AAS

[teddy000 0]

Hi!

Finding a job here in America has been really nerve wracking. I have decided to go back to school but I am kinda torn in between these two majors. Please help me choose. Does a degree in HIT have better job prospects? I just want a decent, stable, job that pays mediocre if not ludicrous amounts of money. Has to be way better than min wage though. Thanks!

[teddy000 0]

Anyone? Please, I am looking for help.

[catknit 144]

You're torn between Accounting and Healthcare IT?

Well, I'd recommend talking to the school's employment resource center. See which one they recommend based on your monetary goals. They should also have a good feel for what's going on in your geographical area....

What type of degree did you get at home, if at all??? Have you had your transcripts critiqued by one of the evaluation services to see if that may help your academic dreams here? Maybe you don't need as much schooling as you think to get credentialed here.

Also, make sure you do some research on which schools you are looking at - for-profit schools may sell you a line about work potential with their degrees. Research schools may be harder to get into, may have more structured class timings [traditional semesters], may be harder to deal with in general, but the degree may also hold more weight with potential employers.

[teddy000 0]

Thanks for the post. It was very informative. I have a B.com from back home. Which route should I pick?

[catknit 144]

Have you had your b.com evaluated by WES? Do that and then take that info to the school you're interested in. Ask them if any of the course work could be accepted as pre-reqs or as credits. If you're truly torn between the two fields, look at which one you can finish quicker and go with that - it will get you into the workforce faster.

By the way, it will cost you to get the evaluation but if that evaluation results in you not needing to take 2 classes [heck, or even more] - it will be worth it!

[teddy000 0]

You're so knowledgeable, Catknit. I'll definitely look into that. Thanks much!

[X Factor 1,112]

Anyone? Please, I am looking for help.

Both these types of jobs can take different skill sets. For accounting do you like maths and have an analytical mind that can deal with boredom (number crunching). For health care you need to be a patient and be able to talk most of the time since you will be dealing with lots of diffrent people on a regular basis. You have to find out which is better suited to your personality. Just my 2 cents

[Love's JAA 100]

Hi!

Finding a job here in America has been really nerve wracking. I have decided to go back to school but I am kinda torn in between these two majors. Please help me choose. Does a degree in HIT have better job prospects? I just want a decent, stable, job that pays mediocre if not ludicrous amounts of money. Has to be way better than min wage though. Thanks!

There's supposedly a relatively strong market for accountants right now. If you have a bachelors degree already, then I might suggest taking the required amount of accounting and business law courses (approximately 30-36 semester hours) and attempting the cpa exam. That will give you a leg up on those with just a degree. If you have a bachelors already, I don't believe you even need an accounting degree per say to sit for the cpa exam as long as you have the required hours taken. At least when I took the exam, an accounting degree wasn't required. You will need your college transcripts and a course evaluation done, I believe.

The cpa (certified public accountant) exam is four parts. It's now permitted to take one part at a time and you must pass all within 18 months or else the oldest passed parts will be lost. When I took it, it was taken over two consecutive days. Basically, even if you don't want to go into public accounting (or stay in it, a lot of new accountants go that route for the experience), having passed the cpa will be a great boost to your job search and career in accounting.

[X Factor 1,112]

The qualifications depends on the state where you live for the CPA exams. When I took it recently and passed the 4 sections one at a time in New Jersey you were allowed to sit for it with a bachelors degree in accounting. In fact I just got my results on the last past last Wednesday. Who hooo I am done. Now I have to earn 30 more college credits for a total of 150 credits. I already have an extra 12 credits so I only need 18 more to qualify for the license. Of course I have to work under supervision of a CPA for one year to get an active license.