<p>Every Accounting major in my Business classes want to be a CPA or an Accountant which is normal since they are getting an ACCOUNTING DEGREE lol. However, I have always pictured myself being a Market Research Analyst, Financial Analysts, or Entrepreneur. <em>hit the breaks...</em> I know you are wondering what the heck am I thinking... and probably thinking I am crazy... Here's the thing! I am trying to be practical. I hate the thought of being unemployed and I hear that if I were to choose Management or Marketing that I wouldn't be making a good college investment. I like accounting a lot but do not want to be doing the same repetition over and over. I want to be able to help people with their business goals and provide information that can help them with products. I am creative and don't want my creativity overshadowed. I want to be able to come up with plans to help people succeed and get money and I ultimately want to create my own business. If I get an Accounting degree (without the CPA or graduate school) AND minor in something else creative, can I land a job outside the Accounting field? Will it make me more marketable to employers; since they know I understand the language of business but, I don't necessarily want to be their accountant? I don't want to be limited to Accounting but I don't want it to be hard to find a stable medium income job. Thank you much.</p>
<p>As far as I know, if you want to be an accountant then you need CPA. CPA is just certification to do the job. However, if you want to do something else then it is not necessary to get CPA.</p>
<p>Also, perhaps after doing other stuff (like god knows what) and you feel like getting old and want to go back to basic being accountant (sit behind the desk and crunching debit/credit doing month-end, yearly stuff, etc) then you need to sit on the CPA exam to get the certification.</p>
<p>Jan2013, did you not read the body of my question, or did you just read the subject? I stated what I see myself doing. I like learning about Accounting but I see myself in other positions such as Market Research Analyst or Financial Analyst. I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know that I want to HELP a business reach goals, get money, and help their products. I want a career where I can point to data and calculations and use ideas. I just did not want to do Marketing because I hear it is not a good college investment (from a lot of research and some counselors) I do not want to do Management because I know that it is too broad of a degree to be taken seriously… & Finance, I hear is only worth it if you are going to a top tier school (I am going to a second tier/mediocre, but AACSB accredited school) plus I don’t know how I will fair with the intense mathematics. Accounting is very frigging hard, but I can handle the math. PLEASE READ MY BODY & NOT JUST THE SUBJECT/TITLE. I was wondering if it is a dumb idea to major in Accounting if my heart isn’t with a career in Accounting. I see myself in Marketing, maybe undergrad Finance careers that an Accounting major can do, or even owning my OWN business and being an entrepreneur. Will companies like that I studied the language of business but am applying for other jobs with it? Should I pick Accounting but minor in something more creative? Should I double major in Accounting and something more creative?</p>
<p>At this point the CPA thing is not a priority. (because most states require proof of experience before granting a license). A more important question is - Do you want a job as an accountant after college? If not then study something else. Assuming you do -Fast forward to a year or two after college. Now it’s time to commit to being a CPA or go a different direction like MBA or business owner. GL</p>
<p>Okay people are not answering my question, but I think I have the answer from sosomenza </p>
<p>“A more important question is - Do you want a job as an accountant after college? If not then study something else.”- sosomenza… You answered my question without reading my body or my reply to Jan. I stated what I truly saw myself doing and why I was considering Accounting, but thank you… I got my answer I guess.</p>
<p>Although I hoped you guys actually read what I stated, I got my answer. I thought that most people didn’t work in the fields they majored in, and I thought that I could get another more interesting job in Business with, an Accounting degree, but I guess that I was thinking stupidly, since Accounting is too technical and leads to a direct career. Thanks.</p>
<p>OK…lemme read your body as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I just did not want to do Marketing because I hear it is not a good college investment…</p></li>
<li><p>I do not want to do Management because I know that it is too broad of a degree to be taken seriously…</p></li>
<li><p>AND you dont want to do Finance, I hear is only worth it if you are going to a top tier school </p></li>
<li><p>AND you dont want to do Accounting : it is a dumb idea to major in Accounting if my heart isn’t with a career in Accounting…</p></li>
</ol>
<p>So, you are confused…how do you give good answer(s) for people who dont know what they want to do in life?..do you get my drift(s)…?</p>
<p>Jan2013, First of all by me asking you to read my body paragraphs wasn’t a jab or an insult. I just wanted the answerers to see where I was coming from. Second of all… I did not say I didn’t want to major in Accounting, I said if SOSOMENZA is correct then maybe Accounting is too much of a direct career path and maybe I can’t get a job outside of Accounting with an Accounting degree. IF Sosomenza is correct. Third of all, I do not catch your drift, because I never said I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I said I see myself being a Market Research Analyst, Financial Analyst, or Entrepreneur. I want to be a person that helps companies reach goals, sale products, and get bucks. Possibly one day help myself with my own business. I just wanted to know what is a good track to my goals. I was stating that SINCE Management is too broad and Marketing prospectively isn’t reliable, then will employers take me seriously with an Accounting degree although I would not be applying for Accounting positions? Since… Accounting is the language of business I figured that employers would see that I have other skills. I was wondering if I should tack on a minor or double major to make myself more marketable. I wasn’t trying to insult you. I feel like no one gets what I am saying… It is ok though. Thanks.</p>
