Is anybody here an Accountant or involved in the finance business?

[HowUdoin]

I'm currently majoring in Accoutning and I'd appreciate if you guys could answer a few questions.

1. What's the starting salary like?
2. Is it better to work for a small company or large corporation?
3. Is it compulsory to become an accountant with a degree in accounting or could you become a financial analyst or be involved in other finance-like jobs?
4. If you are an accountant or work in the field of finance, what's you job like? Do you love it?

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Crazy Ivan]

Bor, u clean when the plumber comes ??

 

[WODIN]

Your first two questions are too vague to even try and answer.

You can do any finacial analyst job with an accounting degree.

I'm a Data Systems Mngr in Financial Planning. I like that more than when I was an doing accounting and monthly closings.

 

[powerslave]

1. Too many variables to make a guess. Depends on your location, whether you work for a public, private or CPA firm.

2. It's a personal call. I've worked for two private companies and one public. I personally like a smaller environment. I feel I have a bigger say in things working for a smaller company. When working for a large public company, I kind of felt like a body without a face or voice.

3. You do not have to be an "accountant". It's a fairly flexible degree to have.

4. I'm a controller for two facilities. My main focus has been trying to implement a standard cost/manufacturing system. I never cared for the financial side of accounting. Do I love it? No, but I'd say that no matter what I was doing.

 

[nikolai_bolkov]

work for one of the big 4 is you get a chance, it will take you way further in terms of name recognition on your resume.

i did that and just by working for PwC (auditing) I was later able to switch over to (then) KPMG Consulting to do systems integration consulting with NO schooling or prior experience in technology.

it's like a buddy system, they know your capabilities from where you have been accepted before

 

[Tarheel]

Dont the big boys mostly require a Master of Accounting? Seems like the folks that get the MAC here, almost automatically get an offer with PwC or Deloitte & Touche.

I took Fundamentals of Accounting and failed it. I hate that stuff...