business majors careers

When you ask high school seniors what they want to be, many will reply, “I want to work in business.” But, what exactly is business? In college, many business programs break down into marketing, management, finance, economics and accounting. Surely, it is difficult for high school students, who do not know the differences between the business majors to decide which major to go into. As a business student as West Chester University of Pennsylvania, who also was unsure of which major to focus on, I know the confusion that comes with picking a business major. After conducting outside research, shadowing someone in the field and taking two years of classes, it is apparent that accounting is the key to understanding business and becoming a successful business student. As a result, I encourage students who are unsure as to which major to apply as to consider accounting as a primary choice.

Firstly, I will discuss what exactly accounting is and dispel some of the rumors. The most common response when I encourage someone to major in accounting is that the individual is not good at math. However, accounting is not a math-related major. The highest level of mathematics used in accounting is multiplication and division. Accounting, in sum, is organization. It is the logical representation of a company’s finances. Furthermore, it allows a company to review their success and for external investors to make decisions as to which company to invest in. Certainly, accounting is the language of business and explains many of the nuances in the stock market and why one company succeeds and another fails. Definitely, accounting skills are important for an upcoming entrepreneur. Accounting can be broken up into financial accounting and cost accounting. In simplified terms, financial accountants create a publicly traded company’s financial statements so that they can be reviewed by investors. On the other hand, managerial accountants deal with internal issues of control and insure that a company will be profitable. Many aspire to work in financial accounting for the Big Four Auditors. The Big Four are Pricewaterhousecoopers, KPMG, Dilute Touche, and Ernst Young. Surely, these companies offer an employee prestige and great work experience. However to work a public accounting firm like the big four, one must obtain a CPA (Certified Public Accountant), by taking a series of exams after college. However, with a CPA, a student can open many doors of opportunity.

With an accounting degree, a student has the opportunity to work in varying lines of business. For example, I shadowed the controller of Rita’s Water Ice. The controller is the manager of the accountants and I was lucky enough to spend a day observing his daily work. It was this day that encouraged me to become an accounting major. While the controller of Rita’s Water Ice is responsible for the creation of financial statements of the company and for insuring internal controls, this line of work offered a creative environment focused on a great product. In addition, a cost accountant is a key component of any organization, as they are the go-to-person for many financial decisions. No matter one’s interest, accounting may be the key to being in a business that you really care about. For example, if you like playing guitar, you can use your accounting degree to work with Gibson Guitar Company or if you like watching football, you can help create the financial statements for your favorite professional football team. Certainly, the accounting field offers a wide range of experiences that reach far beyond just adding up numbers.

While accounting offers many great experiences, it also pays well. According to scholarships.com, accounting is the 6th highest paying major right out of college. Surely, the average salary of an individual with an accounting degree varies, but it has been reported that the average auditing manager earns $105,387 annually, while the average cost accounting manager earns $91,103 annually. From a financial perspective, accounting is a great opportunity for a college graduate to begin earning a suitable income.

As can be seen, accounting offers many opportunities for a prospective business student. Firstly, it provides the language and basics of business and helps a business student understand the workings of the economy as a whole. Also, it offers different routes to career success. While public accounting at the Big Four Auditors offers prestige and great experience, cost accounting allows one to observe the internal controls of a company and be the go to person for financial advice at a company. While accounting is a career that pays well, it offers many opportunities for advancement. For these reasons, it makes it clear as to what business major to choose.

About the Author:

I am a sophmore Accounting student at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Key to Success as a Business Major

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