Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession

CHAPTER THREEHow Accounting Majors Can Optimize Their College Experience

Key Takeaway

If you’ve decided to major in accounting, there are some specific, practical things you can do, starting at the outset of your freshman year, that will help you make the most of your time on campus and position you for excellent career opportunities.

Sadly, I have observed far too many accounting students learn too late in their college experience about resources that could have helped them and opportunities they ideally would have taken advantage of, had they been aware of them. The result, often, is a sense of frustration and regret on the part of those students. I hear them say, “If only I had known, I would have handled things differently.” This chapter is intended to acquaint accounting majors with the things they should know about early in their university experience—ideally in the beginning of freshman year.

Before we dive into my “Top 10” list, it’s worth mentioning—and emphasizing—the importance of achieving your academic potential. You are at your college or university to learn, so make it a point to pursue academic excellence! While your grades are not necessarily a predictor of your future success, they are incredibly important in positioning you for the best opportunities. I tell students all the time that someone with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher is probably going ...