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Do you feel its worth going back to school to get a master's degree in one of these areas? I have a B.S. in Finance and have never worked in the field. I just turned 28 and am currently employed in a skilled trade making 80K per year. I like what I do but I'm pretty much topped out for making more money/advancement. My wife left me for a resident MD because my career isn't "prestigious" enough and apparently I don't have enough motivation even though I never missed a day of work in my life; she is a real social climber and I'm not. I'm not trying to win her back or anything (can't compete with an Md even though I did fulfill all of the Pre-med requirements for medical school when I got my bachelors degree. I would never want to work in medicine) but her leaving just got me thinking that I have the potential to do better than I am doing now. These days I figure I probably won't ever meet a quality woman again by being a blue-collar worker. So, I know I would eventually make more with one of the masters degrees but is all the work I'd have to do in order to obtain the degree worth it in the long-run? I don't want an MBA. Would I have to work for a big 4 with the accounting degree or could I go right to work for a small company in my town? If any accountants or architects could weigh in about their jobs and what it took to get to where they are that would be a big help. Thank you!
While I have not completed my MS in Accounting yet, I can weigh in as far as career potential goes.
There is a lot more to the accounting world than Big 4. If you want to go into Public Accounting, there are a ton of firms, both big and small that offer a better work/life balance than the Big 4 does. I intend to go to work for either CliftonLarsonAllen, BKD, or the regional firm in my area EKS&H.
Public Accounting is not a necessity. If you want to go directly into industry, I suggest you focus more on Cost Accounting classes. With your background in skilled trade, you already have an insiders view as to the real-life working world for the people manufacturing the goods rather than the external "numbers" only view. This insight will suit you well should you decide to go into an industry role. I don't know what area of the country you live in, but here in Denver, the manufacturing sector is constantly looking for finance/accounting employees.
While I have not completed my MS in Accounting yet, I can weigh in as far as career potential goes.
There is a lot more to the accounting world than Big 4. If you want to go into Public Accounting, there are a ton of firms, both big and small that offer a better work/life balance than the Big 4 does. I intend to go to work for either CliftonLarsonAllen, BKD, or the regional firm in my area EKS&H.
Public Accounting is not a necessity. If you want to go directly into industry, I suggest you focus more on Cost Accounting classes. With your background in skilled trade, you already have an insiders view as to the real-life working world for the people manufacturing the goods rather than the external "numbers" only view. This insight will suit you well should you decide to go into an industry role. I don't know what area of the country you live in, but here in Denver, the manufacturing sector is constantly looking for finance/accounting employees.
Good luck with whatever you want to do!
I second this. I have a BS in Accounting and just started working on my Masters, but I've been using my degree for the last thirteen years. I've never worked in public accounting, let alone Big 4. I've never had the desire. However, it's not the only game in town if you want to use an accounting degree. I've worked for small, private companies, startups, a university and publicly traded corporations. I've worked in various areas of accounting. Right now I'm in financial reporting, and I discovered I actually like it. The Masters degree will be worth it for me, and my company is paying for it.
I think the suggestion of the manufacturing sector might be a good one, given your background in the skilled trades. Depending on where you live, I don't know that you'll make as much starting out as you do at your current job, so that's something to keep in mind. I would also keep in mind your preferences for work-life balance. If you want to go Big 4, you probably won't have much of a life and you could be traveling quite often.
Finally, I wouldn't base your decisions on what you think potential dates/partners might prefer. There is absolutely nothing wrong with working a blue-collar trade. If it's something you enjoy and you make a decent living, stick with it. The right person won't care.
While I have not completed my MS in Accounting yet, I can weigh in as far as career potential goes.
There is a lot more to the accounting world than Big 4. If you want to go into Public Accounting, there are a ton of firms, both big and small that offer a better work/life balance than the Big 4 does. I intend to go to work for either CliftonLarsonAllen, BKD, or the regional firm in my area EKS&H.
