Accounting or Finance

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>Does Accounting or Finance have better job security and opportunities for advancement? Also, if I decide to pursue Accounting, it makes sense to do the MAcc program, in which you graduate in 5 years with 150 credits and are qualified to take the CPA exam? I feel the double major in Finance and Accounting would be overkill, but what are your thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Accounting generally will have better job security. Yes, you really need to become eligible to sit for the CPA exam. That will provide you with far, far, far more job opportunities than if you aren’t eligible. Whether to get a MAcc or obtain the necessary hours in other ways, that would be a harder question to answer and would depend on your situation. If you’re interested in both accounting and finance, you could double major. That wouldn’t be a bad idea since it would most likely put you over the 150 hour mark without having to pay for graduate school credit hours or having to take the GMAT. Finance and accounting will have some overlap, certainly. A guy I graduated with double majored in those two areas, and he seemed pretty happy about it. </p>

3

<p>I’d agree that accounting is probably the better major for job security/opportunities. I’ think the MAcc program would make sense to do if you go that path unless you have tons of AP credits and can meet the 150 credit requirement with just the BS degree (requirements vary by state). That said, I’d suggest that you start taking some classes in both accounting and finance which will likely both be required as part of a business core curriculum and see if one discipline is more appealing to you than the other.</p>

4

<p>There is more job security/opportunities in accounting, but higher potential salary in finance. Take a couple finance classes to decide if you like it before deciding to major/double major.</p>

5

<p>Thanks everyone for your valuable input! I will definitely keep an open mind when considering what I want to major in.</p>

6

<p>At this early stage, your best bet is to take some classes in each discipline and see what you like.</p>