Accounting degree or buisness degree?

[me]

Is an accounting degree a better choice over a business
degree even if not necessarily wanting to be an
"accountant" per se?

I had a friend tell me to get an accounting degree
rather than a business degree because "an accounting
degreed person can be a business man but a business man
can NOT be an accountant".

Would you agree? Accounting degree have more "esteem
even for getting such jobs as production manager or
shipping supervisor where one wont be crunching numbers
daily?

 

[Paul Thomas, CPA]

Is an accounting degree a better choice over
a business degree even if not necessarily
wanting to be an "accountant" per se?

I had a friend tell me to get an accounting
degree rather than a business degree
because "an accounting degreed person
can be a business man but a business man
can NOT be an accountant".

Would you agree? Accounting degree have
more "esteem even for getting such jobs as
production manager or shipping supervisor
where one wont be crunching numbers daily?

You are assuming that a production manager or shipping supervisor doesn't
have to write reports that account for production and shipping, many of
which include numbers, charts, graphs, etc. And you also assume that will
be the extent of your advancement. You could be right, or you could be
wrong.

You could go with a management degree of some sort. Some schools have
"specialized" areas of study, and take a few extra accounting courses as
electives if accounting isn't what you want to do - but maybe management is.

The more varied background and history of experiences you have the better
suited you are for a wide variety of opportunities.

 

[ChoppedRebel]

I mostly agree with Paul on this. However, there are a lot of people with general business degrees who are having a hard time finding work.

My undergraduate degree is in accounting but I thought adding and MBA to my resume would broaden my horizons. I was wrong there. Companies are looking for people with experience in their field or a more specialized degree. I would recommend that you seriously consider what you want to do and then focus heavily on that one thing. This is just my experience/ 2 cents.

Please keep us updated on what you decide to do!

 

[Varunjain]

Based on your interest and what drives you, you should go about making a decision on the degree you would want to pursue. While there is a ton of overlap between the two-degree paths in both subject of study and career opportunities, there are many benefits of pursuing an accounting degree over a business degree.

A few of the best advantages of studying accounting over a business degree include developing the specialized knowledge employers are looking for, enjoying an unexpectedly wide range of job opportunities and benefitting from above-average rates of job growth. You can enhance your accounting degree with professional courses like CMA, CPA, etc., bringing you career growth and good repute in the business world.