Need help with a career choice

K

katia7

Cathlete
I'm currently in school to get a BBA, but I can't decide whether I want to go into finance or accounting. One one side, I dont want a job that is very routine, on the other side I REALLY don't want to deal with clients.
At the same time, I want to choose a major with which I will have an easier time finding a job.

Is anyone here in any of those fields or know anything about this?
ANY advice would be VERY appreciated. I'm totally lost.
 
I have my BBA and currently working on the MBA. I have worked in finance for years and enjoy it. Depending where you end up there are many options for you. If you enjoy working with clients banking may be something to look into. A lot depends on what you do with your degree and where you want to be, i.e. more in accounting or more in finance. IMO finance is hard than accounting, however a lot just depends on you.

What have you been considering?
 
Right now my two choices are either to be a financial analyst or go into accounting. I just talked to a friend of mine and she said that with an accounting degree you can go into either (accounting or financial analyst), but with a finance degree you can not go into accounting.
Is that true?

How did you find your very first job?

My other problem is that with a finance degree I was suppose to graduate in May of 2007. But with accounting degree it will be August 2008, because my school doesn't offer a few courses that I need until January. Do you know if it's possible to take classes in another school and then transfer them to my school? How would that affect tuition and my financial loans? I think if I can do this, then I can graduate MUCH earlier.
 
With accounting you are a little more flexible. With a finance degree you focus more on economics with accounting you have a larger range of study. Mine is in accounting, however I have mainly been in finance/marketing most of my career. I was an analyst for 4 years, it is a very stressful job. You will be behind a desk most of the day and you will work long hours. I made great money, but worked 12-14 hour days most of the time.

My first job was working in a bank and from there I went to an oil and gas company which I worked for in 2 departments, accounting and finance. For me, I like accounting more, but made more money in finance. You might want to research a little more and narrow down and area you are really interested in i.e. banking, credit, accounting, cost accounting, auditor, etc. A good thing to do is contact recruiters in your area (you can find them on Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com) and get some opinions.

As far as school, check with your Academic counselor. Normally you cannot switch schools unless you plan on graduating at the school you intend to switch to. It is also going to depend on the school,are you in a private university or public? Schools differ in requirements and credits. Some credits you have may not transfer. You might want to check into another school if you are facing this issue.
 
Hi, I'd just like to add what's helped me make some decisions. And, this is in general, not to anyone specifically, but maybe parts will help the original poster. Note I'm not in finance or accounting (I'm a journalism gal currently), but not being happy in hard news, I needed a change. A few things I've learned during some soul-searching:

*It's a process. Enjoy the process instead of focusing on the "Kodak moment" at the end or the destination.

*Incorporate what you love in your everyday, and really try to incorporate that into your "work". Don't just do something for the paycheck or the easy/predictable route. Again, incorporate what you love into the business side of having to make money.

*Think outside the box. Very important in combining your loves and skills. I like to think of it as "creating my own paradise"...

*Believe. Give yourself credit, and know you deserve to have what you want, and you can have what you want. Again, it's a process, but enjoy it.

Anyway, this is what's helped me...I think the biggest part for me, which can still be a challenge daily, is to believe good things can happen -- to expect the best not the worst. Believe you deserve good things.

Best to all of you!

;-)
 
I am also finishing up my BBA this fall. I also have had a difficult time deciding what I want to do. So my business professor directed me to a site M.A.P.P. to do an analysis. He always said, your job should not define you, you define your job... You have to do what will make you happy in the long-run.

Anyway, it turns out school counseling and school administration are right up my alley. I would not have really guessed that about myself. The analysis is really interesting. It made sense for me...

I completely understand your frustration...

Carrie
:)
 
You will definitely be more marketable with an accounting degree especially if you get your CPA license. In my experience, the job market for finance majors is more limited. You could go into finance as an accounting major, but vice versa it's not as easy.
 
Here is how I ended up:

BBA with accounting concentration.

First job: Accounts Payable (one year) - took advantage of the position by going around the company (manufacturing) and talking to all my coworkers about their jobs to see how it interacted with mine. (A/P interacts with most every dept in a company).

Next, promoted withing same company to Accounting Supervisor - supervised A/P, A/R and main function was all accounting except Cost.
Did all month end JE's except the cost so got quite around quite a bit.

Took off for 14 year to raise my children. (While out of a paying job, I was heavily involved in my childrens elementary school - Treasurer, Co-chair and chair for many committees, on budget committee for the school, etc.)

When I went back to the workforce (after PC's were introduced and through many years of high tech changes - live close to Silicon Valley in CA - I had a hard time selling myself.

Got a job as an Accounting Clerk for a pittance of a wage. But within 9 months was promoted to Accounting Supervisor of A/P, payroll and able to create the HR Dept.

Well, I feel that my Accounting degree, which prepares you with loads of general business knowledge, has helped me tremendously in the HR Dept. The understanding of one of the core areas (accounting) in a company is a tremendous asset to my career.

As for Finance, you understand the makeup of the balance sheet and need to know the expenses of the company, but I am not convinced you see the overall picture as much.

Just my .02

Good luck with your choice
 
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