Those with a degree in finance

[WildHorse]

Are you good in Math?

Finance is all advanced mathematics.

 

[Fern]

I did both (acctg & finance), but work as a CPA.

 

[will889]

Finance @ WTSU (Texas) but never used it except for getting (moving up) in the company I worked for but what I was doing (lan admin) was unrelated. Now a Chiropractor and also do tech/server work on the side. Business was absolutely boring to me. The skills learned for investing however were priceless.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: aswedc
Order of Financial Jobs:

IB/Elite Finance - Big money, big prestige, but you can get these jobs with a liberal arts major. Some big investment banks hire more liberal arts majors than business majors!

Public Accounting (Big 4) - Decent money, plenty of jobs, excellent exit opportunities. Recruiters will be ringing your phone off the hook after a few years.

Smaller Public Accounting/Private Accounting/Corporate Finance - Meh, ok jobs, but you're not going anywhere fast. You really have to define your own path.

No. I'll take public accounting off my list after knowing people who work there. They are slave drivers. In private accounting/corporate finance, you have just as good as the pay as public accounting with MUCH less hours. (your salary/pay per hour is greater in private accounting). Also in private accounting, you can become assistant controller and then controller....and if you are good at what you do....CFO isn't that far off.

Path of public accounting: associate-->senior--->manager--->partners. A lot of hours, if you don't LOVE accounting, I would say you will have a HARD time working and staying in the Big 4. The pay is SH*T at low level (pay/hr wise because you work LOADS of hours during busy season).

You're leaving out the fact that it's 100% harder to get a job in private accounting without public accounting experience. Most places won't consider you unless you have public experience.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: JS80
Majoring in Accounting opens up Accounting and Finance jobs. Majoring in Finance only leaves you with Finance jobs.

Majoring in Accounting will get you jobs in accounting or corporate finance.

Accounting degrees aren't great to get in the door of investment finance. Corporate Finance is not similar to investment, more similar to Accounting.

If you dislike Accounting, why would you want a job in it anyway?

ZV

I disagree. Accounting degree opens up ALL finance because you more or less have to take finance classes anyway. Besides, investment banks hire plenty of non business related liberal arts majors, and it's assumed finance is not required.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: aswedc
Order of Financial Jobs:

IB/Elite Finance - Big money, big prestige, but you can get these jobs with a liberal arts major. Some big investment banks hire more liberal arts majors than business majors!

Public Accounting (Big 4) - Decent money, plenty of jobs, excellent exit opportunities. Recruiters will be ringing your phone off the hook after a few years.

Smaller Public Accounting/Private Accounting/Corporate Finance - Meh, ok jobs, but you're not going anywhere fast. You really have to define your own path.

No. I'll take public accounting off my list after knowing people who work there. They are slave drivers. In private accounting/corporate finance, you have just as good as the pay as public accounting with MUCH less hours. (your salary/pay per hour is greater in private accounting). Also in private accounting, you can become assistant controller and then controller....and if you are good at what you do....CFO isn't that far off.

Path of public accounting: associate-->senior--->manager--->partners. A lot of hours, if you don't LOVE accounting, I would say you will have a HARD time working and staying in the Big 4. The pay is SH*T at low level (pay/hr wise because you work LOADS of hours during busy season).

You're leaving out the fact that it's 100% harder to get a job in private accounting without public accounting experience. Most places won't consider you unless you have public experience.

Again, not true at all. It's much easier to go private than public. The Big 4 want accounting degree and process toward CPA. Private just want you to get the job done. If you jump around enough you can advance pretty quickly.

Its good to go public for 2 years and get your CPA. After that you can do your own consulting or go private.

I think it is 100% harder to get a job in investment finance than private accounting. If you have to put it this way. That is why a lot of finance degree holders turn to other career fields.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: JS80
Majoring in Accounting opens up Accounting and Finance jobs. Majoring in Finance only leaves you with Finance jobs.

Majoring in Accounting will get you jobs in accounting or corporate finance.

Accounting degrees aren't great to get in the door of investment finance. Corporate Finance is not similar to investment, more similar to Accounting.

If you dislike Accounting, why would you want a job in it anyway?

ZV

I disagree. Accounting degree opens up ALL finance because you more or less have to take finance classes anyway. Besides, investment banks hire plenty of non business related liberal arts majors, and it's assumed finance is not required.

They take those liberal art majors because they have MBA!

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: iversonyin
They take those liberal art majors because they have MBA!

Uh, don't listen to this guy.

1. Investment banks recruit tons of liberal arts majors straight out of undergrad.
2. Even if you want to work in private accounting eventually, it is so much better to work in public first for a few years you'd be stupid to consider going straight into private.

That's the bottom line.

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: aswedc
Order of Financial Jobs:

IB/Elite Finance - Big money, big prestige, but you can get these jobs with a liberal arts major. Some big investment banks hire more liberal arts majors than business majors!

Public Accounting (Big 4) - Decent money, plenty of jobs, excellent exit opportunities. Recruiters will be ringing your phone off the hook after a few years.

Smaller Public Accounting/Private Accounting/Corporate Finance - Meh, ok jobs, but you're not going anywhere fast. You really have to define your own path.

No. I'll take public accounting off my list after knowing people who work there. They are slave drivers. In private accounting/corporate finance, you have just as good as the pay as public accounting with MUCH less hours. (your salary/pay per hour is greater in private accounting). Also in private accounting, you can become assistant controller and then controller....and if you are good at what you do....CFO isn't that far off.

Path of public accounting: associate-->senior--->manager--->partners. A lot of hours, if you don't LOVE accounting, I would say you will have a HARD time working and staying in the Big 4. The pay is SH*T at low level (pay/hr wise because you work LOADS of hours during busy season).

