I am stuck with what path I want to take...

1

I am an African student from a decent background, and my parents are going to be sponsoring my uni tuition. I have done accounting and other internships, but I am still a bit stuck on which career path to take. I was set on doing bsc accounting and finance, and then do the ACCA, and afterwards become a financial analyst or go into FP&A (much more into the finance aspect, eg. IB, PE, HF), but one of my mentors who works at BCG(consulting) said to not cut myself short and do economics or finance that they are much more respectable degrees and that a bsc accounting with ACCA is pretty bland. Now I am thinking of getting into banking (in my home country). I know I can do BSc Economics, but I am scared of the path because it is pretty theoretical, and I am scared of taking 15 ACCA exams after university just because banking is a limited field and I may have to veer into another path. btw, I am looking at U of Manchester and U of Leeds. Personally, I don't mind going into any, but I don't want fear to stop me from pushing myself.

Reply 1

lalexm

16

Original post

by yammy4321

I am an African student from a decent background, and my parents are going to be sponsoring my uni tuition. I have done accounting and other internships, but I am still a bit stuck on which career path to take. I was set on doing bsc accounting and finance, and then do the ACCA, and afterwards become a financial analyst or go into FP&A (much more into the finance aspect, eg. IB, PE, HF), but one of my mentors who works at BCG(consulting) said to not cut myself short and do economics or finance that they are much more respectable degrees and that a bsc accounting with ACCA is pretty bland. Now I am thinking of getting into banking (in my home country). I know I can do BSc Economics, but I am scared of the path because it is pretty theoretical, and I am scared of taking 15 ACCA exams after university just because banking is a limited field and I may have to veer into another path. btw, I am looking at U of Manchester and U of Leeds. Personally, I don't mind going into any, but I don't want fear to stop me from pushing myself.

I'd probably agree with your mentor that Economics is a more respected degree. You don't need to go into banking afterwards. Most doors will remain open with an Economics degree. I see the logic of doing an Accounting degree though IF you are sure you want to become an account, and therefore benefit from getting lots of ACCA exceptions. You can get some exceptions with Economics degrees also, but I assume not as many.

Reply 2

yammy4321

OP

1

Thanks i don't mind going into advisory and FP&A but I wanted to pivot into banking at one point because I heard an accounting background helps and i adapt well. What other paths would you recommend for econ that doesnt require ACCA, perhaps Actuary?

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

gr8wizard10

21

ex-banker / corp dev (6y ago so reflecting on my time whilst there) - also african bg (but lived in UK most of my life) and would agree accounting is a weaker degree than economics/finance. but more importantly for banking specifically your uni will matter a lot more than degree e.g. if you're at a target your degree becomes next to irrelevant.

figure out the career path you want to show up for early to focus your experiences there because accounting is very different to banking. apply to programmes spring weeks for both acc and banking in your first year. your background will allow you eligibility into programmes like rare recruitment and SEO

I am stuck with what path I want to take...

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