Expert: Gina Boykin - 2/4/2009

Question
Hello, this is a bit off topic, but I am a sophomore in college and trying to decide if I should keep pursuing Finance as a major.  The thing is, I hate accounting and am wondering if my finance classes would be simular to my accounting ones.  I am interested in the stock market and such, but not accounting.  Is this going to be a problem? thanks

Answer
I really don't think you have to love accounting to get a degree in finance.  There are some basic accounting principles that are important and will help you in the finance arena, but they are very different.  If you are interested in finance, stick with it.  It should not be hard to change your major to something similar (like international business or economics) unless you wait until your senior year, because most of your required classes will be the same.  I actually changed my major from business with a concentration in marketing to accounting, in the midst of college.

In the meantime, here are some suggestions to help you see if you're on the right track.

Ask one of the finance professors if you can sit in his/her class a couple of times this year, before you take the class.

If you have an idea of what you want to be, one of the best things you can do is to talk to a few people that are doing that now.  If you want to be a stockbroker, for example, go into an investment company's office and talk to someone. Find out what they do all day, what they like and what they don't like.  A great place to start is with your school.  Some of your professors may have done that kind of work in the past, or may be able to recommend someone for you to speak with.  

If you're not exactly sure what you want to do, then talk to people in various aspects of finance. There are people who work with the government (economists), people who manage money for individuals (stock brokers and financial advisors), people who manage funds for brokerage firms, people who serve as treasurer and make decisions on cash management for their company.....so many options that are related to finance.  You'll find that the day to day work isn't really anything like taking a class, so don't get discouraged yet!