Baruch vs. Pace

College Majors Business Major
21

<p>Yeabilo,</p>

<p>The OP’s question was in regards to “job placement and recruiting” not ranking. </p>

<p>As those of us who work in industry know, university rankings are for the most part useless. Rankings are based primarily off of academic research output, SAT scores, and selectivity. None if any take into account the most important factors (in my opinion) such as average salary of graduates, prestige of job placement, job placement rate, etc. </p>

<p>As for the accounting rankings, I spent 6 years working in the accounting industry in NYC (I’m a NY CPA) for Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs. I would say that roughly 80% of big 4 employees (from my personal experience) were either Baruch, Pace, NYU, or Fordham graduates. </p>

<p>The simple fact is that regardless of rankings, the location of the university matters, a lot! In this industry a degree from a prestigious university will get your foot in the door, and thats all. It’s all about networking and making connections. Given that all of these universities are located in NYC gives them a tremendous competitive advantage in terms of job placement. </p>

<p>I can assure you, I have never met a person from Texas A&M or Brigham Young in a professional context in my 6 years in industry. That should tell you something. </p>

<p>College is an investment and given the skyrocketing tuition rates, you must treat it as such. There are plenty of Cornell english majors working in restaurants…trust me!</p>

<p>Focus on where the graduates of you’re intended program have been taking jobs, and pay close attention to average starting salaries for the graduates that program. If a university does not advertise this information then that should be an indicator that it’s not great. </p>

<p>Pace University advertises this information on their website. The average starting salary for their accounting graduates is around 70k (I received 62k when I graduated 7 years ago). It will be similar for Baruch and Fordham graduates. Few if any colleges on your “accounting programs rankings” can match that. </p>

<p>You should check out Forbes magazines recent publication “50 colleges that will make you rich”. Pace University, Fordham, and NYU are all on that list. </p>

<p>If the OP’s intention was to subsequently pursue a PHD in accounting, then I would suggest the opposite. Go to a school which has an accounting program with a strong research record, such as Brigham Young, Texas A&M, etc. </p>

<p>But alas, that was not his/her question…</p>

22

<p>Modnoi, How are Pace’s finance courses, particularly at a graduate level, recognized by the Industry , job placement etc?</p>

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<p>Modnoi and other people who may know as well, </p>

<p>I am studying for the GMAT right now and looking at MBA programs for Accounting at Baruch, Pace, Fordham, and Hofstra University. Does what you have mentioned also relate to the MBA programs within these schools? What school do you think offers the best MBA program, in regards to networks and being able to land the best job after graduating. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Modnoi,</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your informative post. I am a transfer student from Florida who was recently accepted to Pace’s public accounting program. I have heard really good things about Pace, and then I have heard some people say negative things about Pace. It’s this conflict of information that is making me nervous about moving 1000 miles to attend, especially with the high tuition cost. I want to make sure I make the right decision. Reading your post as an alumni made me feel a lot better, because everything you mentioned about Pace is exactly what I’m looking for (networking, internships, etc.).</p>

25

<p>TruthRoarsOn,</p>

<p>Let me give you some advice regarding your situation. Don’t do an MBA! I have an MBA, but I did not have to pay a cent for it. There are two reasons for my assertion. Firstly, an MBA is becoming a bit of a joke degree. Everyone has one. Secondly, specialization is key. Most of the courses you take will be useless. It is too general of a degree even if you specialize. If you want to be an accountant, do an MS in Accounting. If you want to be a financial analyst, do an MS in Statistics or Finance. If you want to go into tax, do an MS in Tax. What you should not do is buy into the hype that an MBA is anything more than a money earner for universities. </p>

<p>I am no longer in the financial industry. I left a couple of years ago to set up my own business which is based out of Hong Kong. My experience is that those MBA’s who held successful senior positions in the company’s in which I worked (Goldman Sachs, Ernst & Young) spent on average 5-10 years working in that position before they did their MBA. In most cases it was paid for by the company (on a part time, or executive MBA basis).</p>

