I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any advice?

[SmoothieX]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

Congrats Snapaloud and Lindley!

Snap - You'll be going to school a few towns away from where I live. Where abouts in Mass are you from?

Getting a master's is never a bad thing. I have one in engineering from a few years back. Not only will getting one give you a leg up on folks, but it may help you get licensed quicker.

I sat for the Professional Engineer's exam a year early because they counted my master's (got it while working full time) as a year of experience. And in a few years you won't be able to get a PE license without a master's or equivalent 30 credits of work. If the CPA license is at all like that, you'll be in the driver's seat.

 

[firehawk12]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

Congratulations!

other advice:

- Make sure the departmental secretary knows who you are- and make sure you are on her/his good side.
- Volunteer for committees within your department so faculty get to know you, and know you are serious.
- Join whatever professional organization represents accounting, then join a lesser, more specialized one too.
- Be accounting's representative on Graduate Student Senate.
- Is there a student group for accounting? You're in it.

These things all pay off when you are looking for a job, internship or a PhD program. They don't even take up that much time.

My only thing about doing all that extra-curricular stuff is that it's great for making contacts, but it ultimately doesn't lead to anything - unless you're interested in pursuing a future in academia.
It's sort of like how joining the debate team probably doesn't help you get into Harvard even though people who are on the debate team like to think that it will.
That said, if the intention IS to get into a PhD program and ultimately into a teaching position... then by all means, you'll probably need all those department contacts. Otherwise, you're probably best served by actually working as an intern accountant at a firm or something... assuming that you aren't already working as an accountant already.

I guess the only thing that might throw a wrinkle in that thinking is that business departments might be well connected with the corporate world... especially since many of these departments areponsored by big banks or accountancy firms. But even then, I'm not sure if it's worth playing the department politics on the off chance that a prof knows someone at some bank you want to work at.

Where are you studying? I hope to take my MA to PhD program in a year or two.

I did my MA in Ottawa and I'm doing my PhD in Guelph. I'm so bitter and cynical about English Lit isn't not even funny.

 

[Snaploud]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

I'll have to think a lot about how involved I want to be in extra-curriculars...

I was extremely involved in such activities during undergrad (student council, residence hall association, faculty administration, etc.), but the downside was that my 20-30 hours a week of unpaid extracurricular work tended to be difficult to explain on a resume or job application. I never got the paid work experience, and it's made my job search more difficult.

Snap - You'll be going to school a few towns away from where I live. Where abouts in Mass are you from?

I grew up in Lexington and am currently living in northern Waltham.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

I think the extra-curriculars vary in importance for whatever subject matter you're going into. If you plan to stay in academics then it is probably a great idea.

However, I'm beginning to think that all this extra stuff matters very little. People always said that if you didn't "get involved" in high school, you wouldn't be able to get into college. I did nothing of consequence in high school except study hard and I got in to my college and got a full ride scholarship. They said that if you didn't do this stuff in college it would be hard to get into grad school. But really, no one cared about that stuff, they just wanted to see my grades and my test scores.

However, I think there are some subjects, like business or teaching or politics, where it makes a big difference. I don't know about accounting though.

 

[Daedalus12]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

^ Extracurricular activities help you to network which is very important when you are out of academia.

 

[firehawk12]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

Which is probably the only practical thing that you really get out of doing that kind of "after school" school. I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, but it's probably better to focus on finishing as soon as possible first.

 

[Snaploud]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

I appear to qualify for student activities (like the graduate student association) by just being registered for one class, so that does leave open some options. Apparently, I may only have to take ten courses for my degree, though I might add on an extra elective or two...

 

[Smiley]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

Grad school classes are not that different from regular college classes. The same techniques that were successful in attaining your bachelor's degree will still apply now.

One piece of advice: make sure that you get into good teams for group projects, and always have a contingency plan if someone is not pulling their weight.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

I just got my Masters degree last weekend.

Congratulations!

Will you begin trying to kill The Doctor immediately, or will you take some time off first?

 

[Lindley]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

Time off. Although I am expecting to become John Simm any day now.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

My classes are actually really different in grad school. They always have 15 people or less (as opposed to about 30 in undergraduate) and it is all about discussion, no lectures whatsoever. But I would think this would vary for different subjects. I am doing History by the way.

 

[firehawk12]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

I guess it depends. In English, the 4th year/senior classes are seminars so the transition from undergrad to grad wasn't all that difficult.

The flip side is that grad science classes still seem to be lecture based, just with fewer people.

 

[Snaploud]

Re: I just got accepted into grad school!! (Accounting Degree) Any adv

It looks as if my degree will actually only take 10 courses (though, I might add on an extra elective or two).

Thanks for all the kudos/advice, everybody! I contacted the Student Government Association president to ask if there would be anything I could help them with...