2nd bachelor's degree - advice needed!

Hi,

I am new to this forum. I have already finished a full-time 4 years bachelor's degree in Business Administration back in 2005 from a State university (fully accredited). I am looking to change career paths and the new jobs I am looking at needs a bachelors degree in accounting. Most of my credits should be transferrable (I hope). Now I looked at all the "Big 3" info on here but it seems a bit confusing. Can anyone please guide me how I can get my new degree fast and at a cheap. If there are 2 options - one for fast and another for cheap, I am willing to evaluate that as well. Here are a list of courses I have completed, just in case.

Thanks

 

For a business degree, you needed a minimum of two basic accounting classes. For an accounting degree, you will need to take several more accounting classes. This can be done online or at a night campus if there is one located in your area. Look at the local schools if they are convenient for you. The big three will be a big help to you if you already have most of the class requirements, but you will be lacking a lot of accounting classes for an accounting degree. Many online colleges have a 8 to 10-week classes allowing you to take up to two at a time if you're an A student maybe 3 at a time depending on that school's limitations. The fast track would be to find a school that offered the accounting classes you need. If you want to go through the big three pick 1 and find out their requirements for the accounting degree and get those classes done at another school at a cheaper cost or you could pay more and just do them there. I think you'll have to do at least a capstone with which ever school you plan to graduate from. If there is a local school that will accept your credits so long as it from a RA school you'll probably be able to do it there. They probably have an online program as well.

You could also pursue an accounting masters. Maybe just as many classes. Some schools aren't to bad on graduate tuition.

just my 2 cents.

 

There are several online master's programs in accounting that are specifically tailored for one who didn't obtain a bachelor's degree in accounting, some can be completed in as little as one year or 18 months, look into Auburn, Georgia Southern, Colorado State, etc.

30 Most Affordable Online Master

There are also programs where you can pick up undergraduate accounting work for reasonable prices online, the LSU distance and UC Berkeley distance programs come to mind.

 

I'm an average student and not sure if I can cope with masters especially with a full time job. Is there a "easy" online masters I can do? If not I guess bachelors may be the choice.

For bachelors, I read that TESC needs 24 credits after the old degree for a 2nd bachelors in the area of study/core. So I think I'll have to do 8 classes at most. I'd like to do some cheap online ones and transfer if possible.

WGU doesn't seem to have any info about a 2nd bachelors.

 

I'm currently an MBA student paying about $350 a credit hour from a RA for profit school. The classes aren't as difficult as I thought they would be. I actually have to do some work, and if I try to be lazy it shows in the grade. I don't know about easy, but you can do one class at a time so that you can focus to ensure you're not going to fail the class. Graduate school is not as hard as I had I thought, but not easy. Just apply yourself. I have had undergraduate classes that had a similar work load. Accounting in and of itself isn't a walk in the park, though not rocket science.

 

Granted I didn't go to a tier one school, but I didn't find the masters work to be any harder than undergrad. Accounting is also a state specific disciplinje, what one state accepts another will not, so know the rules and regs where you are. I might look first to an accounting grad cert rather than the whole degree, you already have the business side and a certificate might well be the quick and cheap path. Again, check the requirements but consider something like this: https://is.lsu.edu/ACCTCertificateProg.asp

 

That's actually 8 classes at a minimum. You could have to do more if after transferring your credits it takes more to meet the degree requirements. That''s about as liberal as second bachelor's degrees get, BTW. If I were you, I'd go ahead and apply to TESU and send in your transcripts. That will get you an academic eval, and let you see exactly what you need to finish.

 

I was going to say the same. There are fewer classes in a master's than a bachelor's, so in some ways it can be easier. I didn't think it was all that more difficult, ESPECIALLY if the program you enter doesn't require an undergrad degree IN that field. For instance, if ABC Master's in XYZ requires a bachelor's in XYZ, you can bet the master's program will be a more advanced application of the material. If you attend a program that allows for ANY undergrad degree (sometimes with a few prereqs) then you can be sure you're going to be taught everything you need to succeed by them.

