help~which one to choose?

last SG · 2009-06-15T00:20:26+00:00

Brian of the East- Sums up the idea pretty well. Have you decided on what you want to pick up yet? havnt........maybe acca bah, havnt make up my mind yet &g...

MeowMe SG

Hi guys! hope u can help me to solve my prob...

im graduated from poly (hospitality course) and wanna switch to another industry for my degree. im thinking of accounting or financial management....

i have talked to my poly friends, and they r having the same question as i do......most of them change their majors for degree....some to marketin, some to biz mgt,,,some still considering.

I don't really know what's the difference btw accounting and finance, i mean what kind of job i could do? which one has better prospects??

please drop me ur opinions!!! TIA~

Ptky1010 SG

Generally financial management has more wider career choices.
Accounting is a very specialized subject, which consist of many varies departments.

Bank sector requires anyone of these certification.

Jobs prospect for Accounting includes :

Big 4 firm (KPMG, E&Y, Deloitte, Pricewaterhouse) -Travel oppportunity
Accounting firms (Auditors)
All companies will require accountants, job security is high.

If you do intend to pick up finance or accounting, my advice to you would be to aim for CPA or CFA - (taken part-time usually about 2 years average)
Holding this higher qualification your job security is certain and you'll be in the upper tier.

Finance is mainly Banking sector, investment, SGX, etc.

In singapore, the trend of local students switching to business courses are very common, especially those who decide to switch during University time. Recently i have a friend who just graduated as an architect (very prestige profession to me). Before she even start her first job, she already made up her mind to join the investment sector.
Her architect certificate is her back up only.

Point is, you have to decide now, what you would like to do after you graduate.. will you be like my friend who studied something for 3 years just to end up being a back up plan. Or something relevent to your future job?

Study the enviroment, singapore is a country dependent on foreign talent. Why? Because profession like engineering/manufacturing are not popular in singapore.

You should study the courses that you really want, not be influenced by your friends.
Another thing you should ask yourself is..

Are you the 8-5 person? Do you inspire to be your own boss?
Will you be able to manage and lead people? Or you prefer to have a leader instead?

Identify your needs first, then ur interest, then the courses that you want.

*Money important? If yes join the banking sector.. etc.. hospitality degree cert dun pay well

Okay, this is long enough.

MaNyZeR SG

well you can change course.... but if you do not have the basics, it will be tough for you... but i think it does not matter much as in uni you can take some modules to bridge the gap.

You must work harder if you want to succeed in your new course in uni. Just go for it. However, you might take note that the uni might not want to accept you because you are a poly student with no background in the course. So do take note of this.

It is not easy to enter nus and ntu finance, acct and business courses.

Ptky1010 SG

well you can change course.... but if you do not have the basics, it will be tough for you... but i think it does not matter much as in uni you can take some modules to bridge the gap.

It is not easy to enter nus and ntu finance, acct and business courses.

Go oversea if you can't get into local univ.

MeowMe SG

Generally financial management has more wider career choices.
Accounting is a very specialized subject, which consist of many varies departments.

Bank sector requires anyone of these certification.

Jobs prospect for Accounting includes :

Identify your needs first, then ur interest, then the courses that you want.

*Money important? If yes join the banking sector.. etc.. hospitality degree cert dun pay well

Okay, this is long enough.

thx a lot Ptky1010! its really helpful to me~

i nvr heard abt cpa before...cfa is good but they needs degree holders to apply which im not eligible for =(

one of the reasons i dont wanna work in hospitality is bcoz the night shift, so i prefer those 9-5/6 jobs,,,,jus wondering is acct very dry and boring? u hav to face the computer and figures all the time and work alone?? i like to interact wif ppl, tt's why i chose hospitality in the 1st place....anyway, thx again~

MeowMe SG

well you can change course.... but if you do not have the basics, it will be tough for you... but i think it does not matter much as in uni you can take some modules to bridge the gap.

It is not easy to enter nus and ntu finance, acct and business courses.

yes MaNyZeR u r right, thank u for the reply.

i think there's no way for me to get into local U, especially acct or finance....abit regret i nvr choose JC but Poly haiz...

i always wanna go US not maybe not now, so probably private uni in this case. jus havnt decide the major yet.

dkcx SG

thx a lot Ptky1010! its really helpful to me~

i nvr heard abt cpa before...cfa is good but they needs degree holders to apply which im not eligible for =(

Accountancy is a very dry job and if you like to interact with people, accountancy is definitely not for you since all you face are numbers and figures and many accountants don't work for long due to the stress of the job.

dkcx SG

well you can change course.... but if you do not have the basics, it will be tough for you... but i think it does not matter much as in uni you can take some modules to bridge the gap.

