Associates v Bachelors in Accounting - Page 3

MightyNick · 10-25-2010, 10:04 PM

Sorry, I apologize for the misunderstanding. It just seemed like that's what you were trying to say in your post.

Everyone is in a different situation and for some people it makes sense to get a masters, and for some people it doesn't. In my case, I already have more than 120 credits at the undergrad level, but not 150. As a result, it would be cheaper for me to take credits piecemeal rather than go far a much more expensive Master's program. And honestly, I already have a job and getting a Master's won't mean much. The starting salaries for people that did get their master's were not that much higher than people who got the full time offer without a master's (think 1-1.5K difference...and who knows..that might be because of the location too). I also looked at the official stats on my school's website (starting salary, location etc) of MACC students starting full time next fall. The salaries weren't too different for people that got a Macc versus those that didn't.

Again, it depends what your situation is like and what ends up being the easiest and cheapest way to meet that 150 credit hour requirement.

mscott95 · 10-27-2010, 05:14 AM

That's true. But those who are making the outsourcing decisions are usually of higher education and higher levels. People making the outsource decisions are not going to outsource their own jobs, or any jobs close to them if they can help it. The easier your job is from an education standpoint, the more likely it is to have your job moved outside of the US. As long as your not required to do physical work here in the US.

mscott95 · 10-27-2010, 05:26 AM

I think it's a big mistake to do the work and not have the degree. All else being = , if I had to hire an accountant one has a CPA with a MS, the other has a CPA with a BS or BA, I'm going with the Masters candidate every time. I know the candidate has been instructed by CPA's or PHD's mostly and not adjunct instructors at a community college.

I don't think you can realistically say its even. Its not. Get the masters.

MightyNick · 10-27-2010, 08:27 AM

It doesn't really matter as long as you have the CPA. Most of the promotional decisions will be performance based anyway (and also based on whether or not you have the CPA, not masters).

a_mom · 10-27-2010, 12:00 PM

Quote:

if I had to hire an accountant one has a CPA with a MS, the other has a CPA with a BS or BA, I'm going with the Masters candidate every time.

You ignore the fact that, some of the MAcc majored in something else for under and had no choice but taking the master route to sit for the CPA exam. If you exam the actual courses they took in their accounting area, it's not more than a BS in Acct at all. Of course MS in Tax is another story.

sp1212 · 10-27-2010, 01:06 PM

Anyone who says that a MASTERS degree is worthless is brain dead. In the MAcc case, sure if a person has 150 credit hours from undergrad may choose to forgo the MAcc to work and obtain CPA designation, however anyone who does choose to enter the program and forgoes an annual salary should be commended. Masters degrees have value in the workplace.

MightyNick · 10-27-2010, 02:27 PM

It's worthless for some, not for others. It's worthless for people that have taken 24 accounting credits in undergrad (they already fulfill the acc requirement for the CPA). The forgone salary isn't even that much. 1-1.5 K. I can attest to that as my friend has a big 4 offer with a masters, and I have an offer without one. And we go to the same school. I've also heard similar stories from other students.

In nutshell: it's useful for someone that doesn't have an accounting background or someone that can afford a masters program. For others, not useful if they can get the credits elsewhere for cheaper (and have an undergrad acc background)

Toshtemirov · 10-27-2010, 02:57 PM

Yeah, I agree with Nick. I, personally, know people who are actually getting paid less with masters than other people who have only 150 credits. However, it definitely depends on where you work. For instance, there are some people who work at small accounting firms, and even though they have a masters, they are getting paid 45-50k. At the same time, other people, with only 150 credits or even less, are starting out at 55k. (big 4) This seems ridiculous, but it is true.

jonahrubin · 10-30-2010, 01:22 PM

Yeah, look at all those basketball players that get paid tons with only a GED. A Masters is obviously worthless.

If you want to work at job X, get the degree that gets you that job. If you can get it with only a bachelor's then fine. I don't think there's lots of people with great offers in hand who are turning them down because they want to get a Masters degree and then try to go after those same jobs. MightyNick has his offer but his friend might have not gotten one without his Masters. Obviously for him it was worth more than the extra 1000 dollars he gets over Nick. It's worth the extra 10000 he gets over the accounts payable clerk job he might have been offered last year but turned down in favor of grad school.

discoinferno · 06-17-2012, 05:18 AM

I know someone who easily got a job with an associates in accounting, in the back room at a truck stop. It grossed them out so much that they abandoned the field and went into nursing.

Look at it this way: Even if you do get a job with an associates degree, you will eventually end up going back for your bachelors degree in order to be eligible for promotion.

The post about CPAs with 19 years experience hitting a ceiling at $70k is gibberish. Ignore it. Those payscale/salary websites are great for really broad easily obtained statistics like which majors correlate to which entry-level salaries, but when they start trying to tell you what experienced professionals are earning mid-career it falls to pieces. I know patrol cops making $200,000 per year because of experience and promotions. A Big 4 CPA approaching retirement is making a heck of a lot more than $70k unless they intentionally turned down management offers.