<p>I apologize for offending anyone by asking them to read my statements outside of the title of the thread. I was just wondering if there was an alternative path to my goals of helping a Business get money, come up with plans, reach goals, and push products, make revenue, etc… Forgive me for not knowing the exact job title. I was guessing Financial Analyst or Market Research Analyst. I was just wondering if there was an alternative track to reach my goals without majoring in Management which is too broad and Marketing which is too risky. I hear all the time that Accounting is the best (most employable) business major, BUT I do not want to be an Accountant, so I was wondering that IF I get a degree in Accounting and tack on an extra major/minor (without getting a CPA), could I land in another job in the Business field?</p>
<p>He is asking if he can do a job other than accounting (e.g. Financial analyst) with an accounting degree…</p>
<p>California, </p>
<p>Do not listen to these guys. I have been out of school for four years and wish I had done what you are thinking. Your thinking is spot on. A major in accounting can get you more finance jobs than a major in finance these days as the finance major is unfortunately not deep enough to allow you to obtain the more desirable business jobs.</p>
<p>Spartan, Thank you for hearing me out. I have always heard that Accounting was the most employable business major, and I was just wondering if it was more versatile than what others may think… Some people say Accounting is a direct path to being an Accountant and is limited to just that… I enjoy Accounting but I may want to apply for other positions too, so I was wondering if you can get Finance jobs or Marketing jobs with an Accounting degree since it is arguably the language of business. Thank you Spartan. =)</p>
<p>You will be able to get any job in business that an undergrad degree will allow you to get with a degree in accounting. A finance degree is your next best bet. The remaining options are pretty risky.</p>
<p>Thank you Markski87. This makes me feel much better. Who knows? I might want to sit for the CPA exam in the future when I get my degree. I may want to become a full fledged Accountant in the future since I do oddly enjoy learning about Accounting. BUT, I just am glad that I can get careers in other avenues of Business with a degree in Accounting. I really want to help businesses reach goals and I really hope to own a business one day and I think Accounting can be a good foundation for that. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>barrk123, Thank you for summarizing my question 
lol</p>
<p>I said in my early post: “However, if you want to do something else then it is not necessary to get CPA”.</p>
<p>So, if you read ir carefully then it means you dont have to have CPA if you want to do Finance, Marketing, etc with your accounting degree. It is pretty clear that with accounting degree you can do anything in Finance world, marketing world, etc. I even know my neighbor who is selling used cars with his accounting degree.</p>
<p>So, dont listen to “the experts” on this forum…LOL since your accounting degree is your ticket to any business opportunity. However, if you want to work in High Finance or wall-street as analyst then you need to be Finance Major and taking lots…and lots of higher MATH.</p>
<p>I am an Engineering Major and am also money driven person. And Wall-Street hires most if not all of their analyst coming from Engineering background since engineering major has higher math.</p>
<p>So, in the next two years if the job market is lousy for engineering then I will go for MBA (at Vandy or Tulane). I will take general MBA and perhaps concentration in Finance.</p>
<p>That is just my two cents.</p>
<p>Jan2013, I saw when you said “However, if you want to do something else then it is not necessary to get CPA”… You just did not clarify if those options were the ones I listed. I wanted to know what that “something else” was… Anyways, I am not too interested in a “High Finance” or wall street in particular,but I figured that you would need tougher math for those positions. I am not driven by money so to speak, I am driven by employment… 40k is fine with me… However, I think that is an EXCELLENT idea for you. You seem very smart and I think you can pull it off and you will be successful.</p>
<p>So Finance and Marketing positions can be obtained with an Accounting degree. What other positions are out there for non CPA Accounting grads? Also… Let’s say you wanted to get a Marketing/Finance/Management job with your Accounting degree… I assume you would have to get internships in those fields? Will internships accept you in other fields as an Accounting major? Do you need other internships outside of Accounting ones, to show that you can do the other jobs? Please educate me! Thank you all so so much.</p>
<p>If you really want to be a market researcher the type of degree doesn’t matter. My mom has been doing that since she finished her masters in Communication. One of her bosses has his degree in Sociology. So unlike Accounting there is no degree you have to get to do that. Just make sure you have good people skills, a high patients level and can use computer programs such as Excel, powerpoint and access.</p>