Lauren Said:

What kind of jobs can you go into with a Finance /business/ or accounting degree?

We Answered:

I would say if you want to own your own business accounting is the way to go. I think the jobs are pretty much limitless. You can work in public accounting as an auditor or tax consultant. That starts off as working a lot of hours but gaining a lifetime of experience. You can also work as a staff accountant in pretty much any company. Once you have a few years experience you can work up to controller and then CFO. A great number of CEO's have had time as CPA's and CFO's. So, I think it's probably pretty important.

I started a business and didn't know a thing about accounting. After two years we closed shop in debt and discouraged. Main reason we failed: money problems brought on by a lack of financial control. I wanted to find out why we failed. I went back to school and started studying accounting.

Accounting teaches you how to communicate the language of a business. You learn to look at everything involved in a business and how it relates to each other. You can really get an idea for how much things ultimately cost and how much money you're making. Ultimately in later classes and internship/ professional experiences you'll learn about auditing which focuses on reliability of a companies financial reporting, interactions with other companies/industries, overall economy, etc.

Finance is not bad either. Though I think finance people need the accountants to plug their information to come to their conclusions. And ultimately, if you double major in accounting and finance you're pretty much a jack of all (important) trades.

Management.... with a good mentor I think anyone can learn that. I really don't hold majoring as an undergrad in that area as being worth your time. You can always do an MBA and learn the important stuff. I truly believe in experience and mentoring for the management end. But hey, to each his own. Integrated Supply Management majors are also highly sought after.

I think your best bet is, since you seem like you're starting out is to start with the prerequisite business courses. They usually require accounting 1 and 2. When you take those classes, really study hard and try to learn what accounting is all about. Also, look into the accounting/ finance club at your school. Beta Alpha Psi is an organization on most campuses that will hold weekly meetings. It's a good way to learn about the accounting profession.

One thing though... accounting requires a lot of commitment. You want to get the best grades you can. That means studying twice as much for your accounting classes than you would for a normal class. The firms and companies hiring graduating accountants want the best. That means GPA 3.5+. They'll pay you for it though. Many of the firms will hire auditors at 50K before you even have a CPA.

If you want to get your CPA, that usually means getting either a masters or accumulating an additional 30 hrs to have a total of 150 credit hours (one more year's worth of school). I don't know what's better. I've heard an equal number of arguments. I had majored in education before switching. I had about 30 "wasted" hours until I found out they would count for my CPA hour requirement. Most states require you have 150 credit hours.

So in a nutshell: Major in accounting, gain 30 additional credit hours by double majoring in another area of interest or getting your MBA or MSA, work in public accounting for a few years, make and save some money, start your own company.

Study hard, keep that grade point up! C's get degrees, but A's get you the raise.

Philip Said:

Accounting and finance bachelors degree?

We Answered:

I think that dual degrees are a waste of time. In the work force, employers are looking for specialists. They want people who specialize in a particular area. My advice: choose between Accounting and Finance, and get a job in that field.

Both majors are related; you must take a couple finance courses to get an accounting degree and you also have to take some accounting courses to get a finance degree. You can probably still get a CPA in either case, and you won't have any problem getting a job no matter which one you choose.

Jennifer Said:

If i get a degree in accounting or finance, will I still be able to work in sports.?

We Answered:

No. This degree should not limit you.

Keep in mind that almost everybody needs a good finance manager or accountant. Don't quote me on this, but I believe that some sports teams are actually incorporated, so if you do want to work in that field, you could work as an accountant for the team. The teams also need several people to work in the finances to make sure the players, managers, etc get paid, equipment purchased and so forth.


Hope that helps!

Ron Said:

Difference between business management degree, accounting degree and finance degree?

We Answered:

Whatever you are best at is the degree area you should go into.

Are you good at math? That would be accounting and finance degrees.

Business management is an area that will require you to get experience in business before you can take on the added responsibilities of overseeing the company.

Good Luck

Maria Said:

what is a good public university in CA where i can get a finance/accounting business degree? im from MN?

We Answered:

Even if you apply to a top CSU you need to get your GPA a lot higher. Cal poly slo, sdsu, chico, pomona, long beach are some of the better CSUs. As for UCs, all are great besides UCR.
I know SDSU is a very popular choice for people because of its location and business program. It's nationally ranked. But most UCs and CSUs are great. Just make sure to do some research.

And as far as tuition, and if that's a concern, defintely apply to a CSU because they are cheaper. I go to SDSU and my tuition is $18,000 and I'm a California resident. Im not sure you will find much luck finding a university out of state tuition under 20K. Try moving to cali and going to a JC for 2 years.