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What do I do with an A.A. in Accounting? What is my life going to be?

raz

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So, people have been asking me this question lately and I've really been going by the plan of, "I'll just see what happens." After what I've gone through with personal issues with bipolar in the last few years, I'm happy to just finish a college degree, especially with a 4.0 GPA so far.

I'm finishing this degree at the end of the Fall '12 semester. What have i learned from all these classes? I don't want to be a CPA. I've went to AICPA meetings, I've taken numerous classes, talked to teachers, and other people in the MAcc program. The CPA life just doesn't look appealing to me. I've had no issue with all my classes and I understand the financial accounting fine. I'm just not that excited when I'm in the classes for it.

My Income Tax class was interesting the first few weeks, but when I got around to filling out tax forms, I wanted to retch. However, when I've taken Managerial Accounting and Business Finance, I felt like I was falling in love with my classes. They spoke out to me and I understood everything and it all seemed like common sense, which is why I'm taking Cost Accounting this Fall and looking forward to it. Although, we got to the final part of the Intermediate class today and I was correcting the teacher's errors on Statement of Cash Flows.

So, where does this leave me in 2013? By the time I graduate, I'll have 5 years experience of working in retail clothing. When I talked to a girl that was applying at a bank a few days ago, she suggested applying there, since my retail experience combined with the degree will be a big boost up. The college offers co-op programs, but I've had difficult signing up for them due to working full-time and I'm already taking 2 classes this Summer and 3 in the Fall.

I'm not looking for instant answers. This is just where I've landed myself academically, and now I've got to brainstorm on where to go from here. I still have time, I think.
 

Giggly

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I hated Managerial Accounting. :sick:

As for what you can do with an AA, of course there is bookkeeping or being an accounting assistant. You could also work for a bank in operations. Banks love accounting majors.

Personally, I would recommend getting the CPA, but if you don't want more education, I'm sure you know your school counseling office will have more career suggestions.
 

raz

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I've been told so much about preparation, costs, and the examination for the CPA. It makes me want to turn around and run away at 500 mph toward a brick wall like Wile E. Coyote.
 

FDG

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Well, accounting is a dreadful and boring profession, but realtively secure. I just think anyone going for that path should have take this into consideration?

If you prefer something more "dynamic", you might want to go for "shop manger" or similar positions. Oftentimes a knowledge of accounting is of great advantage.
 

Snoopy22

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An employer may have questions as to why you have an AA degree and not an AS (with concerns as to why you did not complete a 4-year degree). I’m not a prognosticator, so your life goes wherever you take it.
There are too many CPAs around, possibly limiting your ability to recoup the investment you put into your education (check out the, I hate my job site on some of the problems young accountants experience with many of the big corporations).
A lower degree could help you in more common accounting jobs.
I’ve known people with no accounting degree who have bookkeeping services, but their risk of an unpredictable pay stream is greater.

I find making Excel spreadsheets and digging around QuickBooks interesting, but it’s not for everyone.
 

Munchies

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wtf is an anti aircracft of accounting u crazzzzzzzzzy
 

Istbkleta

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a bank a few days ago, she suggested applying there, since my retail experience combined with the degree will be a big boost up.

If u go for a bank go HQ, not branch. Or just don't go at all.
 

raz

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I didn't know one word responses like that were allowed. News to me.
 

Haight

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Accounting is for people that like to organize things. If that's not you, then you have chosen a career that you are not going to like.

To the second point: It seems that you like the management aspect of accounting; hence, get a bachelors in management.

Lastly, you stated that you don't find the CPA's life appealing. What is a CPA's life?
 

raz

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Accounting is for people that like to organize things. If that's not you, then you have chosen a career that you are not going to like.

To the second point: It seems that you like the management aspect of accounting; hence, get a bachelors in management.

Lastly, you stated that you don't find the CPA's life appealing. What is a CPA's life?