<p>The other big earners were those with very specific technical degrees in their areas, such as: mathematics/statistics (analysts/traders, etc.), engineering (quants/traders, etc.), senior financial analysts (economics/finance under-gads), senior operations guys (CPA’s). </p>

<p>The problem with those who have yet to enter the industry, is that they think they will walk into the job they want with a degree and no experience. This is seldom the case. There are SOOO many more variables that go into determining how successful you are in this industry. Being in the right place at the right time, or meeting the right person matters a lot! </p>

<p>Do not waste money on more education than you need. Having an MBA with no experience will do more harm than good, i.e. over educated for most jobs, yet not enough experience for others. I have seen this happen over and over again. </p>

<p>Find out exactly what position you want, then research the backgrounds of people in those positions. Follow their path and hope that all the planets align. That is the best you can hope for. If it doesn’t work out long term, don’t get too down about it. For every 1000 students who want to be a trader or a big shot, maybe only 1 will get there. </p>

<p>You must understand that these top-earning finance jobs are as hard to get as a starting line up position on an NFL team. They both pay tremendous amounts of money hence the competition is fierce. </p>

<p>Have a backup plan, and more importantly, choose something you enjoy doing. Don’t just focus on the money. If that is your only motivation and you don’t get it, you may end up like the hoards of middle age 9-8ers living in fear of being replaced by someone younger and cheaper. </p>

<p>I know it sound harsh, but this is the nature of the industry. I saved my money for several years and started my own business when the opportunity arose. I’m not smarter than anyone else. I have just been luckier than most. </p>

<p>Good luck with whatever path you choose.</p>

26

<p>You make a very good point about MBA’s, modnoi. From what I was reading on their website, Pace offers a 5 year fast track program to get an MS in taxation or accounting which sounded interesting.</p>

27

<p>bluefish2,</p>

<p>The answer to your question is yes. Here is a list of some of Pace’s more successful graduate students:</p>

<p>Ivan Seidenbery (CEO Verizon)
Jack Reibero (Managing Partner Deloitte USA)
Marc Besca (Managing Partner Ernst & Young NY)
Marie Toulantis (CEO Barnes & Noble)
William Nelson (CEO HBO)
Mel Karmazine (CEO Sirius Satellite)
James Quinn (President Tiffany & Co)
Michael Clinton (President Hearst Publishing)</p>

<p>Some of these people may now be retired now. All were either accounting or marketing majors, areas in which Pace excels.</p>

<p>But as I stated in a previous post, your degree has only a minuscule relation to your success. The people listed above achieved success not because they attended Pace University, but because of a combination of hundreds of other factors. Please bear this in mind.</p>

28

<p>Modnoi, </p>

<p>I appreciate your advice but I’m going to pursue the MBA. The main reason is because I plan on switching careers and becoming an accountant, thus the MBA in Accounting. The problem is like you mentioned, that I don’t have any experience. I plan to do as many internships as I can while completing my MBA, be able to land a job after graduation, and eventually sit for the CPA exam. Any advice regarding internships, and gaining experience?</p>

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<p>I would also recommend you to get a MS in Accounting/Tax because MBA in accounting is not as highly valued as a MBA in finance. Accountants are very technical people, and in order to succeed in that field and move up the ranks, you don’t need anything except MS and a CPA.
In finance however, it is more of a prestige that MBA provides. You will most likely need to get an MBA if your goal is to become a VP or an MD in the banking industry. </p>

<p>I also currently work in accounting industry, and I have only seen a few people who have an MBA in Accounting. Most of the people have MS + CPA, or just a CPA.</p>

<p>In terms getting internships, you will be overqualified and unqualified at the same time. Unqualified because you have no prior experience, and overqualified because you are going for MBA, which is not relevant for entry positions. </p>

<p>In conclusion, if you want to work in accounting, get a MS or just go for a second bachelors in accounting.</p>

30

<p>I was reading over the recent featured post on college indebtedness. Pace has an average indebtedness of almost 35K while Baruch students have an average indebtedness of UNDER 5K. There is no way Pace is worth that kind of indebtedness over that of Baruch. Unless you get a great scholarship, I would take Baruch any day over that of Pace.</p>