Three Good Reasons to Get a Master's Degree in Accounting
The decision to earn a higher degree in a specialized field like accounting can be very difficult with several contributing factors that are unique to every person. Depending on your priorities and circumstances a master's degree could be a great investment or a costly distraction. Today, we are going to talk about three good reasons to get a master's degree in accounting. If you find yourself in similar circumstances to the ones described below, you may want to consider pursuing that master's degree in accounting.
Recruiting Related
A big reason that people pursue a master's degree in accounting is to get a job. Two big factors that contribute to these students getting jobs are having access to another round of campus recruiting and resetting the GPA and that goes on top of their resume.
Recruiting: If you are like me and went to a school during undergrad that was not a prime target for accounting firms, you'll find tons of benefit by getting a master's degree at a popular business school. Employers love to Target Business schools because they tend to provide a high concentration of qualified individuals.
GPA Reset: Additionally, when you list your new school at the top of your resume you can show a GPA for your master's program. This is particularly helpful if you had a lower GPA coming out of your undergrad which could have hurt your competitiveness when searching for jobs and internships.
Job Requirements
Depending on the type of jobs you might seek after graduation and the type of degree that you obtain, the higher degree could be a requirement for your job or support a higher salary. Generally, the three areas where this is most prevalent are higher education, government, and specialty degrees.
Higher education: if you enjoy teaching as much as I do, then you should consider a master's degree solely for the ability to teach at a higher education institution. Universities generally require a master's degree or a considerable amount of experience to teach certain courses. I have had a wonderful experience teaching university courses and it's provided me additional income insights and networking opportunities that would never have had without my master's degree.
Government: US government jobs work on various pay scales that measure both experience and education. One of the levers you can pull to move up this pay system faster is having an advanced degree.
Specialty degrees: some masters programs will offer more specialized accounting degrees such as a master's in taxation. If this area is of interest to you, some firms will pay more to those with the knowledge gain from these specialty degrees.
It's important to note here that some companies will pay you more just because you have an advanced degree, but others might not. The examples I've listed here above are the common circumstances in which the advanced degree is either required or gives a guaranteed return.
CPA Eligibility
For many people CPA eligibility is the most important reason to get a master's degree. Many programs have a track designed specifically for those who did not obtain an accounting degree during their undergraduate. These tracks will focus heavily on getting the students eligible for the CPA exam in a relatively short amount of time (18 months or less in most programs) and are designed to allow people to make a career change and begin working towards the CPA designation. If you are considering a master's degree in accounting, be sure to research the programs that the school offers. These CPA tracks focus mostly on courses that you have probably already taken as an undergraduate if you graduated with a degree or certificate in accounting.
It's important to remember that while these are some good reasons to pursue a master’s degree, you may not find yourself needing these benefits. If that is the case, you could be better off pursuing an alternate path. I hope this information was useful to you. If you end up pursuing that master’s degree, good luck!