<p>Which is a better major in your opinion?
I know that from finance you could do i-banking but that is a really stressful job, but how much could i expect to earn from majoring in accounting at a top business school such as NYU stern?</p>
<p>Finance is more applicable and practical whereas accounting is intended for a trade.</p>
<p>which major would you be able to have an easier time finding a $250,000 salary job? :)</p>
<p>I don't agree at all. Accounting, based on everything that I have seen on MSN and other places notes that accounting is a very in demand major. Not only is it in demand for accounting jobs but it also provides entre to many other occupations. I also think that it would be better for IBanking as well.</p>
<p>I meant practical in that you can apply what you learn in finance to anything. Accounting is more narrow</p>
<p>accouting is a hot field and any job that will hire a finance major will hire and accouting major</p>
<p>so which are the top accounting schools other than wharton?</p>
<p>There are many good ones. University of Texes, University of Illinios, Baruch College, which is part of CUNY. University of Chicago is very good but only for grad school.</p>
<p>To be honest most schools that have accounting programs will be very similar because the curriculum is very structured and pretty well mandated by the State Boards of Accountancy. Thus, other than a few electives, the curriculum will be the same from school to school</p>
<p>oh ok...so if most accounting school are pretty much very similar, what then makes the best ones stand out, say other than prestige?</p>
<p>Spongebob asks,"oh ok...so if most accounting school are pretty much very similar, what then makes the best ones stand out, say other than prestige?"</p>
<p>Response: I am not sure that any one of them stands out. I attended the City of University of NY (Baruch) college and majored in accounting. I had all the job offers ( back then) that I could handle. Admittedly, I had very good grades.</p>
<p>I think if you attend any accounting program and get top grades, you can get almost any position that you want. If you want presigious schools, I have already noted the better ranked ones.However, as I said, it won't make a difference if you get good grades. You local state university would be just as good and probably 1/3rd the price.</p>
<p>Most top business schools might be more prestigious. However, you really need to check out the curriculum of the business school because not all of them have accounting as a major. For example, Carnnegie Mellon has a very strong business program, but it doesn't have a program in accounting.</p>
<p>I just thought of two schools that have strong "prestigious" accounting programs and good business schools. University of Maryland and Syracuse University.</p>
<p>I also recommend that you look at Wash U St. Louis, which has an accounting major in their Olin School of Business. Also check out Claremont McKinna, which is part of the Claremont schools, which has a strong accounting/economics program.</p>
<p>oh ok thanks</p>
<p>how much would u say an the salary range of an accountant is?</p>
<p>As far as starting salary? Starting salary per MSN is in the Mid 40s. However, this is for pure accounting jobs. If you go into Ibanking or consulting, it is significantly more. In addition, accounting does offer the option for partnership opportunities in both accounting firms and consulting firms. If you make partner, the salary can be anywhere from $200,000 to over $1,000,000 per year and up! A good, competent accountant can be very well paid indeed. However, you have to like what you are specializing in. If you hate it, all the money in the world,won't make you stay for long.</p>
<p>taxguy, can you explain the salaries a little bit more. For big 4 right out of undergrad? Then after a few years what does the pay go up to?</p>
<p>Also, what devision typically pays the most when you start out? transactional advisory?</p>
<p>I believe international tax and tax m&a are the highest paying, but that's only based on what I heard. I hear they are the most complicated areas.</p>
<p>I don't know exactly what the Big 4 are starting people out at. I would guess it would be around 50K+. It does go up quickly, I knew a midlevel manager who made double what he started out at after only 6 years.</p>
<p>As for what pays the most, I don't know. I can tell you that the most in demand are good auditors, forensic specialists, computer accounting system specialists etc. Even a financial planning track can be very lucrative if you are willing to do marketing and are good at marketing.</p>
<p>Generally, getting very good at a specialized field is the way to go, especially if you go into consulting. However, to get this type of specialized knowledge generally takes experience in the field. As I said, most undergraduate accounting students take the same courses with a few elective differences.</p>
<p>My only suggestion is to stay away from taxes as a specialty. That used to be the way to go;however, with all the yearly tax changes, crazy IRS regulations and enforcement activities, and computer software, it isn't as lucrative or as "in damand" as it was. You do need to know tax though if you start up your own accounting practice or take the CPA exam.</p>
<p>so after five or six years with the big 4 u might be making 100k?</p>
<p>How long would it take to make partner, and when you get there whats the pay like?</p>
<p>Partner takes about 7-11 years depending on the firm. Usually, the longer the time that it takes, the better the pay that partners receive. </p>
<p>As I said, if you make partner with one of the big 4, you are talking about 1 million/ year, although there is a buy in that may reduce your net pay for the first few years as a partner. However, they do pay you for your interest when you leave. </p>
<p>Consulting firms like Accenture may work a bit differently. However, their partners always made a bit more than the normal Big 4 partners. Also, many firms hire their COOs and top management people from accounting firms too. Thus, you may get some great connections with top corporations. We had a guy leave Deloite Touche many years ago to head up a major mortgage firm. One of the Deloite Touche partners left the firm to head up a securities firm. I just found out that this guy donated 20 million to a local college in Florida. I guess he ended up very well. </p>
<p>As I said, being an accountant leads to a lot of great opportunities and not just in accounting per se.</p>
<p>So compared to corporate law, which you start out at about 125k and then end up close to 1 Mil when you make partner which also takes about 7 years, I guess that the pay just jumps quicker in Big 4. So does this sound right, just trying to get some figures:</p>
<p>1st year-50K
2nd year-55K
5th year 100k
6th -300k
8th-500k
10th(partner)-1 Mil</p>