More profitable major - Accountancy or Computer Science or Comp. Engineering

[Social_disturbance]

Wow - long title. Anyways...I did already get my bachelores in Communications and graduated last May, but kinda wanna eventually go back and do something more profitable. Its gonna be between Accountancy, Computer Science, or Computer Engineering. My brother is a CPA, so I know that there's a lot of money in accounting, but I wanna know about those other majors.

Also, are there any guys on here who are currently doing (or have done) CS or CE in college, or, if not, still work with computers - programming, software engineering, Net. Admin, etc.

Would very much appreciate your input. Thanks.

 

[handle]

Which one will you enjoy more...?

 

[DarthAngel707]

Go for the accounting degree. Its the shortest route provided you have good grades and your brother is already a CPA so he can always get you a job in his field. But be prepared to work 60-70 hours/ week. If you keep up your GPA and join Beta Alpha Psi or become an officer at your college's accounting club, you will be set for the Big Four and your future will be very bright. Good luck!

 

[AKA FLEX]

Provided you are good at what you do, you'll pull down awesome money with any of the three. Pick the one you can most see yourself doing the rest of your life.

 

[Rhoto]

Accountin will guarantee you employment forever. And at very, very good rates too.

 

[Social_disturbance]

Yeah, as I said, my brother is an accountant with about 3-4 years exp. (with a CPA license) and is making 65,000 dollars a year with good benefits. The only problem is do I want to live, sleep, and eat numbers? Guess I have to think about that for a while...So all of you think that Accounting is more profitable than CS and CE? Anyone here a programmer, software engineer, or in school majoring in it currently?

 

[ready123]

I was a CS major for a couple of years at a UC before I switched to Electrical Engineering. Object oriented programming is a skill that takes a while to get comfortable with. The subject matter is abstract and deep, especially when you get to data structures and beyond, and you will do a lot of programming projects which can take over 40 hours /wk to complete.

CE majors are supposed to be the best of both worlds (CS and engineering) and command a higher salary than either but after the dot com crash, you'll find that a lot of managers may opt to just hire regular engineers and train them on coding. From what I've seen, there is very little distinction between CE and EE in the working world.

All of those jobs make around 60k but can shoot to 6 figures if you're good. In the case of CE or CS, you'd want to get a Masters degree, which would take about the same amount of time to pass the CPA anyway. In accounting, you'd want to get into one of the big 4.

But if you're only in it for the money, which is what it looks like, go read this thread. There are examples of careers that pay higher than engineering and accounting here. for those willing to torture themselves with math who don't care about the type of application

 

[DarthAngel707]

yes, the thread that ready123 posted states that being a doctor or working on wall street are the highest paying jobs, whats new? But in terms of selectivity and difficulty these would also be the toughest and most demanding jobs to break into. People like wutang, a pseudo-elitist, like to pay lip service to those high-end jobs that he himself is not a part of. But in terms of being realistic and relatively respectable profession accounting is as good choice and CS is if your good. The accounting route is fast and almost every can do it.

 

[Chillisauce]

Look, if you can stand the work - Accounting is ****ing awesome!

My friend graduated 2 weeks ago and his first job out is $200,000 Australian a year and he is being sent to the US to train for 2 months. I'm graduating with terrible grades accounting as well but even with that i've landed a first job of 75k.

The problem is, it is terrible work. If you do not enjoy it, chances are you will never make it through the degree. Its the same reason plumbers can earn so much.. who wants to be handling **** all day?

 

[DarthAngel707]

$200,000 AUD = $192,243 USD

I don't know how they do it in Australia, but here in the U.S. that kind of money is only reserved for the partners in the accounting firm. The average for first year accountants in the US is $45,000 max. Tell your friend that he is full of sh*t and frankly you are as well ($75k claim for 1st year). Please don't mislead the OP with your stupid exaggerations. His brother's salary of $65,000 after being a CPA with 3-4 yrs of experience is quite accurate.

 

[Chillisauce]

Some people do better than you at university, deal with it. My friend is not full of **** but he did graduate with honors and very good grades. The degree he did was commerce and accounting, if you don't believe me i don't care .

 

[Rhoto]

$200,000 AUD = $192,243 USD

One of my really good buddies graduated 2 years ago from UCSB. He works for a large accounting firm here in San Francisco.

As an intern, he pulled $25/hr. "Easiest money I've ever made. Come in at 9, sit, be presentable, do your BS work, leave at 3, cash your check."

