<p>I am a high school senior and am considering my major for college. For now I consider to go with Accounting Major and Finance Minor. For those undergrad or grad students who are already in the similar majors, can you please shed some lights on what I am about to get into?</p>
<p>1) What are the primary courses you took for Accounting?
2) What are the primary courses you took for Finance?
3) What are the key traits to succeed as a student in studying Accounting and Finance in college? (ie. good math skills, attention to details, intelligent, or whatever)
4) What are the career perspectives after graduation?
5) How hard is it to obtain the professional licenses such as CPA?
6) Can you take CPA exam right after you graduate after college?
7) What are the benefits for advanced degree such as Masters and PhD?
8) Do you regret about majoring in Accounting or Finance?
9) What is your plan B what if you hate Accounting or Finance 3 years into it in college? </p>
<p>You have to take two accounting classes in your first two years pretty much no matter where you go if you are doing any kind of business major. If you hate it and/or suck at it, do something other than accounting. The math is easy. Certainly easier than the math in the math classes you are going to be required to take regardless of what you major in anyway.</p>
<p>Read the thread, “Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting.” I think once you have read the entire thread you will have your questions answered.</p>
<p>5) How hard is it to obtain the professional licenses such as CPA?
With 77%, U Texas has the best pass rate of any university’s students on the CPA exam.
6) Can you take CPA exam right after you graduate after college?
You need 150 hours and an accredited accounting program, if you have that, yes. Otherwise, do a masters in professional accounting program. It will take two extra years.
7) What are the benefits for advanced degree such as Masters and PhD?
A masters can give you the extra hours and/or classes you need to sit for the CPA exam. An MBA can help you with networking and climbing the ladder. A PhD in business is pretty useless for the corporate world.
9) What is your plan B what if you hate Accounting or Finance 3 years into it in college?
Drop out and start your own company. If you’re not into running a company, just major in management.</p>
<p>Openedskittle -
"5) How hard is it to obtain the professional licenses such as CPA?
With 77%, U Texas has the best pass rate of any university’s students on the CPA exam.
"
Thanks for your info. I wonder if this info is in the public domain. I am interested in applying for U of Illinios at Urbana for their accounting program, which I heard is one of the best in the country. Do you happen to know their passing rate for CPA exam?</p>
<p>A PhD in accounting + CPA enables you to teach accounting at a university. They say that 25-50% of the jobs are left vacant every year so the demand is high and you can start teaching at up to 150k a year with summer vacations and everything. This varies college to college and locality, but look it up.</p>
<p>School doesn’t mean jacksh1t in terms of CPA, if you are smart then you are smart. The covered topics are the same no matter where you go to school. Note, I didn’t say the placement and reputation were.</p>
<p>Anycolour, I believe you need a PhD to teach at the university level for every field, it just shows you that accounting professors are harder to come by. It takes and average of 4.8 years to finish a PhD in accounting, so says the article i cited. 2.5 years of classes and 2.3 years of dissertation. 5 years of public accounting and you <em>could</em> be making plenty of money and on track for way more than teaching would ever give you, thus the opportunity cost of the PhD that makes demand high and salary even higher. </p>
<p>A PhD in history, depending on what you did before, could give you much more money that just a BA or MA.</p>
<p>Jdnely is correct. You can make 150K at a very young age teaching at the university level. There are several acct profs I know here who are making that much in their 30s.</p>
<p>Don’t you have to do research and things like that if you become a professor as well? Also, wouldn’t accounting professors have some difficulty finding work since most liberal arts and even some universities (ie Harvard, Stanford, etc) don’t have accounting for undergrads? Do they teach in MBA programs as well?</p>
<p>That’s what SP said, what makes you think you can only work for liberal arts colleges? </p>
<p>Despite your inability to teach accounting at a school that doesn’t offer it, the schools that do have accounting programs are in need of more professors.</p>
<p>Well why would you want to work for a university that doesn’t actually have an accounting/business program in the first place? You would be much better off working at a state school with an accounting program than working for an ivy league/liberal art school that doesn’t have one.</p>
<p>Think about it.</p>
<p>Working for an Ivy league school isn’t necessarily more lucrative than working for a state school. You work for the university that will offer you the most money. As well as other factors: geographic location, etc.</p>