After taking a dozen accounting specific classes, I can safely say that accounting isn't merely for "people who like to organize things." There is much analysis, critical thinking to understand specific situations, understanding of the principles and framework, and mathematical analysis for understanding of relationships between all sorts of numbers. Maybe when I started I would've gone along with that stereotype, but it's not. I'm not really sure at this point what parts of it I do like. The courses I took that I enjoyed the most that made me want to pursue it when I wasn't required to was Payroll, Managerial, Business Finance, and Quickbooks.

When I got to the part of working on doing the payroll for a company by keeping track of the general ledger, spreadsheet calculations, and how to treat each situation, I found myself working on the project 2-3 weeks before the due date. Managerial and Business Finance pulled me in because it was no longer about keeping track of journal entries. The person who understood the mathematical relationships did the best, and I had the highest grades in the class. Quickbooks was just understanding how to use the software, and I caught on to it faster than most of the class. I ended up finishing my assignments weeks early and helped the rest of the class in the computer lab.

In regard to what a CPA life is, when I think of it, the first thing that comes to mind is the examination and preparation process. I've learned a lot about the cost, which is 1-5k depending how you prepare. Yeah, I know the cost is recouped in the jobs it allows you to get. People I've spoke to said preparation is basically putting your personal life on hold for a year. I'm just not sure I can handle that. As for on the job, I'll admit that even though I do enjoy the courses and understand it, I tend to get scared off by the other people in my classes who are so tightly wound, intensely structured, and think things are supposed to go exactly specifically a certain way. Most are ISFJs and ISTJs like the accountant field draws, and I am an ISTJ myself, but I don't see myself like that. Are my coworkers going to be like that?

In the end, I do enjoy it, and I do constantly understand the material, probably better than some classmates, but I'm just having a lot of second thoughts. I originally went toward this degree because honestly I was afraid to commit to a bachelor's. By the time I realized what I had done with that decision, I was just like, I'll finish it and see what my options are when I finish. As a CPA, I've looked at tax work from taking my first tax class, and while I like trying to bend the rules, it just didn't feel right. For anything else, I'm seeing a lot of muddling around things like Quickbooks or Peachtree, and just going through transactions and being hired for analysis.

When I took Managerial and Business Finance, my instructor saw how amazing I was doing and told me I needed to be looking into Finance. With an Associate's in Accounting, I couldn't see much of an option without losing a lot of credits. I guess at this point I just need to look and see where I want to go in this field or similar fields and see what kind of education I'll need. Becoming a CMA looked enticing, but that'd require going for a bachelor's. The University of Greensboro offers a program to up Associates in Accounting to Bachelors, but it's 1.5 hours away and I'd have to consider moving and retaking several classes on top of about 50-60 extra credits.
 

Haight

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After taking a dozen accounting specific classes, I can safely say that accounting isn't merely for "people who like to organize things." There is much analysis, critical thinking to understand specific situations, understanding of the principles and framework, and mathematical analysis for understanding of relationships between all sorts of numbers. Maybe when I started I would've gone along with that stereotype, but it's not.
Alright, well . . . it looks like you know a lot more about accounting than I do.

But as someone that knows less about the field than you do, I find it hard to believe that you have to take a dozen classes in your major in order to get an AA. Are you sure you didn't mean a "half a dozen"?

Oh, and most accountants are ISTJs. You'll have to trust me on that.
 

raz

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Alright, well . . . it looks like you know a lot more about accounting than I do.

But as someone that knows less about the field than you do, I find it hard to believe that you have to take a dozen classes in your major in order to get an AA. Are you sure you didn't mean a "half a dozen"?

Oh, and most accountants are ISTJs. You'll have to trust me on that.

I guess it depends on what constitutes accounting classes, but i have taken:

Financial accounting 1
Financial accounting 2
Intermediate accounting 1
Intermediate accounting 2
Managerial accounting
Payroll accounting
Ethics in accounting
Accounting spreadsheets

Taken a Quickbooks class, taking a peachtree class in the fall and cost accounting.
 