He became full time after graduating, starting at 75k, plus benefits, which included a $2000 monthly credit for rent (not a mortgage) and full medical.

He told me that he did 150k last year, but he is a really, like overly, humble guy. So I have no doubt he was near 200k, I mean the bastard just pushed him self to the top of the Nissan GT-R wait list in the Bay Area, not exactly cheap. He told me they're going to pay a portion of his grad school expense, as long as he stays with the company. Not a bad deal if you ask me.

No one really cares what you believe, because it has no bearing on what is.

 

[Chillisauce]

Just to clarify, i did not do a pure accounting degree nor follow on to do a CA or CPA. My primary major was International Business but the accountancy secondary major was a BIG bonus point for me getting a job in the Australian mining industry. Do some research and see how much even a laborer makes out in Western Australia mining towns please.

 

[DarthAngel707]

Ok, yes you guys can always mention anomalies but arguing from that standpoint is always the weakest. Yes, there will always be ppl much above that curve (ur friend) and people much below that curve (mentally disabled).

But if you look at my previous post I said the AVERAGE amount meaning 95% of the people who get into the accounting profession. Meaning that for every one person that you mention making $150,000+ their first year, there will be 9 other people with good grades that are making only $45,000 in their first year. In fact, most of my buddies in the Big Four accounting firms make this amount starting off. (U can see why I believed you were BSing if the most prestigious accounting firms don't even pay more than 50k for the first-timer.)

Another analogy is that just because Michael Jordan made more than $50 million per year with salary and endorsements doesn't mean all black guys who are 6'6" in the NBA will see that money. In statistics, he is an "outlier" or more than two standard of deviations away from the norm. And I understand in human nature, it is natural to point out the most prominent examples which, statistically speaking, are very rare.

Also, Im pleased to see, Rhoto, that you say that it is the reality for your friend which it is (I believe you), but of all your friends how many have the combination of talent, skill, and opportunity that your friend has? My guess is not that many.

 

[ready123]

Darth Angel's right. 60k is the median for a CPA - CPA applying to the US, not some other country. Big bucks are reserved for big 4 accountants who make partner. all my accountant friends who haven't passed the CPA exam only make about 40-50k annually here in CA, which given the standard of living, is barely enough to pay the mortgage on a small house

back to the OP, I'll add the CPA road is pretty hard. with a comm major, you're looking at a couple years of undergraduate accounting classes to qualify. then you have the CPA exam, which is 4 exams that all should be passed within 18 months. the pass rate is below 50%

which is like taking the law school bar exam. that's why, if you're in it for the money, explore other options. accounting, comp sci, and engineering are math heavy and rigorous and not easy. if you actually enjoy the math part, there are other areas you can study that pay better. applied math overlaps with some engineering and comp sci subjects (IE stochastic calculus) so if you wanted to be a quant and were good at math, it wouldn't be a stretch. if you enjoy engineering, going to law school to become a patent lawyer wouldn't be a stretch either. and other certified finance related professions (CFA, CFP) pay more than a CPA

so do some research and figure out why you're in it for

 

[Teflon_Mcgee]

Social Disturbance, I'm in the same problem as you only trying to decide on a grad degree.

My undergrad (which I'm close to finishing) degree is Elec. Eng. with a minor in CS.

I'm also doing all my tech electives in embedded systems, computer architecture, and digitial electronics.

That combined with a minor in comp sci might as well be a CE degree.

CS and EE are very closely related. In fact most degrees come from the same department (something like Electrical and Computer Engineering.)

I recommend you finish your engineering degree for one reason: versatility.

An accounting degree is good but remember you'll probably be stuck in accounting for ever.

Computer and electrical engineering are fields with huge scopes. Not only are there a million different areas you can go into, but you'll also have a large set of advanced technical skills.

Just your abilities in problem solving/analysis, modeling, and math make you valuable to alot of applications and open you up to many advanced degrees.

Be aware though, these fields take a substantial amount of work and if you really don't have an interest in them you'll find it miserable.

Computer Science is also a good degree but it suffers the same problem as accounting. You'll probably be stuck as a programmer for the majority of your career.

I can say that CS jobs are plentiful. I see way more CS jobs/internships than engineering and pay is comparable.

But remember, it's a small hop to go from being a CE or EE to programmer but then going the other way is virtually impossible without years of school.

 

[djtdot]

Social Disturbance, I'm in the same problem as you only trying to decide on a grad degree.

My undergrad (which I'm close to finishing) degree is Elec. Eng. with a minor in CS.