It is not easy to enter nus and ntu finance, acct and business courses.

All business courses take in people from any diploma and does not require background. However, business courses generally have relatively high grade profiles regardless whether you go JC or poly. They are always 1 of the most popular courses in unis.

cassie SG

At the end of day, it’s what you wanna do, career wise. No point doing something you have zero interest coz you probably have 20 yrs of worklife, notwithstanding you can switch later. And you can’t flit from job to job.

Fugazzi SG

Do what u love doing - money is relative always, and when u are good at it n u will be cos u love it - u may find yourself not working at all! Only thing u may need to know - be secure within and not only at work, but other areas of life - u will handle.

parn SG

Hi guys! hope u can help me to solve my prob...

im graduated from poly (hospitality course) and wanna switch to another industry for my degree. im thinking of accounting or financial management....

i have talked to my poly friends, and they r having the same question as i do......most of them change their majors for degree....some to marketin, some to biz mgt,,,some still considering.

I don't really know what's the difference btw accounting and finance, i mean what kind of job i could do? which one has better prospects??

please drop me ur opinions!!! TIA~

Before that, tell us what's your strengths first?

What are you gifted in life? You must have your own gift/talent in yourself, be it really silly or you think little of it, please let us know and we can surely do out best to suggest something which you could put your gift/talent to good use.

But please don't tell us anything like you're good in bed or anything nonsense if you want real advice and also not to get yourself burnt badly by flames later.

MeowMe SG

i see......this part really annoys me, im good at maths but not very sure if i can handle the dry work. >.<

dkcx SG

i see......this part really annoys me, im good at maths but not very sure if i can handle the dry work. >.<

How about being a maths teacher :p You will be interacting with people everyday and you can teach maths

Brian of the East SG

seriously... do what you like to do. Look into yourself. What can you do on hours at a stretch without feeling sick and tired? Can you do that for at least a year?

I'm an accountancy grad, stayed 2 years with a big 4 co and now working as an accountant and will be getting my CPA soon. I picked this route cos of the money and it's kinda fast track given the high pay increments in big 4 (not anymore in this economy though).

I work day in day out, tried to rationalize why i picked this path but i would still suffer from bouts of depression time to time. In the end... I was never really a happy person. Yes, I am making more money than most of my peers but I always feel suffocated in this industry. I don't feel any passion towards my job and it sickens me to realise that I am wasting my precious time on nothing. I am now making plans to get out of the rut that I've landed myself in.

I hope that my experience can give you a glimpse into the future you might face.

MeowMe SG

yeah, passion is always important. have to take this step carefully.

thx!

dkcx SG

seriously... do what you like to do. Look into yourself. What can you do on hours at a stretch without feeling sick and tired? Can you do that for at least a year?

I hope that my experience can give you a glimpse into the future you might face.

Sad but this is what i hear from many accountancy students who went on to accountancy films to work.

MeowMe SG

money always matters, and i have to find the balance point btw it and my own interests/strenghs.

cassie SG

I studied accounting but never worked in any of the “Big 4s” or did accounting work. I used it as a foundation for my work – credit research then and deal structuring now.

MeowMe SG

seriously... do what you like to do. Look into yourself. What can you do on hours at a stretch without feeling sick and tired? Can you do that for at least a year?

I hope that my experience can give you a glimpse into the future you might face.

hi Brian of the East! ur post really makes me think more of wot i really love to do...and i feel happy for u that u find ur true passion!!! go for it!!!

p/s: do u knw the difference btw cfa, cpa and acca??

MeowMe SG

I studied accounting but never worked in any of the “Big 4s” or did accounting work. I used it as a foundation for my work – credit research then and deal structuring now.

hmm...i know a lot ppl didnt end up doing wot they studied in sch =) tt's kinda common huh.....u know we had our internship, and most of my friends r saying it is sth very helpful bcoz it let us know wot (jobs) we dont like and wont do it again ,,,haha