Should I get an MBA or MAcc?

Question

I'm switching careers to accounting, this one is intellectually numbing and has no job security. I have no experience in accounting (BS in Psychology). I'm excelling in accounting classes at the university.

Should I get a Master's of Accounting? I'd be able to complete coursework in a little over a year. Starting salaries for accountants with advanced degrees are great; however, I have no experience (I hope to get an internship soon). I can always get the MBA later. Is it likely to get anything better than entry level with this degree?

Should I get an MBA? Some grad schools offer a specialization in accounting. It will take 2 years to complete the coursework and the programs cost much more than MAcc. However, MBAs seem to have better first job offers than MAccs, even as career switchers.

Which is the more realistic route? Better for the future?

Answer 1

didn't read your long write-up, but no idea what a Mac is and I doubt most people do. So I think they should answer your question.

Answer 2

I would go for the MBA because you do have the option of specializing it in Accounting and if you change your mind about Accounting the MBA will be a good degree for whatever else you change to. You also have more options with an MBA with a concentration in Accounting then just an MAcc. check out a few jobs boards and look at accounting jobs and see which is being asked for more the MA or the MBA and that will help you decide. The time factor should not be an issue the 2 years to complete an MBA and a little over a year will end up evening themselves out. You need experience to get an Accounting job and it's hard to get internships sometimes as a grad student if you don't apply early enough.

I have an MBA and would recommend that just for more choices because you never know what life will bring.

Answer 3

If you are just moving into any field, you can't get more than an entry-level job without experience. A master's degree (either one) will help you to move up once you have some experience, but no one starts out in the middle of the career ladder.

If the MBA takes twice as long to get, then of course you can expect more from it than you could from the MAcc in terms of starting salaries, etc. Since you have no prior accounting coursework, you also need to make sure that the MAcc isn't just a completion option for those needing an extra 30 units to fulfill the 150 hour requirement that most states now have for the CPA exam. Otherwise, you will be competing against people who have three or four years of coursework on you, and since accounting firms are one of the few industries that look at grades, it won't be good for you.

What you need to do is the following. Look at the difference in cost between the two programs. If your plan is to go to school full-time, add to that amount the opportunity cost of not working for an extra year. Then look at the difference in average salary for the two jobs in the first few years, and see how long it would take you, given the higher salary for the MBA, to repay the investment in getting the more expensive degree. Is this a reasonable period of time, or would it take you decades? I would say that if you can make up the difference in less than 5 years, go for the MBA. If not, the MAcc is probably a better bet.

Answer 4

definately an MBA!