I'm also doing all my tech electives in embedded systems, computer architecture, and digitial electronics.

That combined with a minor in comp sci might as well be a CE degree.

CS and EE are very closely related. In fact most degrees come from the same department (something like Electrical and Computer Engineering.)

I recommend you finish your engineering degree for one reason: versatility.

An accounting degree is good but remember you'll probably be stuck in accounting for ever.

Computer and electrical engineering are fields with huge scopes. Not only are there a million different areas you can go into, but you'll also have a large set of advanced technical skills.

Just your abilities in problem solving/analysis, modeling, and math make you valuable to alot of applications and open you up to many advanced degrees.

Be aware though, these fields take a substantial amount of work and if you really don't have an interest in them you'll find it miserable.

Computer Science is also a good degree but it suffers the same problem as accounting. You'll probably be stuck as a programmer for the majority of your career.

I can say that CS jobs are plentiful. I see way more CS jobs/internships than engineering and pay is comparable.

But remember, it's a small hop to go from being a CE or EE to programmer but then going the other way is virtually impossible without years of school.

I second him. EE and CE engineers make good money. My friends got placed for 12 month internships at Actel(Mountain View), they are making 55 grand. And we have just finished our 3rd year. The company I am interning with now, if I go back I will make Canadian $60k/year. I am sure you can make that in USA too. So if you are thinking money, EE/CE is a very good degree to have.

And for versatility oh yeah baby!! In my university I can take courses from multiple areas. Infact in my 3rd and 4th year I have chosen my courses in such a way that I can apply for jobs ranging from electronics to power to communications to control system to computer hardware and computer networks. Ask whether your university allows you to take courses from multiple areas. Also enquire if your uni offers a joint MBA/engg degree. If no you can do an MBA after a couple of years of work experience and employers will value you for your analytical skill.s

 

[Chillisauce]

Ok, yes you guys can always mention anomalies but arguing from that standpoint is always the weakest. Yes, there will always be ppl much above that curve (ur friend) and people much below that curve (mentally disabled).

But if you look at my previous post I said the AVERAGE amount meaning 95% of the people who get into the accounting profession. Meaning that for every one person that you mention making $150,000+ their first year, there will be 9 other people with good grades that are making only $45,000 in their first year. In fact, most of my buddies in the Big Four accounting firms make this amount starting off. (U can see why I believed you were BSing if the most prestigious accounting firms don't even pay more than 50k for the first-timer.)

Another analogy is that just because Michael Jordan made more than $50 million per year with salary and endorsements doesn't mean all black guys who are 6'6" in the NBA will see that money. In statistics, he is an "outlier" or more than two standard of deviations away from the norm. And I understand in human nature, it is natural to point out the most prominent examples which, statistically speaking, are very rare.

Also, Im pleased to see, Rhoto, that you say that it is the reality for your friend which it is (I believe you), but of all your friends how many have the combination of talent, skill, and opportunity that your friend has? My guess is not that many.

You sent me a PM what the mining industry had to do with it, quite frankly 75k a year is a SMALL wage out here right now, all i ask is that you maybe ask some questions before insulting peoples integrity ok? . I agree its not as relevant to the OP but i still think accounting would be the most profitable option out of the ones given.

PS: if any of you have engineering degrees and can get a visa to Australia you can almost guarantee a 100k+ a year salary, we're that desperate for them at the moment.

 

[Effington]

My brother is a CPA and the first 4 or so years out of college were the brutal, 70+ hour weeks as described above. It paid off for him though, as he's raking it in. He's really smart, though.

I have kind of a general business degree (although a lot of technological background) and I am making more than he was at my age, and I work a straight 40 hours, and have time to slack off. In fact I make 15% more than he did, but he is also 11 years older than me, so adjust those #'s for inflation.

He's probably going to cap out higher than me, in fact I know he will because he's a ton smarter than me (he's currently the VP of Finance for a Fortune Top 20 company) but he's also worked a lot harder for it. I don't want to live my work but I make good enough money to live in a great part of town and have a decent place.

 

[Rhoto]

Also, Im pleased to see, Rhoto, that you say that it is the reality for your friend which it is (I believe you), but of all your friends how many have the combination of talent, skill, and opportunity that your friend has? My guess is not that many.

Actually most of them do. But my accounting friend is not spectacular by any means. He nearly failed out of school twice. He talked to the same recruiter some 1500+ other accounting majors did, and didn't get the internship the first 2 times. But he persisted.

Thats the biggest thing that separates success from failure. The resilience to carry on.