Public Accounting is not a necessity. If you want to go directly into industry, I suggest you focus more on Cost Accounting classes. With your background in skilled trade, you already have an insiders view as to the real-life working world for the people manufacturing the goods rather than the external "numbers" only view. This insight will suit you well should you decide to go into an industry role. I don't know what area of the country you live in, but here in Denver, the manufacturing sector is constantly looking for finance/accounting employees.
Good luck with whatever you want to do!
You're in the Denver area? Me too in my senior year majoring in something completely different than accounting. Where are you getting your MS if I may ask? Been thinking about accounting for awhile since there's not much in my degree area.
Not only do you not need to work for a big 4 it's a fight to get in the door to one of the big 4. That said there are some strong reasons for going big 4 then leaving after putting your time in. It opens a lot of doors.
I'm interviewing this coming Weds for a big 4 and almost as afraid of getting an offer as getting a rejection because I know the work load I'm in for. ��
I just turned 28 and am currently employed in a skilled trade making 80K per year.
Well it'll take you a long time to get back to that income as an Architect. When I was 28, I was making in the mid 40s. You pretty much have to be licensed to get there, and it takes an average of 13 years of work to get there.
Out of the 80k Architects in the US, the mean is $82k, and median is $76k.
Women: over 50% of my classes were Women. But less than 50% of the profession is. Only 45% of people who start to become licensed are women. Only 18% of all licensed Architects are women.
When I got my MBA, there were a lot more women in accounting.
HOWEVER Architects are much, much less common and "more interesting" because of that. There are 1.2 million accountants in the us. There are 80k Architects in the US.
So, you'd work in an office that's 50/50 at best, interact with almost exclusively male engineers and interact with contractors and tradesmen. Side note: I did work on a project a few years ago where the carpentry sub's foreman was a woman. That stuck out.
Also, one of my friends from college now is a PM for a HVAC sub. When on a job site, she is constantly hit on, or treated like a delicate flower - she's played hockey for many, many years.
Worth it? That's totally personal. I couldn't do anything else. Bad firms will totally suck the joy out of you. Most firms aren't bad though.
You can pursue architecture as a hobby, and get just as far as you probably would have gotten with a masters - statistically, not very far.
Aside from that, your issue is that apparently your wife has a bit of lack of morals. Be happy she is gone and someone else's problem. When she realizes that a newly minted MD typically comes with 250k med school debt plus 200k undergrad debt, she will probably leave him.
You're in the Denver area? Me too in my senior year majoring in something completely different than accounting. Where are you getting your MS if I may ask? Been thinking about accounting for awhile since there's not much in my degree area.
I attend Metropolitan State University of Denver. The College of Business is accredited by AACSB, the same as CU Denver and DU. I have approximately a year and a half left until I graduate and I am being recruited by several top ten accounting firms in the area. I already have a summer internship for next year and am currently on my second interview for a winter internship at a different company.
The cost can't be beaten. Metro has a less prestigious reputation, but for me, the cheap tuition was too much of a draw. In the end, receiving your CPA is much more important than where you went to school else.
As I said, I have had little trouble receiving offers for internships at reputable firms. If you want more info about Metro, feel free to DM me.
I attend Metropolitan State University of Denver. The College of Business is accredited by AACSB, the same as CU Denver and DU. I have approximately a year and a half left until I graduate and I am being recruited by several top ten accounting firms in the area. I already have a summer internship for next year and am currently on my second interview for a winter internship at a different company.
The cost can't be beaten. Metro has a less prestigious reputation, but for me, the cheap tuition was too much of a draw. In the end, receiving your CPA is much more important than where you went to school else.
As I said, I have had little trouble receiving offers for internships at reputable firms. If you want more info about Metro, feel free to DM me.
Nice, I go to CU Denver (geography major) and was thinking of just staying here for the MS but thought that DU/Boulder would get more offers/opportunities, so it's nice to hear that that part isn't true. I'll check out Metro's program
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