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cano
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 01:30
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https://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... Collection

Would like to see a similar study with Master degrees, even though we can assume that for MBA it will have a similar result like International Business or accounting.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 07:55
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Masters degree, you talking about just MBA? I would like to see a survey for Masters in Accounting. Although I'm pretty certain the top ranked MSA's have amazing placement.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 10:57
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This is something I've been thinking about for a long time - let's say I want to work for a big 4 accounting firm (financial services industry) in NYC straight out of a master's program. Would it be better to apply to UT Austin's full-time MPA program or to NYU's part-time MBA program (while working full-time in accounting)? Let's say, short term I would like to work for a big 4 firm, but long term I would like to eventually work towards becoming a CFO at a large financial institution. And I already have a CPA license.

UT Austin has great placement at big 4 firms after graduation; and although I would have to apply on my own, there is a very good chance I could obtain a big 4 position in NYC with an MBA degree from a reputable school like NYU. An MBA might help me more in the long term than a Masters in Accounting degree though. Is this right?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 13:03
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wow that sucks for me because my UG(RPI) blows.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 13:15
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bompark
This is something I've been thinking about for a long time - let's say I want to work for a big 4 accounting firm (financial services industry) in NYC straight out of a master's program. Would it be better to apply to UT Austin's full-time MPA program or to NYU's part-time MBA program (while working full-time in accounting)? Let's say, short term I would like to work for a big 4 firm, but long term I would like to eventually work towards becoming a CFO at a large financial institution. And I already have a CPA license.

UT Austin has great placement at big 4 firms after graduation; and although I would have to apply on my own, there is a very good chance I could obtain a big 4 position in NYC with an MBA degree from a reputable school like NYU. An MBA might help me more in the long term than a Masters in Accounting degree though. Is this right?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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MSA is better, it's only 1 year and if you went to UT Austin you have practically 100% placement. This will get you started on your career track faster. I don't know how great NYU part time placement is, but doesn't that take forever to finish?
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 27 Sep 2010, 20:03
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Dawgie
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This is something I've been thinking about for a long time - let's say I want to work for a big 4 accounting firm (financial services industry) in NYC straight out of a master's program. Would it be better to apply to UT Austin's full-time MPA program or to NYU's part-time MBA program (while working full-time in accounting)? Let's say, short term I would like to work for a big 4 firm, but long term I would like to eventually work towards becoming a CFO at a large financial institution. And I already have a CPA license.

UT Austin has great placement at big 4 firms after graduation; and although I would have to apply on my own, there is a very good chance I could obtain a big 4 position in NYC with an MBA degree from a reputable school like NYU. An MBA might help me more in the long term than a Masters in Accounting degree though. Is this right?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
MSA is better, it's only 1 year and if you went to UT Austin you have practically 100% placement. This will get you started on your career track faster. I don't know how great NYU part time placement is, but doesn't that take forever to finish?
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I concur with Dawgie that the NYU MBA program is not the way to pursue a position with Big 4. The companies have a pretty strict process and schedule for hiring, and you're setting yourself up for an uphill battle if you decide to pursue your goal from outside of that well-known process.

That said, it might be a mistake to uproot yourself and move to Austin for a year, if you want to ultimately end up in NYC. In your case, I would target feeder schools for the Big 4 in the New York area.

What many people will likely misinterpret from the above article, is that while your undergraduate school matters immensely, it's in a very different way from the name of the school. The partners who are making hiring decisions build relationships with certain professors and certain programs, and those programs are NOT typically the big names out there. You might end up with a hiring partner who is an NYU alum, but more likely you'd find one who has a great relationship with someone at Baruch or Fordham. If you want to go into Big 4 from a school in the Midwest (my former area in the States), skip all of the MBA programs and get your MAcc/MSA at the University of Illinois, Notre Dame, the University of Kansas, the University of Wisconsin or the University of Missouri.

Especially if you're planning on an internship, you want to be geographically close to the city you want to end up in. I can't tell you how many times we had a student accept an internship in the city where they were studying, and then they requested that their offer be transferred to San Francisco or New York or Miami, and if those cities were asked to take one of my city's former interns over one of their own recruits that the hiring partner already knew... let's just say it was a tough sell.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 28 Sep 2010, 06:53
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Sailorette
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bompark
This is something I've been thinking about for a long time - let's say I want to work for a big 4 accounting firm (financial services industry) in NYC straight out of a master's program. Would it be better to apply to UT Austin's full-time MPA program or to NYU's part-time MBA program (while working full-time in accounting)? Let's say, short term I would like to work for a big 4 firm, but long term I would like to eventually work towards becoming a CFO at a large financial institution. And I already have a CPA license.