My advice- master's 100%

 

also, isn't there some sort of Accounting cert that could be earned with 4 or 5 courses?

 

I think you guys maybe right. I am thinking I'll go for a masters first and if needed I can do a certification in accounting. I'm thinking of doing a MS in IT Management from WGU since it's a 18 month program. I hope to finish it in 12 months or less and do a accounting certificate later. How does that sound? Anyone has any experience with that program ?

It seems that I have to do around 8-9 classes with accounting at the minimum. I'd rather do 10 classes and get a masters. Makes clear more sense.

 

I thought the goal was to transition to accounting, if so whats the point of the MS IT?

A grad cert in accounting can be first, and if you choose carefully that can often be folded into a masters later.....but you would have the accounting courses needed to start that new vocation.

At any rate I seldom see the sense in a second bachelors (though a career change isn't a bad reason)....always upward, always a better credential...I would go grad cert and or masters.

 

Yes, it is but the plan is 2 or 3 years from now. I'd rather get an advanced degree first to give me some motivation! The advantage of MS IT is that it gives the CAPM certification from PMI. I can later appear for PMP with the material learned here. I've been in a junior management role so I should have the 4500 hours needed.

 

When we were looking for an exact same thing for my wife, Excelsior College was the cheapest option we found, combined with courses from LSU. Nowadays, it seems like TESU with exams from CSU Global Campus fill that niche.
Another option is going all British with ACCA and a BSc from Oxford Brookes University: Who is the BSc in Applied Accounting for? | ACCA Global . How easy or convenient it'd be depends on how good are you with exams. This option is remarkably inexpensive. This is what I'm starting to do, with eyes on their Master's degree from University of London.

Other options that might work are, for example, this Master's: https://www.sjcme.edu/academics/programs/master-of-accountancy/online/#tab3 . I'd jump on it myself if it were AACSB.

This one looks tempting: Western International University, https://west.edu/online-degree-programs/accounting-ms.html . In fact, if you are not turned completely off by a for-profit, I don't see a downside. It's a Master's, just over 1 year in length, relatively affordable, and since this is a sister school of University of Phoenix I doubt classes are particularly hard (well, they would not be exactly easy as accounting is not a soft subject, but I bet they're doable).

There are many more online Master's degrees in accounting, especially if you do some prerequisites first. That's how my wife did hers: she started getting credits in hope to get into a B&M MAcc program, and ended up with an Excelsior BS in Accounting, CPA Track, tailored to Florida requirements.

 

Do you need to practice as an accountant? Or is accounting just something that you need to know something about to get into this job? Either way, there are certificate programs that satisfy the requirements for being an accountant or getting a certification that would have lots of credibility in the workplace. Because the general rule is if you need to work as an accountant, you can pick up undergraduate coursework and after seven or eight classes, you can sit for the CPA, if you pass it after two more classes and a year (or so, varies) of experience, you become a CPA.

The courses could be studied for very cheaply through LSU Independent Study ($184/cr hr): https://is.lsu.edu/ACCTCertificateProg.asp

One of my colleagues, a professor in accounting, did the independent study LSU program, then moved on and eventually got her PhD.

...and reasonably through UC-Berkeley Extension ($350/cr hr):

Certificate Program in Accounting | UC Berkeley Extension

 

No I don't need to practice as an accountant. I am an Sr Business analyst and I'm working towards moving to ERP on the accounting side. Initially I thought that a few classes in accounting would give me a 2nd bachelors. But thanks to you folks I think it's not worthwhile. I can get a certificate in accounting and a masters in IT which will propel me towards PMP. That sounds better than doing 8-10 accounting classes to get another bachelors degree.

Edit: I had applied for a couple of jobs to make the move but I got rejected as I seemed to have a lack of accounting experience. I'm just hoping that the masters degree isn't too tough for average students with full time jobs (3.1 GPA). WGU says that it takes 18 months to complete the program at a regular pace. I read some crazy posts about people doing a 24 month MBA program at WGU in 3-6 months. So I'm hoping 9-12 months should be do-able for me.

 

SAP certification is what I'd be looking into.

 

I'm already certified. Got it done last year.