<p>Okay so I'm still very new in college, haven't even been in college for two years yet. I'm a sophmore this year. But right now I'm thinking about an economics, accounting, or finance degree.</p>
<p>Now I'm not here to talk about economics or finance, but I do want to talk about accounting.</p>
<p>I do know that I want to get a higher degree then just a Bachelors.</p>
<p>My question is, is it worth it to get a PHD or masters in accounting? Does it make any difference in not only knowledge, but salary? Especially salary, I'm really focused on salary, that is the main reason I want to get a higher degree is because I want that big boost in my salary. </p>
<p>I recently bought my own accounting book and have been not only reading, but also been doing actual accounting in a work book I have and some accounting at my business I work at. Honestly I thought I'd hate accounting because it seems so repetative, but I actually so far love it! I'm having a blast with accounting, I'm surprised I enjoy it so much, so it's definately making me really think about getting an accounting degree.</p>
<p>Also while I'm talking about an accounting degree, I'm worried about in the future that accounting jobs may be shipped over seas. Do you think this is a possibility? Do you think that accounting jobs may be taken over by computers as well?</p>
<p>That's another concern I have with majoring in accounting.</p>
<p>Accounting PhD’s are a varied bunch. Basically if you get an accounting PhD you are going to have to work at a university for the most part. My professors and PhD candidates I’ve encountered come in three flavors:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The tenured, been a professor forever type. They seem to have worked for CPA firms for a few years, gotten their licenses, and then went right back to get their PhD’s and have been teaching and doing research forever. They get paid fairly well but also do seminars and whatnot for businesses. They publish papers when they feel like it, maybe have some kind of “So and So Chair” they sit in which means somebody put a lot of money up for them to get paid extra to do research, which might be research in how many fish are in a particular pond during the summer. If a Big Four firm pays for this they probably don’t care about research but want the professor to steer fresh meat their way. </p></li>
<li><p>Some other type of professor, probably not tenured, who is also old because they worked in the private sector for a few decades. They probably don’t do serious research but teach a lot of classes, maybe are faculty adviser for various clubs or programs. Presumably they got tired of the rate race, maybe have boatloads of cash already(some do, some don’t), and would rather have the laid back university life and/or give back to society.</p></li>
<li><p>PhD students who never had jobs. Seem to be more focused on cost accounting. Sometimes one will teach a section of that in the summer but usually they teach Principles I or II. I think they end up at lower tier colleges once they get their PhD’s, although if they publish quality papers they probably can work their way back up. </p></li>
</ol>
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<p>In any event, once you get to PhD level accounting, it changes to involve things like econometrics or psychology, depending on your research focus. Not really an expert on that, probably better google it to find out more. </p>
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<p>A Masters in Accounting teaches you more about accounting and will probably get you enough credit to be able to sit for the CPA exam, which will definitely increase your earning potential and academic potential. If your school has a 5 year program which allows you to get your masters in only 1 extra year, you should look into it. At my school the recruiting for such people is way better than others. Lots of people on this board will tell you that all firms care about is being CPA eligible(which you can manage by just getting extra undergrad credits instead), but in my school, which does have a 5 year program it is a lot harder to get any traction if you aren’t in it. Firms don’t really care about whether you get a Masters or not, but they also really don’t mind ignoring people with just a bachelors if there’s a big body of people getting their masters who they know are above their GPA cutoff.</p>
<p>Yes but don’t they tend to ignore them because they know they don’t have the 150 hour requirement, not because they don’t have a masters? A Masters in Accounting is VERY redundant. You’ll usually have an audit class, a general accounting class, international accounting, etc.</p>
<p>I’d make myself stand out by double majoring in finance for the 150. I think this is actually a common alternative to the masters. I’ve also seen people just take random summer classes throughout their 4 years. Basically it is my opinion that all a MAcc does is give you a 2nd chance at recruitment. You’ll already have interviewed (maybe) and you’ll be more comfortable, but I really don’t think firms see a MAcc as something that makes for a better employee. They just want you to be CPA eligible and have demonstrated you are a competent enough student to pass the CPA exam (shown by your Accounting GPA).</p>
<p>on this subject… i heard something about the requirements for some states for the 150 credits consisting of upper level accounting courses beyond those taken in undergrad studies, in a sense making a MAcc necessary… anyone hear of such a thing? I’m gonna come up about 12 credits short of 150 because of AP classes and a few summers, so I’d rather just complete the 150 by doing blowoff classes at the community college level, however I heard that might not be possible, but i really don’t know</p>
<p>Even though I think about double majoring myself, I’m pretty sure that a MS degree is much better, in terms of everything: job opportunities, salary, promotions, etc. Is is obvious that MS programs are valued higher than BS, and they also have a different level of education. My friend, who is currently getting his MS in Taxation, said that undergraduate program was like a kindergarten compared to MS. He said that the workload was higher, and the material is much much tougher. Also, he has already received a job offer from a tax company while he is still in the program, and now he is working there part time. </p>
<p>Another advantage of getting a MS is that you can alwas become a professor, and teach students. Just imagine that you have been working as an accountant and you are suddenly lost your job when you are 55 or 60 years old. Guess what, you will not be able to find another job, for employers will prefer to hire a younger professionals, and pay them much lower salaries. They might tell you that you are overqualified, and will not hire you. In this case, if you have a MS degree and some solid working experience, you can at least teach someone. </p>
<p>BTW, plscatamacchia</p>
<p>You can get a MS in finance or MFE, instead of double majoring. I prefer to double major because it is more convenient for me, but eventually I might get a MS.</p>
<p>My sense is that the double major makes you seem less dedicated to accounting.</p>
<p>My five year program results in e-mails telling us how to apply to internships, invites to events, etc. Some of the firms tag the button for the career center which makes it impossible for people not in the program to even apply for internships. They could do it directly through the firms process and hope to get an office interview by skipping on-campus interviewing, but that’s harder. Obviously you can do it, but I’d rather have a 70% chance than a 40% chance(my guess of the odds given a solid GPA). In this economy there are so many people graduating with masters degrees and with them maybe 15 to 30 extra hours of graduate accounting classes beyond what the double major types will have, plus they’re all bundled in a little group which excludes by its nature people with undesirable GPA’s. It’s EASY for them to ignore everyone else at my school, so unless you are very memorable and good at getting noticed it’s best to go with the herd.</p>