UT Austin has great placement at big 4 firms after graduation; and although I would have to apply on my own, there is a very good chance I could obtain a big 4 position in NYC with an MBA degree from a reputable school like NYU. An MBA might help me more in the long term than a Masters in Accounting degree though. Is this right?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
MSA is better, it's only 1 year and if you went to UT Austin you have practically 100% placement. This will get you started on your career track faster. I don't know how great NYU part time placement is, but doesn't that take forever to finish?

I concur with Dawgie that the NYU MBA program is not the way to pursue a position with Big 4. The companies have a pretty strict process and schedule for hiring, and you're setting yourself up for an uphill battle if you decide to pursue your goal from outside of that well-known process.

That said, it might be a mistake to uproot yourself and move to Austin for a year, if you want to ultimately end up in NYC. In your case, I would target feeder schools for the Big 4 in the New York area.

What many people will likely misinterpret from the above article, is that while your undergraduate school matters immensely, it's in a very different way from the name of the school. The partners who are making hiring decisions build relationships with certain professors and certain programs, and those programs are NOT typically the big names out there. You might end up with a hiring partner who is an NYU alum, but more likely you'd find one who has a great relationship with someone at Baruch or Fordham. If you want to go into Big 4 from a school in the Midwest (my former area in the States), skip all of the MBA programs and get your MAcc/MSA at the University of Illinois, Notre Dame, the University of Kansas, the University of Wisconsin or the University of Missouri.

Especially if you're planning on an internship, you want to be geographically close to the city you want to end up in. I can't tell you how many times we had a student accept an internship in the city where they were studying, and then they requested that their offer be transferred to San Francisco or New York or Miami, and if those cities were asked to take one of my city's former interns over one of their own recruits that the hiring partner already knew... let's just say it was a tough sell.
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Wow. Thanks Dawgie and Sailorette. Your comments were very helpful. I've already submitted an application for NYU, but I don't have a good feeling about getting an acceptance letter from them. So if I don't get one, I'm thinking of applying to a part-time Masters in Accounting program in NYC. Now, that brings me to another question - I would definitely want to choose between Baruch and Fordham, but which one is the better choice for me? I'm leaning towards Baruch because the tuition is much cheaper while their 'accounting reputation' is similar to, if not better than, Fordham's (I think). Any advice here? I have read through several forums on this topic already, but the opinions seem to be split pretty evenly. And they both seem to be target feeder schools for the Big 4 in NYC.

Also, do I have a 'lesser' chance of getting hired by a big 4 because of my old age (28yo)? I'm willing to take a pay cut and start as an entry level staff accountant. And, how much say do I have in which industry I get hired into after a program like this? If I say I want to work in Financial Services, will they place me there, or do I just have to go where they tell me to?

Thanks guys. I really appreciate this.
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 29 Sep 2010, 01:07
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Happy I could help!

My specific experience is not in the tri-state area, so I can't really speak to the differences between the two schools. When I've heard offhand remarks about them, the two seem to be considered comparable from my company's perspective.

You should take a few hours and really look through each school's website. Check specifically for Big 4 involvement in the following:

-endowed chairs
-endowed scholarships
-sponsored events
-Beta Alpha Psi or other student organization 'partner programs'
-any 'on the job days' or special programs with alumni from that school
-check the school's board of trustees- how many Big 4 partners are on each?

If there's an obvious school that stands out with many more sponsored events, or has much more campus involvement from the Big 4, choose that one!

Regarding your age, you're right that it might be an area of concern. The best thing to do is just get involved in recruiting from the moment you set foot on campus, i.e. join BAP or another club that will get you access to the recruiters ASAP. When a professor makes an announcement that one of the firms will be on campus holding a dorky bowling event (or similar) show up, chat with the staff & seniors who come along, and make sure the companies know you. Be confident in explaining why a Big 4 is the best step for you, and make sure you don't come across as arrogant- on our side our biggest worry is the attitude of some older recruits when they show up for work the first day to find their workload is managed by a 24 year old. And on the plus side, if you get hired, you'll likely come in as a Staff 2 designee, meaning you'd be eligible for promotion to Senior after your first year with the firm.

Regarding your industry preference, that really depends. Many offices hire specifically for Financial Services, so that one is easy to state a preference, but if you can't find postings specific to FS you'll probably spend your first year in a variety of industries. You really don't get to choose too much, although some offices will take your preference into consideration, but 90% of it will depend on your schedule and your engagement start/end dates. It definitely wouldn't hurt you to express a preference during the interview process to show that you've thought through what your career will look like! Just make sure you don't come off as unflexible :)

Let me know if you have any further questions!
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For Accountants and Engineers, School Name Plays Bigger Role 29 Sep 2010, 22:57
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This was one of my "FML. Maybe I should have gone to UT Austin" moments. But East Coast = Hellz yeah.