You're leaving out the fact that it's 100% harder to get a job in private accounting without public accounting experience. Most places won't consider you unless you have public experience.

Again, not true at all. It's much easier to go private than public. The Big 4 want accounting degree and process toward CPA. Private just want you to get the job done. If you jump around enough you can advance pretty quickly.

Its good to go public for 2 years and get your CPA. After that you can do your own consulting or go private.

I think it is 100% harder to get a job in investment finance than private accounting. If you have to put it this way. That is why a lot of finance degree holders turn to other career fields.

well ya if you want to make $30k with 3% raises the rest of life as an AR clerk...then yea it's easier to go private.

I don't know of any corporate accounting program that hires out of college. 99% hire out of public.

It's actually 200% harder to get a job in corporate finance or investment banking.

I know plenty of English majors out of Ivy League undergrad that get a job in investment banking...

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: JS80


well ya if you want to make $30k with 3% raises the rest of life as an AR clerk...then yea it's easier to go private.

I don't know of any corporate accounting program that hires out of college. 99% hire out of public.

It's actually 200% harder to get a job in corporate finance or investment banking.

I know plenty of English majors out of Ivy League undergrad that get a job in investment banking...

I make 50k out of school jumping into private accounting for a fortune 500 and i'll probably be going into corporate finance soon

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: iversonyin

Originally posted by: aswedc
Order of Financial Jobs:

IB/Elite Finance - Big money, big prestige, but you can get these jobs with a liberal arts major. Some big investment banks hire more liberal arts majors than business majors!

Public Accounting (Big 4) - Decent money, plenty of jobs, excellent exit opportunities. Recruiters will be ringing your phone off the hook after a few years.

Smaller Public Accounting/Private Accounting/Corporate Finance - Meh, ok jobs, but you're not going anywhere fast. You really have to define your own path.

No. I'll take public accounting off my list after knowing people who work there. They are slave drivers. In private accounting/corporate finance, you have just as good as the pay as public accounting with MUCH less hours. (your salary/pay per hour is greater in private accounting). Also in private accounting, you can become assistant controller and then controller....and if you are good at what you do....CFO isn't that far off.

Path of public accounting: associate-->senior--->manager--->partners. A lot of hours, if you don't LOVE accounting, I would say you will have a HARD time working and staying in the Big 4. The pay is SH*T at low level (pay/hr wise because you work LOADS of hours during busy season).

You're leaving out the fact that it's 100% harder to get a job in private accounting without public accounting experience. Most places won't consider you unless you have public experience.

Again, not true at all. It's much easier to go private than public. The Big 4 want accounting degree and process toward CPA. Private just want you to get the job done. If you jump around enough you can advance pretty quickly.

Its good to go public for 2 years and get your CPA. After that you can do your own consulting or go private.

I think it is 100% harder to get a job in investment finance than private accounting. If you have to put it this way. That is why a lot of finance degree holders turn to other career fields.

well ya if you want to make $30k with 3% raises the rest of life as an AR clerk...then yea it's easier to go private.

I don't know of any corporate accounting program that hires out of college. 99% hire out of public.

It's actually 200% harder to get a job in corporate finance or investment banking.

I know plenty of English majors out of Ivy League undergrad that get a job in investment banking...

$30k with 3% raise is for accounting major with no CPA nor ambition(and it must be a piss poor location because in NY, A/P and A/R get a really decent pay). Bunch of companies hire out of college for private accounting. And where you do consider "corporate finance" anyway?

I'm wondering what kind of jobs your friends with English majors get in the ibank? They must either know someone or had an internship with related experience. I know an English graduate work for one of the Big 4, she does business writing....

Maybe the job market is different in your location. Where do you live anyway?

 

[bobdelt]

Accounting class != accounting in real work.

Journal entries are made very few and far between. Everything is automatic. The journal entries is just the theory behind what the systems do. Most likely you'd end up in audit. Which you wont use much accounting at all - until you get a promotion or 2.

Working for a big 4 is great. They pay you well, they take care of you, there is a lot of BS and you might have long hours, but its great to put on your resume.

 

[Phokus]

Originally posted by: bobdelt
Accounting class != accounting in real work.

Journal entries are made very few and far between. Everything is automatic. The journal entries is just the theory behind what the systems do. Most likely you'd end up in audit. Which you wont use much accounting at all - until you get a promotion or 2.

Working for a big 4 is great. They pay you well, they take care of you, there is a lot of BS and you might have long hours, but its great to put on your resume.

This is true in private accounting too. Actually, i would say my private accounting job is more interesting than a public accounting auditing job. On one hand, the accounting classes that i took seem like kind of a waste (seriously, all you need to know is what revenue, expense, accruals, debits, and credits are, that's it), but on the other hand my job is probably more interesting because it isn't 100% accounting... i get to do QMF/SQL programming, be a bit of a business analyst, and do other things. Almost 2 years though and it's getting pretty boring doing the same thing over and over. I think i need to do some project management type job to feel more interested in my work.

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: iversonyin
I'm wondering what kind of jobs your friends with English majors get in the ibank? They must either know someone or had an internship with related experience. I know an English graduate work for one of the Big 4, she does business writing....

Maybe the job market is different in your location. Where do you live anyway?

Anything. The attitude at investment banks is bring in the best of the best, regardless of major, and then train them. Back in school, I had a professor who had formerly worked in investment banking training new grads, and showed us all the crash course books they use to get the liberal arts grads up to speed. At JPMorgan in 2006, 40% of undergraduate hires were business majors. 45% were liberal arts majors.