I am currently a second year student in McCombs majoring in finance. I just applied for UT’s integrated MPA program and have a strong shot at acceptance. However, I am unsure of whether or not I will accept if given the opportunity. I feel like I am more interested in finance and would like to pursue a career in finance. However, the job security of accounting and the shorter master’s program makes the MPA program an interesting option. I have spoken to a few professionals who have told me that it’s possible to get a finance job with an accounting degree, but it is very difficult to do it the other way around. The possibility of getting a finance job with an MPA would be the ideal situation. However, I am wondering how difficult it really is to break into finance with an accounting degree. Any advice would be helpful.
I’d talk to career placement at your school and see what the experience has been.
There are quite a few different professional paths in finance. For corporate finance, a master degree in accounting can be quite nice and jump starts your professional life at a higher rank. For asset management, it is nice, but will probably be hired as an analyst just like a BA in finance. It is probably also the case for investment banking, starting with as an analyst. So it depends.
Nevertheless, the MPA at UT is a very good program. It says something about your quality. I think no matter what choice you make, you will have a lot of potential down the road. Good luck.