Accounting or Economics at University? | How I chose between the two degrees 📜

In this video I discuss how I chose between Accounting and Economics when I was selecting what course I was going to do at university. I also provide the questions you want to be asking yourself when you're making the same choice.
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📝Brief script:
I remember having to choose between an accounting and economics degree when I was doing my A levels and applying for different universities. It was certainly something I thought about for a very long time because I knew it was a really important decision and one that would influence my university experience massively.
In this video I’m going to discuss some of the factors I considered when making that decision and some additional factors I wish I’d thought about before. Having done an Economics degree and then having gone on to do a Chartered accountancy qualification at one of the Big 4 accounting firms, I feel I’ve got a good idea of how you should approach this important decision. Clearly, there is no definitive answer to this question as everyone is different in terms of their interests and career ambitions and in this video I’m going to provide you with some of the questions you want to be asking yourself when you’re thinking about this choice between the two subjects.
To provide some background, I was studying business & econ, maths and politics at A levels and I knew I wanted to do a degree which was related to businesses and commerce, in a very broad sense. The two choices I was looking at were accounting and economics and at that stage, I wasn’t as aware of what exactly was covered on those courses and had very little clue about what specific careers these degrees would lead to. After doing plenty of research online and talking to people who had done those courses I started to realise what exactly those courses were about and what opportunities they would lead to further down the line.
So let’s look at accounting first, from my perspective, you really should be very confident that you want to become an accountant once you complete your degree as that is the most common and the easiest career path that the course leads onto. Most of the modules on the course will be designed to teach you the fundamentals of accounting and there is an important benefit of doing this course at university if you want to then go onto do an accountancy qualification with an accountancy firm on a training contract. This benefit is that you receive certain exemptions from exams on the accountancy qualification as you’re deemed to have covered those topics during your accountancy university course.
Now, there will be some individuals that complete their accountancy degree at university and don’t want to qualify as a chartered accountant or a management accountant. They still have the possibility to go into other finance roles such as investment management or tax advisory etc. They can make this switch as they’ll build up transferable skills on their undergraduate degree such as attention to detail and a fundamental knowledge of business processes etc, which are certainly valued in the job market.
Because of this, I think that you should be fairly certain in your mind that you want to become an accountant in your career if you are to choose an accounting degree, and if you change your mind later, there is that fallback of going into other careers in Finance, but the course certainly pushes you down the chartered accountancy route. So that’s what you need to keep in mind if you are thinking about going for an accountancy degree. The core focus of the course is to provide you with strong technical accounting skills.
Now, Economics is a much broader subject in general terms and the modules that you’ll do on the course will cover a wide variety of topics such as macroeconomics, microeconomics, monetary policy, econometrics and a lot more. The degree will equip you with strong analytical, numeracy and problem solving skills and it provides a strong understanding of economic concepts and principles. Compared to an accounting degree, it doesn’t focus in on a particular technical skill set but provides a wider overview of techniques.
Given all this, I think for those people that are less sure about what career path they want to go down after graduation, choosing Economics makes much more sense over accounting as it positions you well to get into a variety of different careers once you’ve graduated. It provides you with plenty of highly valued skills, like the ones I highlighted before, and it is very well respected by employers.
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Music by SkeetOnTheBeat - Late Night - thmatc.co/?l=927C4549

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Happy to answer any questions in the comments 😀 ⏲ Timestamps Accounting 01:44 Economics 03:39 Maths required for both 05:16

[@Nelson-fg2vx]

Economics degree and an accounting professional qualification seems like quite the idea 💭

[@DreamFirms]

This would help a lot of students who’s confused what course to take.

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Thanks Tyler, a tough decision for anyone in that position.

[@rushilkulkarni7206]

Great video. I am a high schooler and terribly confused whether to choose accountancy or economics as my career path. I am greatly interested in math, accountancy and econ. Would giving SAT be a better option or doing ACCA immediately after I turn 18?

[@paari3]

Thank you

[@vanielgodfrey9049]

I'm doing a degree that is Hospitality and Tourism, and I'm wondering if I should do both, cause on the diet sheet, I can either do it in semester 2 or the summer session. Should I take on both given some similarities between them? If anything, I'll just split them both.

[@flickx.30fps]

Hey, sorry I'm asking late but I had 3 options; accounts, economics and Business. I wanted to do Business and accounting as well. Is Taking business and accounts good?

[@gyroscope_of_morality.]

Sir I am also confused to that point. My vision is to govern the economy at the State level. CA or BS economics!! Which helps me better to be the Finance Minister of my country 😀 (serious question) CA has professionalism BS economics has a broader spectrum!! That confuses me!!

[@ninjapirate123]

Can you do both in uni?

