Career Searching

[tburk32 0]

I am a jr in highschool and it is getting close to the time to apply to colleges. I was thinking about MAYBE majoring in accounting but the school i want to go to doesnt have that as a major. they just have general business (its a penn state branch) I was just wondering if we have any accountants on spaceship modsquad here and what you like or dislike about your position.Also any courses that helped in highschool would also be appreciated. BTW i really enjoy math and it comes extremely easy. I have taken Algebra 1 (passed easily) Geometry (passed easliy) Algebra 2 (passed with flying colors) and now accounting the class and that is a piece of cake and rather enjoyable so i was just curious if anyone had an input. I am putting my future into your hands please becareful its small u could lose it

[zingbergeur 0]

I'm an economics major, but I have taken a few accounting classes. If that is what you enjoy doing, you should really look into colleges that offer accounting as a major. When I was in HS I didn't know what I wanted to major in, so I went to a huge school (Michigan State) that offers amost anything you could think of as a major. If you know that you'd like to try out some accounting in college, you should really go to a college that can provide you those opportunities.

I can't speak for accountants, but economics is sort of related to accounting. I would advise you to take as much math as you can. I didn't see pre-calc or calc on your list, and I would start there. Many colleges require proficiency in calculus(no matter what your major is). I would expect some amount of calculus to be a requirement for an accounting major. I know I need to take a lot of calc to get a Bachelor of Science degree in econ, but less for a Bachelor of Arts.

Hope I could help, and good look with all those tough college decisions!

[Buzz_LightBeer 974]

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Are you from a big city? Get into the fire cadet program, you're set for life, and the chicks will flock to you

[Eazy_b97 1]

Go into something you like, but try and branch out your first year courses. Stick with what you want to do. My moms a CGA accountant and she really enjoys it, but I know alot of what she enjoys is the people. The work is always fairly repetetive, so you need to be around better people moreso than other jobs. Don't settle on a school without your program, it will hurt you in the long run.

[warrior37 0]

just follow your heart, thats what i do

[Sticks of Fury 0]

You have to watch out that some jobs in the future may be outsourced to different countries in the future. Do research! If you want to be a professional go the CPA Doctor lawyer Teacher route. Also talk to the people in the field. ie Pharmacy might be cool as an academic program but working at drug store might not be as you imagined.

[Neo5370 132]

pharmacy is the program from hell unless you are a whiz at biology/chemistry and good at memorizing things.

I have a couple friends who are/were pharm majors and it's hell academically, but the 90,000 annual salary waiting for them is sweet.

and as for math, I agree, that everything leading up to calculus is easy, but hold your breath until you hit calc, calc II and III

I personally could not hack it and know many an engineering major who almost lost their minds trying to do level II calculus

The best advice is to do what you wouldn't mind doing for many hours a day, for many years regardless of pay. Eventually, you'll become an expert in that field because of your ability to not get bored/bitter/soured and the money will come.

[ponty 0]

Dont worry as much about the job as the activities that surround it. If you are doing an activity you enjoy you will be good at what you do while you make money.

For me I like presenting. At the end of the day I dont care what the job title is. As long as I am yapping in front of an audience I am happy.

[CHIEF22 0]

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Are you from a big city? Get into the fire cadet program, you're set for life, and the chicks will flock to you

He hit that one on the head.

[SharpShooter 0]

If you become a firefighter be ready to work two jobs as soon as you start a family. I know I am a 16 year veteran fireman.

[Jason16 0]

If you become a firefighter be ready to work two jobs as soon as you start a family. I know I am a 16 year veteran fireman.

Civil servents in emergency servieces don't recieve the reverence (with respect to their pay) they deserve in the US.

I'm from Vancouver, Canada, and our Firefighters make upwards of $85,000 CAD a year working 4 days a week. Fire Officers exceed the $120,000 CAD mark. Our police officers (Vancouver, not RCMP) make ~$80,000 CAD but have they most generous pension in Canada.

[Buzz_LightBeer 974]

If you become a firefighter be ready to work two jobs as soon as you start a family. I know I am a 16 year veteran fireman.

Whereabouts are you from? I'll be looking for a hiring department in the near future. I need to finish my MPO class, and possibly paramedic school

[CHIEF22 0]

If I were you Buzz I would go to Paramedic school. With the ever increasing trend of "an ambulance service that puts out fires" it makes you more desireable. Plus, and I don't know how it is where you are, some give an extra stipend for it. And Jason is right, all civil servents are under paid. Our Chief who is a Battalion Chief in the career department 2 towns over makes around 50K USD a year. And all the career guys I know have 2 jobs. Some even run their own businesses.

[freq019 0]

I am a jr in highschool and it is getting close to the time to apply to colleges. I was thinking about MAYBE majoring in accounting but the school i want to go to doesnt have that as a major. they just have general business (its a penn state branch) I was just wondering if we have any accountants on spaceship modsquad here and what you like or dislike about your position.Also any courses that helped in highschool would also be appreciated. BTW i really enjoy math and it comes extremely easy. I have taken Algebra 1 (passed easily) Geometry (passed easliy) Algebra 2 (passed with flying colors) and now accounting the class and that is a piece of cake and rather enjoyable so i was just curious if anyone had an input. I am putting my future into your hands please becareful its small u could lose it

Being a former penn stater, here's my advice, if you want to do accounting take all your gen eds at the branch and transfer to main campus after your sophmore year. Main campus offers accounting and its a kick ass experience. As far as accounting goes as a career. It was something I thought I wanted to do at your age, I loved math and all that stuff, but eventually I got bored with the thought of just cramming numbers all the time, so I went into engineering, so I probably can't offer you much advice in that regard.

[devilsfan26 0]

and as for math, I agree, that everything leading up to calculus is easy, but hold your breath until you hit calc, calc II and III

I personally could not hack it and know many an engineering major who almost lost their minds trying to do level II calculus

I think it really depends on the person. For example, I had some difficulty in algebra 1 and 2 and a little in precalc. Nowhere near failing, but I just had a hard time with a lot of the material. This year I have calculus, and I am a calc beast. I'll be attending Rutgers University in New Jersey next year, and I'm going to major in accounting as well.

[Drewhunz 3]

I would recommend taking the Meyers-Briggs Career Inventory test. Based on your answers, it will show which jobs best fit your personality and work habits. It will give you some interesting choices. I am a marketing major. The test said that this was a good match for me, but it also recommended me being both a Geologist as well as a Meteorologist. I took both of those classes as blow offs for my science requirements, and if I could do it all over again, I would probably be a meteorologist. Take the test- you never know what you'll find.