Career change from Journalism to Accounting (Chicago, IL) (CPA, bachelors, skills)

[XXSnapKracklePopPowXX]

Hello and thank you, in advance, for your input.

I received my Bachelors degree in Journalism in 2009, but have since had a change of heart and would like to make the move to Accounting.

My initial plan was to complete a basic certificate in Accounting at my local community college and then complete an advanced certificate in Accounting at Northwestern University. However, I'm questioning whether a certificate alone, even if it is from NU, will be enough to help me acquire the skills needed to make the career change. I'm not planning on becoming a CPA or working for a huge corporation. I just want to be an accountant for a small to midsize business. I have listed the programs I am considering below. Will this coursework be sufficient or is a second Bachelors degree or even a Masters degree necessary?

City Colleges of Chicago - Basic Certificate
[url=http://www.ccc.edu/colleges/wright/programs/Pages/Accounting-Advanced-Certificate.aspx]City Colleges of Chicago - Accounting Advanced Certificate[/url]

Northwestern University - Advanced Certificate
[url=http://sps.northwestern.edu/program-areas/post-baccalaureate/advanced-accounting/index.php]Advanced Accounting Certificate Program, Northwestern University School of Professional Studies[/url]

[thatguydownsouth]

You need a bachelors degree to get a job in accounting, even at a small firm. Those that get bachelors degrees but don't score as high are usually the ones that get jobs at smaller firms.

[bler144]

I make this point often [so i apologize for being a broken record], but 'accountant' is actually a pretty broad category of jobs.

If you're just talking about 'bookkeeping' (the most basic understanding of accounting) a certificate will probably suffice both in terms of knowledge and getting your foot in the door somewhere. Ceiling on employment and salary is fairly low there, however because quite frankly, you can't do much.

If you wanted to actually "do" anything in accounting, honestly in my opinion you'd want more - either a BS/BA or arguably a MAcc. I'd say it's at least worth talking to the folks at UIC about their MAcc program and see if any aspect of it seems like a fit for what you're interested in. Even if the answer is no, it may give you a better sense of the accounting field to see what might interest you and what various degree/cert options do/don't prepare you for.

Accounting Masters Program | University of Illinois at Chicago

[slim04]

You should know that those certificate programs are actually designed for working professionals in the accounting industry that don't have enough accounting or business classes to sit for the CPA exam. They are designed to plug that hole and are typically paid by the employer. So they are big cash cows for schools that want to make big bucks from what are basically undergraduate accounting classes that they have to offer their undergrads anyways.

But the certificate programs don't replace the degree and no one equates a certificate from an elite college with an undergraduate or grad degree from the school. Admissions is not competitive for these programs who can pay. When I saw an elite college certificate (typically from NYU or Berkeley are popular ones), they almost always were folks that went to terrible undergrad programs who thought that the big name on their resume would whitewash their old record. We just looked at it that person paid a lot of money to get a fancy certificate. Certificate students don't get honors and aren't ranked as part of a class, so their is no context to their grades either, making them almost meaningless and difficult to evaluate someone. For most of the certificate students, it doesn't matter, because they already have jobs and aren't seeking entry level jobs where grades matter.

The certificate only helps that you'll get enough credits to sit for the CPA and once you do that, you'll be very attractive to employers. The problem is that it can take you years to pass the CPA and some never do.

Honestly, I'd look into a master's degree program at Northern Illinois, UIC, UIUC (they may have a Chicago master's program), or DePaul. Or U. of Chicago or Northwestern's MBA program if you can get in. In the degree program, you'll get access to career services and be more involved with campus organizations and events that the certificate students don't bother with or aren't eligible to use or join.