[@faitht5405]

Hey, I found your video really helpful and informative. Is a BA in Economics also seen as reputable and could you please tell me how these two differ? Thank you! 😄

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Hey, thanks for the feedback! 🙂 It certainly is reputable and there is a large overlap across the two. The difference is that BSc is more focused on applying mathematical and statistical techniques. As a result, some maths/stats modules are mandatory when doing that course. BA is more focused on Econ theory and so the maths/stats modules are optional. Hope this helps!

[@faitht5405]

@@FinanceUnboxed Thanks a lot, your video and support has really aided my decision.

[@FinanceUnboxed]

@@faitht5405 my pleasure 😊

[@oluchiosakwe]

Nice

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Thanks!

[@AmKilonzoMbithi]

Thank you so much for your talk. Kindly advice, Economics & Accounting or Economics & Finance?. Can one combine Economics, Accounting & Finance? Any universities that combine Economics, Accounting & Finance as one course?

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Interesting question, there are courses that combine the both yes.

[@rasheedel-gammal7674]

The University of Kent in the UK combines Economics, Accounting, and Finance together under one degree

[@kulwinderkulwinder2325]

I choose economics because accountancy is rigorous major

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Both are certainly tough

[@mohammedyakub3760]

Hi, I am not looking to get a job. I am looking to start an ecommerce brand. Which one out of those two degrees would be more useful to me do you think?

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Hey, I'd say accounting as you need to have a good grasp of the financials of your business and so that degree will teach you the fundamentals very well. Hope this helps 🙂

[@mohammedyakub3760]

@@FinanceUnboxed ok thank you!

[@FinanceUnboxed]

@@mohammedyakub3760 my pleasure 😊

[@singhs002]

Hi, I am a undergraduate 2nd year accounting and finance student, i was wondering if I should do masters in accounting before starting my career or start my career and then return back to uni to do my masters?

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Hey, there are a couple of things you want to consider. 1) have you got a position lined up? Or do you need to search? 2) what career do you want to go into? If it's accounting, depending on the country you're in, you don't necessarily need a masters in accounting. Happy to provide further guidance if you can answer those questions 🙂

[@singhs002]

@@FinanceUnboxed yh I want to be an accountant, I study at University of Birmingham in UK.

[@FinanceUnboxed]

@@singhs002 Great. You certainly don't need a Masters in Acc. to be a practicing accountant in the UK. You just need to get on a training contract (ideally) and your firm will pay for your CA training. A Masters is required if you want to go down the academia route. Hope this helps!

[@singhs002]

@@FinanceUnboxed thanks for the advice, I wanted to know what masters in accounting would contribute on the long run, as I wanted to start my career and then later on attempt CA exams to further develop. You think doing masters would help boost my career in the initial years.

[@FinanceUnboxed]

If you want to go into accounting practice, IMO, a masters does not add much value. It's considered as a prerequisite for individuals that want to teach Acc. at university etc. If I were in your position, I'd focus on getting internships or securing a grad programme. If you want to go down masters route, have you considered a masters in a broader business subject?

[@antman1059]

Which degree is best for financial literacy?

[@FinanceUnboxed]

I'd have to say Finance itself but clearly there is a lot to be learnt from taking accounting and economics as well, from an overall financial understanding viewpoint

[@leonardosantoso8307]

Whats the difference between BA econ, BCom econ and bachelor of econ?

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Which country is this for?

[@leonardosantoso8307]

@@FinanceUnboxed for college in Australia

[@FinanceUnboxed]

I've never actually heard about BCom Econ before. I thought BCom was just Bachelor of Commerce which incorporated a wide range of topics covering business, management, finance etc. Were you meaning to refer to BCom?

[@leonardosantoso8307]

@@FinanceUnboxed it is bachelor of commerce but i found that in Australia there is bache commerce, economics

[@chanu6741]

Can you plz tell me bachelor of accounting and finance degree can I get a master of economics degree?

[@sergiotaz4167]

y.

[@mallikarjunabeari4030]

Could u pls tell me that does economics include accounting

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Hey, if you mean are there accounting modules in an econ course, it depends. I had the chance to choose a couple of modules where I could have chosen accounting. Each course varies

[@mallikarjunabeari4030]

@@FinanceUnboxedSo which course shld I choose in economics so that accounting is not included

[@FinanceUnboxed]

@@mallikarjunabeari4030 you need to read the course description for the specific university and check. All of them are different

[@mallikarjunabeari4030]

@@FinanceUnboxed thank you

[@alingmarites7237]

Economics is better for me! 😊😊

[@FinanceUnboxed]

Its a great subject undoubtedly

[@alingmarites7237]

@@FinanceUnboxed Thank you! Top 5 Best degree 1. Economics 2. Real Estate Management 3. Accounting 4. Finance 5. Business Management

[@hilliamisediting6863]

Don't take accountancy guys

[@curiousgeorgia11.11]

Ur voice is so odd

[@ToluSir]

that's mean