a fuckton...
A great question to ask. I will write my answer given that you are a non-accounting major. Certainly a recruiter saying it, holds at least some weigh (at least, if not more). There might be a slight truth to his words - instead of taking full-time finance courses, some students try to fulfill their knowledge of finance and the big three statements (and much more) through simply taking an accounting course. In an accounting class (introductory) you will study financial statements, perpetual systems, COGS, ledgers, ratios, and etc. As per my experience, my business school had it as a prerequisite, so I had to take it.
It's important to understand the dynamics here, as well as the cause-and-affect relationship. In my humble opinion, it's not the accounting course itself but the fact that many students just take one or two accounting courses and call it a day. At some point, you have to take at least one finance course (unless you are in a liberal arts school like Harvard or Columbia, where you major in economics). Replacing finance courses with accounting may possibly at some point drift you away from finance. Finance is similar to accounting, but they are not literally identical, so it depends on how you handle that.
To make my answer more brief and concise: yes, it can benefit you (if you take for personal knowledge - then absolutely), but don't take it too far or approach it as a complete replacement for finance courses. If you have finance courses in your curriculum then they go first. If you are in a liberal arts school, where you can major only in economics or business economics (schools like Harvard, Columbia, UChicago, etc.) - it can help. All sections of your resume/CV should play together in harmony and tell a story about you as a future professional and a future co-worker. I would suggest using that principle to make your decision, as I don't know you personal circumstances that well.
I sincerely hope I could help. If you have any other questions - don't hesitate to PM me, will be happy to help as much as I can. Wish you best of luck and success!
I'm actually studying finance (our school has 2 yrs of liberal arts and then 2 yrs of finance) and as prerequisites we have to take excel + business programming while having the freedom to take financial accounting (which like I said is difficult and could hurt my GPA)... should I, or do I just self-study BIWS400 on my own?
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