Thread: Should I pick up a Minor?

I am Junior at Penn State, in the Master's of Accounting program.

I am wondering if I should pick up an undergraduate minor, practically the Legal Environment of Business Minor.

I can fit the minor into my schedule but Law is not something I am very interested in law, and I believe taking a minor I am interested in will only hurt my GPA. I also believe that entering the work force with the master's degree will set me far enough apart from my peers who will be entering the work force with just an undergraduate degree.

I understand that having the minor will obviously make me look a little better but how much better will it make me look?

Student A
Master's of Accounting
Bachelor's of Science: Accounting
Cum GPA 3.65

Student B
Master's of Accounting
Bachelor's of Science: Accounting
Legal Envir. of Business Minor
Cum. GPA 3.5

Which student looks better?

Student A in IMHO. Minors have never meant anything to me. Multiple majors are more impressive if accomplished in the standard time frame of 4 or 5 yrs but not if obtained over a longer period.

The best I've seen is a dual graduate: Bachelors in Math with a Masters in Economics (both 4.0 and obtained in 4 yrs) from an Ivy. A truly extraordinary person.

Originally Posted by Pat

Student A in IMHO. Minors have never meant anything to me. Multiple majors are more impressive if accomplished in the standard time frame of 4 or 5 yrs but not if obtained over a longer period.

The best I've seen is a dual graduate: Bachelors in Math with a Masters in Economics (both 4.0 and obtained in 4 yrs) from an Ivy. A truly extraordinary person.

Thanks Pat,

I would be graduating in May 2012, which is 5 years to complete the program, but that includes a Spring semester that I am going to take off and hopefully have an internship with the Big 4.

Besides the Big 4 you might want to check out other national and regional firms in your locale of choice. I've seen some of them with good programs giving the intern a professional and well diversified look at both tax and audit during their stay with little abuse. Try and pick an office that loads up on interns so you'll have a group to share your trials and tribulations with while there.

Originally Posted by Pat

Besides the Big 4 you might want to check out other national and regional firms in your locale of choice. I've seen some of them with good programs giving the intern a professional and well diversified look at both tax and audit during their stay with little abuse. Try and pick an office that loads up on interns so you'll have a group to share your trials and tribulations with while there.

Again, Thank You Pat,

The reason why I am leaning towards a Big 4 is that I would like to work overseas at some point in time, and I don't know of any other firms that I would be able to do that. If you know of some I will obviously consider them.


-Mike

Good luck but I'd be surprised if a CPA firm is the right employment vehicle to expect an overseas transfer or even a temporary duty assignment. If that's important to you find someone in the know. Of course language skills would play a big role as well.