Accounting class oh my!

[xXI GaMe IXx]

Started my first Accounting class and oh my this stuff can really make your head spin. We just finished chapter one in class and 5 people have already dropped out. Its really getting confusing, but I'm managing to get the hang of it well at least the first chapter. I got an A on my first test, so I'm happy. I had to make a income statement, balance sheet, and statement of owners equity with the data provided.

Any Accountants here? How do you like it?

[Jud64209]

Evening! First off, congrats on the A!

I am not an accountant "yet". I have a Bachelors in Finance and I'm currently going to school to get a Bachelors in Accounting, and then I'll be going for my Masters so I can become a CPA.

But so far, I love my accounting classes and I feel this is the right career path for me.

What about you? Are you just taking this acct class as a requirement for a business degree or are you considering accounting as a major and a possible career future?

I can tell you, without a doubt, that Accounting is an excellent field to get into. The demand for skilled accountants with college degrees is very high right now.

I know there are accountants here on the forums, and I'm sure some of them will also give you some feedback as well

[AnimalChin]

I've been a practicing accountant for over ten years. I know it can be overwhelming at first but once the "light goes on" you'll be fine, hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. I do agree, it's a great field, it's almost recession proof since regardless of the economy you have to file taxes and (depending on the type of company) file monthly and quarterly financial statements.

[supersix4]

This is when you've gotta push yourself bro. Had I know done so in the intro courses and just tried to "get by" I'd be majorly screwed with the advanced stuff I'm taking now.


Give it 110% and you'll be saying thank god later on.

[blurayisnice]

That's basic stuff. I had some problems with accounting and statistics too.
But then I realized I was the problem, not the accounting tests or the statistics tests. I mean, I went to 1 out of 20 classes and spend 3 hours studying it (2 days before the test).

So there was only 1 chance left, if I didn't passed that one, I would have been kicked out. So I decided to study like I used to do. Spend maybe 20 hours to cover everything I missed and guess what... I had the highest mark lol.

It's only hard if you don't keep up with it. I was too busy watching movies and buying steelbooks during that period .

(I didn't go to classes because I passed all other tests easily without going to the classes. But accounting and statistics is a different story, I didn't realized that at the time ).

[Blackshield]

Cool,

I've been thinking of looking into a career change in the near future. I run my own roofing company but it's pretty back breaking work. Its been great as it is fairly recession proof also ad I alway's have lots of work. I do all my own books right now and haven't had any issues with it; plus I excelled at math and physics in high school. Have been thinking accounting might be a future alternative as I have several months a year I can work on it, possible night school or something.

Originally Posted by AnimalChin

I've been a practicing accountant for over ten years. I know it can be overwhelming at first but once the "light goes on" you'll be fine, hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. I do agree, it's a great field, it's almost recession proof since regardless of the economy you have to file taxes and (depending on the type of company) file monthly and quarterly financial statements.

[xXI GaMe IXx]

Is there anything you guys can suggest I start doing to gain some experience under my belt?


I dont want to get my Bachelors and be stuck because I have no experience.

[blurayisnice]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Is there anything you guys can suggest I start doing to gain some experience under my belt?


I dont want to get my Bachelors and be stuck because I have no experience.

Make your own website and buy things from yourself. Make huge profits, getting your tax back etc. :P

[AnimalChin]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Is there anything you guys can suggest I start doing to gain some experience under my belt?


I dont want to get my Bachelors and be stuck because I have no experience.

You could intern somewhere, I'm sure your school has some programs like that. I'd recommend working at a smaller firm, I learned a lot more at the smaller places than I did at the big firms. I'd also look for a firm that does audit as well as tax. There a lot of companies that must be audited annually and it can be big portion of any accounting firm

[xXI GaMe IXx]

I'm at a crossroad right now because I have two options

1. Continue with my Associates in Accounting and when I graduate next year transfer to a local university.

2 Continue an Associates in General arts and transfer to University of Nebraska and continue with a Bachelors in Accounting.

I wanted to do option 2, but when I get my Associates I wont be able to get any work in Accounting since its a General Arts Associates. If I go with Route 1 I can at least look for some Accounting work since I will have an Associates in Accounting. Both Colleges are really good except the option 2 route will have me driving 20 min more.

[Drew664]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

I'm at a crossroad right now because I have two options

1. Continue with my Associates in Accounting and when I graduate next year transfer to a local university.

2 Continue an Associates in General arts and transfer to University of Nebraska and continue with a Bachelors in Accounting.

I wanted to do option 2, but when I get my Associates I wont be able to get any work in Accounting since its a General Arts Associates. If I go with Route 1 I can at least look for some Accounting work since I will have an Associates in Accounting. Both Colleges are really good except the option 2 route will have me driving 20 min more.

As a hiring manager I can tell you that at least for me, experience far out weighs education. Best case scenario is you have both which option 1 provides. 5 years from now, your education will only be a footnote on your resume, and real world experience will be the focus as it should.

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by xXI GaMe IXx

Started my first Accounting class and oh my this stuff can really make your head spin. We just finished chapter one in class and 5 people have already dropped out. Its really getting confusing, but I'm managing to get the hang of it well at least the first chapter. I got an A on my first test, so I'm happy. I had to make a income statement, balance sheet, and statement of owners equity with the data provided.

Any Accountants here? How do you like it?

I graduated in Accounting, took the CPA exam, and should get my CPA license soon after I fullfull a certain amount of work experience.

Accounting class is a lot of work. It's not so much hard, it's just a lot of work. This is something that requires you to take things seriously. You need to do a lot of practice problems and you need to study very hard for tests.... and I mean VERY hard. And the amount of studying will multiply by 100 if you decide to take the CPA exam, which I strongly recommend as it makes you more marketable when you're a CPA.

Those people that dropped out are just lazy and don't care about doing all the work. Many people in my college dropped out claiming they did so much work and still failed, yet they liked to show up for class without completing the homework assignment. Not good.

The good news is, it gets easier. The first Accounting class is overwhelming because you're just getting introduced to the subject. But once you get used to how things work, it shouldn't be too bad..... provided you do the work!!!

[West E]

Man, I have a lot of respect for accountants. Took 2 accounting classes as part of my masters and it was clearly not one of my strengths.

As far as experience, internships will definitely help get you hired. Paid or unpaid jump at them right now. You might even land a job where you're interning. Good luck to you!

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by AnimalChin

I've been a practicing accountant for over ten years. I know it can be overwhelming at first but once the "light goes on" you'll be fine, hopefully it happens sooner rather than later. I do agree, it's a great field, it's almost recession proof since regardless of the economy you have to file taxes and (depending on the type of company) file monthly and quarterly financial statements.

It's not exactly "recession proof." Many CPA firms lost a lot of clients due to so many businesses collapsing. So they have fewer clients now than before the recession. That means, less people to hire and less need for accountants. However, it is still easier to get a job in Accounting in this tough time compared to other fields. But it's still tougher than it was before because of the recession.