Haight

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That's hard to believe since a BS in accounting requires less that a dozen accounting classes.

For example, there isn't a Financial Accounting II class, since that is Intermediate I; and I have never heard of separate classes for payroll, and "Accounting Ethics," and spreadsheets. Payroll should be part of Intermediate II and a bit of Taxation, Ethics is a business, lower division class - not specific to accounting, and "Accounting Spreadsheets" should be part of Information Systems, since it sounds like an Excel class, which is the prereq to Accounting Information Systems I. If you actually took that many accounting classes, you could have taken the same amount and received a BS. So either you are exaggerating, that programs blows, or your counselor is making a commission.

Given this list, you are an accounting clerk. And since you like Quickbooks, you could get a 30-35k job at a bookkeeping shop. Or, you could work as a Biller for a law firm or an engineering firm. Or as a Payroll Clerk for some large corporation. Outside of that it's more school.
 

raz

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Well, Financial II for us is more of a rehash of Financial 1. I barely learned anything new and it was a review before I took Intermediate I in the Fall. The only difference with Intermediate I've seen is that it's 3 classes at other schools. My Intermediate teacher basically said that Intermediate III would be the appendices of the Intermediate book put into one class. We skimmed over Payroll slightly concerning current liabilities and such, but Payroll Accounting went far into depth on labor laws, regulations on pay, what constitutes wages, how deductions work, etc etc etc. At the end was a project where we emulated the form writing, journalizing, and spreadsheet entries for a small business over the course of 6 months and the end of the year. As for spreadsheets, I've taken a computer class, which fell short on me since I've used computers since elementary school. It barely showed Excel in the lab portion. The accounting spreadsheet class went over various examples of entering financial statements into Excel. Not that complex though.

It sounds like there are singular classes for accounting information systems, which is new to me. I'm actually taking an information systems and internal controls class right now that just focuses on explaining how the various methods work and glosses over internal controls. Are you saying me having to take a separate Accounting Information Systems, Accounting Spreadsheets, Software Applications (Quickbooks) and Software Applications 2 (Peachtree) would be incorporated into one class in a 4 year program? I'm taking Individual Taxes now and Business in the Fall, which is one book, and the school is already looking to combine it into one class.
 

Haight

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No, it would be two semesters. However, it's about Oracle, PeopleSoft, Deltek, etc. Higher level accounting informations systems, if you will. Once you learn that, lower level system are easily learned over the course of a weekend rather than a semester.

Plus, the intermediate series is forcing an Excel project into the curriculum every semester so that students will be competent upon graduation.

Either way, I'm just saying that you are taking a lot of unnecessary classes when you could have spent the same amount of time (more difficult, of course) chasing a BS. But I imagine you have your reasons and probably know that.
 

raz

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The job I have now actually uses Peoplesoft for the human resources end of the ERM on the employee side. I'm wondering now if that experience using it will be something worth noting on a resume.
 

Chaotic Harmony

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The job I have now actually uses Peoplesoft for the human resources end of the ERM on the employee side. I'm wondering now if that experience using it will be something worth noting on a resume.

You always want to note any software systems used at previous/current jobs. We use Oracle/Banner here, so I add that to my resume. Being in the higher education field, it's always a plus to add that since many colleges/universities use it... And it's always appealing to hire someone who is familiar with the system that won't need as much training... Unfortunately, my previous job never managed to get Peoplesoft up and running before I left, so I couldn't add that to my resume.

Being in higher education I get the differences between the AA/AS and the BA/BS. An accounting degree here requires 67 credit hours... And at the university it is around 112 credit hours (50 of them being their university core curriculum). Usually, an AA/AS doesn't have as much core curriculum as the university does. A lot of times people will graduate with their AA/AS and use that degree to get a foot in the door while they work on their BA/BS. Depending on the company, some will even offer tuition assistance while working on your BA/BS. It really just depends on what you want to do with it.
 
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