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Volume 5, Issue 3
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May 2005
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Did You Know?
Good news if you're heading into the corporate world (or even just thinking about it) — average startings salaries for accounting graduates are up 3.9 percent compared to last spring. On average, students can expect a starting salary of $43,809. Graduates with business administration and management degrees are also seeing an increase of 3.2 percent, to $39,448. It's a great time to major in accounting! More students are receiving accounting degrees and public accounting firms are making more new graduate hires, according to data from the American Institute of CPAs' 2003 accounting supply and demand report, The Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits. In addition, accounting is the top major across the country, according to NACE's 2005 Job Outlook Survey.
There's an online destination for students interested in pursuing an accounting career: CPAStudentZone.com! This newly redesigned site includes everything you need as you make career and educational choices:
Looking for something or need more information? Contact Tracey Zink at (800) 733-8272.
Learning about accounting principles isn't enough —- you
need to know the most important issues affecting CPAs today, especially
if you want to begin your career as an accountant. Here are the
top five trends affecting the profession now, according to a January
31, 2005 Wall Street Journal article: Learn
more about all 10 trends now facing the profession.
If you're looking for a way to get your foot in the door of a certain firm or company, an internship could be your ticket! According to a survey by Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal, major employers hired 38 percent of their summer interns in full-time positions after graduation. Would you like to be in that 38 percent? Some firms may still have open slots. If you're looking for a fast, easy way to find local firms and companies that offer internships, check out the VSCPA's online internship directory. This searchable database on the CPAStudentZone Web site lists VSCPA member firms in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. that offer student internships.
Looking for CPA Exam success? Honestly measure your strengths
and weaknesses and then tailor your Exam strategy to deal with
them. For example, check your physical well being. Make sure you've
accommodated for poor eyesight, if you have it, so you don't get
tired looking at the computer screen. Learn
more tips on assessing other areas, like your mental state
and technical abilities, BEFORE you sit down for the Exam.
Whether you're in college, just graduating or still looking for the right college for you, you probably know this: for the first time, you're on your own. And with that responsibility comes the added pressure of managing money. Students get slapped right and left with credit card offers, and it's easy to rack up debt when you don't have basic financial skills. So what should you do? Get prepared! Check out a new guide, "Financial Basics: A Money-Management Guide for Students," for easy-to-read info on important financial skills, such as debit and credit card issues, student loans and managing and controlling debt. Money management and finance "are complex issues and students need to be grounded in the basics before dealing with more sophisticated financial matters," said author Susan Knox, CPA. Learn more about the guide. If you want more financial tools, check out the VSCPA's Financial Fitness Web site, which includes a downloadable Financial Fitness Calendar and a quick quiz to test your financial know-how.
Annoyed with his job search, Lehigh University senior accounting
major Damon Scoleri took matters into his own hands. Or rather,
into eBay's hands,
according to online accounting portal AccountingWEB.
In February, he posted an auction to give bidders the chance
to interview him for a job — and yes, those bidders were
paying just for the opportunity to interview. After 10 days
and eight bids — all from Scoleri's buddies — the
winning bidder paid $10.50. But while the eBay venue was not
successful, the press coverage was. A few days after being
interviewed by the Philadelphia Enquirer about his
auction, he began receiving requests for his resume. | |||||||||||||||
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