I never thought I’d say this, but I am now convinced that the header of this post is correct. When I studied my first degree - the extremely useful, practical and commercial BA majoring in Psychology, I looked at Commercial degrees, particularly those with an emphasis on Accounting as being dry, boring and for nerds. I was wrong about 2 of the 3 points.  A sample of a typical Accounting class will probably show a higher than average nerd factor, but this is not a terminal problem. Nerds can be interesting and who knows, they might be good to stay in touch with so they’ll take your call when they’re Managing Director and you’re looking for a job!

Let’s forget the stereotypes for now though. The one thing that stands out among the Accountants I know is how they all have a great grasp of business principles and have used this to real benefit during their careers. A big part of the training often involved auditing of different companies. This is a great way of getting exposure to all sorts of different sectors and business types. By the time your average nerd (sorry accountant) is 25, they have been exposed to more types of businesses than most of us will come across in our working lives. Cogitate on that for a mo!

OK, some accountants will stay accountants and that’s fine for all concerned. A large number though use the knowledge they have of how businesses work either to create their own businesses, rise to senior positions in the corporate ranks or in professional firms. There is a myth that Accountants don’t become entrepreneurs. That’s bollocks. Certainly the ability to identify risks accurately may mean that accountants don’t get involved in some of the more zany schemes or ideas, but I’ve met enough who have their own successful businesses to know that this view is a myth.

So, if I were starting all over again I would study accountancy first without any doubt. With a business grounding like this, I would then have the flexibility to take my career almost anywhere I wanted to go (both geographically and job wise)

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