<p>How the heck is that hard to decide? Goto the firm that has the client he wants to work with long term. It’s an easy decision. Personally, I’d go with the firm that I think has nicer and better people to work with.</p>
<p>^ I can’t agree with you more Dawgie. I would have left public accounting a LONG time ago if I despised the people I work with. If you are going to spend 100+ hours a week in the same room with someone, you better like working with them otherwise its going to get MESSY.</p>
<p>I know of staff that got fired after 7-8 months because they pushed their seniors the wrong way. Even though the situation is personal, the people above you find a way to turn it into a business/HR issue.</p>
<p>Make and keep your political friends happy and you will survive at a big 4.</p>
<p>Actually that is good advice and I will pass it along.</p>
<p>The better the people you work with, the more and better opportunities/recommendations/experience you will get. This is very important.</p>
<p>That’s why a solid undergraduate foundation is especially important in accounting. We press kids to go to the cheapest schools possible, to avoid debt like the plague, and to shortchange their education. Generally, this advice is backed by the repeated and illogical assumption that every kid must go onto graduate school where having no loans is really helpful. However, for fields like accounting and engineering, where you can start out a promising career with just a Bachelor of Business Administration or a B.S. (for engineering), going to a cheapo school with no reputation in the industry and minimal recruitment or internship opportunities will just set you back a lot farther than other job applicants who were willing to take the risk and invest in their education and their careers.</p>
<p>“The truth is accounting does have many jobs, and good job security. Too bad it’s boring!”</p>
<p>Unfortunately that’s not true anymore. It was true 3 years ago, and it may be true again the near future, but it’s not true in today’s market.</p>
<p>Getting a graduate degree in accounting is important. Most states have 150 hour CPA requirements so most people will be getting that graduate degree…</p>
<p>Accounting does seem pretty “boring” lol.</p>
<p>can you be more specific about the “politics”</p>
<p>They mean office politics. It’s not enough to be good at your job(or necessarily fatal to be bad at it), as long as you are friends with the right people and maybe make sure someone else gets thrown under the bus instead of you. It’s like how it’s better to good at making alliances on Survivor than being good at making a shelter out of bamboo.</p>
<p>Which masters degree would provide more job opportunities: a masters in civil engineering with a concentration in construction management, or a masters degree in accounting?</p>
<p>Dude, do what you think you will enjoy. Either will provide you enough opportunity. If you were choosing between one of those two and a Masters in Art History, I’d say go with the practical choice…you can choose what you like in this case if you are capable of doing either one.</p>
<p>Mistaken, the one thing to consider about that is that construction is very cyclical, meaning that when times are good, they are very good, and when times are bad, they are very bad. Like right now the unemployment rate for the construction industry is 21%.</p>
<p>On the other hand, accounting is much more stable even though it isn’t a guarantee that times will be good. If it were me and I had no clear cut favorite between accounting and construction I would do accounting in my 20’s and 30’s, save up and invest a good portion of my earnings, and then later in life look into starting your own construction company. The reason why is because in a field like construction, where layoffs are so common, you want to be the owner, i.e. the one laying people off, not the one being let go. Be in control of your own fate.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I’m actually already enrolled in a construction management grad program (because I couldn’t find a permanent, fulltime job after undergrad). Now I only have 2 more semesters to go (out of 3) before I graduate. However, I quickly discovered that I’m not interested in construction. Somehow, I ended the semester with excellent grades in all my classes, but I’ve been entertaining the idea of dropping out the entire semester. As you’ve mentioned, the construction industry is very cyclical and competitive. So what are my chances of landing a government job related to construction/engineering?</p>
<p>Again, I don’t like construction and am thinking of getting a masters in accounting. I went to business school for undergrad and majored in marketing, but couldn’t find a job in marketing after a long search. I took 2 intro accounting courses in undergrad so I think I know what I’ll be getting into.</p>
<p>Is it too late to jump onto the accounting bandwagon? (Taking into account the time I would need to study for and take the GMAT, apply, and complete the degree.) Would I look flaky to prospective employers for jumping from industry to industry?</p>
<p>Like everyone who’s unemployed, I just want a stable job.</p>
<p>Also, does the school name matter for a masters in accounting? What are some schools that offer it, especially for someone with no accounting experience (but a business undergrad background) and little overall work experience? I’m looking into the programs at USC and UMaryland. What other good ones are out there?</p>
<p>And if it’s a one year + summer semester masters program, how would you have time for a summer internship? When and how would masters students find internships?</p>
<p>School name matters, don’t worry about anyone on this board who says otherwise. They came from bad schools who had weak on campus recruiting. Going to top MSA schools like UT Austin, Notre Dame, USC, UMich, and BYU will give you very solid employment options.</p>
<p>I think that the school helps, but in this economic environment it really comes down to who you know. Obviously going to a top tier school will help with recruiting, and if you don’t already have contacts, then I would suggest a top school, but contacts in management positions within top firms might be worth more than a well known degree program. I’m a good example of that, and I know I can’t be the only one out there.</p>
<p>@Dawgie </p>
<p>there are plenty of lesser-known schools that businesses recruit at. It really just depends on where the school is.(some schools are located in cities with LARGE businesses)</p>
<p>but going to a better school would help you in terms of employment.(although you can get a job from any school)</p>
<p>Alot of people like Dawgie assume that businesses dont recruit at lower tier schools, the reality is they do. </p>
<p>Just browse a few school sites, go to the business school section</p>
<p>@thetaxdad</p>
<p>as he said, if you know someone, you can come from any school</p>
<p>I thought it was all about the shoes… It’s gotta be the shoes!</p>
<p>Pierre: You have 1,085 posts, you still haven’t figured it out yet?</p>
<p>“Companies recruit from lesser/lower tier schools”.
UT Austin: MANY Big 4 offers
No name school: FEW Big 4 offers</p>
<p>“A lot of people like Dawgie assume that businesses dont recruit at lower tier schools”</p>
<p>I said that?</p>
<p>Your post is worthless and deceiving to prospective students. Conclusion: Don’t go to a no named low tiered school, as the campus recruiting is weak (Reiterating my previous post).</p>