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<p>Agreed. But accounting would compare more favorably with those engineering majors with potential for having normal people in them, ME, IE, civil.</p>
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Agreed. But accounting would compare more favorably with those engineering majors with potential for having normal people in them, ME, IE, civil.
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No pun intended, but if this is an example of how accounting people write (confusing run-on sentences), I'd rather stick with engineering... :p</p>
<p>That's nothing close to a pun, and my sentence was quite comprehensible. Just one comma where there should have been a colon; no big deal. And I'm not an accounting person, I'm a communications majour. Business calc raped me seven times in two years.</p>
<p>With Petroleum Engineering, you are subject to the vageries of the oil sector. With accounting, you will have a job whether the economy booms or, as it seems to be doing today, busting. In fact, the damand for accountants has never been better.
A good accountant will always be employed. The same can NOT be said about any area of engineering.</p>
<p>I would rather be more concerned about getting a decent job than the salary =/</p>
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With accounting, you will have a job whether the economy booms or, as it seems to be doing today, busting.
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I think this is intrinsically false. Accounting, as a profession, has been created due to government regulations. Without government regulations it could not exist. A simple change in tax code could put many accountants out of work simply because the amount of work could decrease.</p>
<p>what is the current situation of petroleum engineering? are petroleum engineers in demand?</p>
<p>My Payne notes:"A simple change in tax code could put many accountants out of work simply because the amount of work could decrease"</p>
<p>Response; You are so wrong here. First, it has been my experience that when the government changes the code, accountants like myself are busier than ever! I refer to a lot of these tax changes as " the small millionaires accounting relief acts."
They would have to completely eliminate the tax code do reduce the demand for tax accountant, which won't happen.</p>
<p>Secondly, Most accountants do NOT work in taxes. Many are around because of SEC requirements ( such as audits of financial statements), bank requirements for loans, state law requirements such as audits of state banks and insurance companies, not to mention federal laws that deal with banks and insurance companies, credit unions, thrifts, tax exempt organizations et al. I can assure you that many, many accountants are needed outside of the tax arena.</p>
<p>Not to mention the quantitative skills and libido they possess.</p>
<p>^Actually, I think that's a myth. Accounting and its difficulty aren't really about math. Many accountants don't really have the ability to come up with math model or do calculus...etc. It's not engineering. </p>
<p>Should we also take the caliber or intrisic aptitude/talent of people in those two groups into account to make fair comparison? Engineers tend to have the higest test scores in just about any college. Same thing can't be said for accounting majors. Maybe the difference is smaller once we factor that in (though it's pretty much impossible to do). Also, the payscale for CPA probably doesn't include financial management--an area that bright accountants are well-qualifed to do but maybe that is classified under finance. I think if you are bright and motivated, many doors can open for you as an accountant. What do you think, taxguy?</p>
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Response; You are so wrong here. First, it has been my experience that when the government changes the code, accountants like myself are busier than ever! I refer to a lot of these tax changes as " the small millionaires accounting relief acts."
They would have to completely eliminate the tax code do reduce the demand for tax accountant, which won't happen.
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The tax code needs to be completely eliminated in order to reduce the demand for tax accountants? So no change in the tax law will reduce demand unless it's a total elimination?</p>
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Secondly, Most accountants do NOT work in taxes. Many are around because of SEC requirements ( such as audits of financial statements), bank requirements for loans, state law requirements such as audits of state banks and insurance companies, not to mention federal laws that deal with banks and insurance companies, credit unions, thrifts, tax exempt organizations et al. I can assure you that many, many accountants are needed outside of the tax arena.
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You just made my point, again. Laws can change. If the value of your position is derived from government regulation then it can go away, simple as that.</p>
<p>My simplest plan would be work in petroleum engineering for a couple of years (and take advantage of the ridiculously high starting salaries), and then switch to something more lucrative after an MBA. </p>
<p>Both fields have potential, and they both have their upsides and downsides. Go with what you're better at and more interested in, and that will greatly improve your chances at making the big bucks in either field.</p>
<p>Those starting salaries are guaranteed to go down. Accounting is stable, if you enter pe now; you'll probably have a 60k starting salary in 4 yrs or there may be a hiring freeze. Noone knows, don't go I to or for the money. The salary may not be there when you graduate. Also, you just don't breeze through PE; it is still engineering. Good luck.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend majoring in petroleum engineering, major in chemical or mechanical. Don't shoot yourself in the foot.</p>