Hi I'm an STPM student from Arts Stream. NTU is my dream uni and I've been contemplating between the two courses for a long time but I still can't make up my mind.

Accounting- It's a 3 year course so it's shorter than our IPTAs. This course is also quite established in Singapore. My senior with the same results as me got in so hopefully I can get in too. I've also experienced a lot about it since some of my relatives are accountants and I'm currently working in a small company after STPM (some bookkeeping stuff) and it's not what I expected. I thought I would get the 'rush' like in Form 6 when we balance the accounts. Most of it is quite dull work. I would say that my double entry is quite strong and I can understand stuff like tax very fast.

Economics- I find this more interesting than Accounting which I'm kind of tired of. However, I'm quite worried because JPA doesn't recognise NTU degrees generally. How about semi-gov bodies like BNM? Will they hire NTU Econs grads? I'm also quite interested in the Mathematics and Economics degree.

I kind of like Economics more but I find the lack of jobs uncomfortable. I'm also worried because I know Econ needs a lot of soft skills and critical thinking. I understand that you have to be a very good Econ grad to go somewhere whereas you don't really need a high CGPA for Accounting especially in the small firms. I know I have to work much, much harder in Econ. But I don't think I want to do Accounting even though it's ok to me. One more thing is that I can still study ACCA later on after my degree but not Econs later on.

I aspire to do macro-work like at BNM after I graduate. I don't really want to go into commercial or investment banking. Please wake me up if this is not realistic. Or maybe I don't like accounting because I don't know the real accounting yet.

Any opinions will be appreciated. Thank you.

This post has been edited by OTRoad: Mar 24 2015, 09:31 AM

Economics

yeah economic is much more interesting indeed. don't worry about grade. if you get into NTU, it proves that you have strong academic competence. if you are not sure whether or not BNM will employ NTU graduate, ring a call to their HR department and ask politely.

from what I know, only government bodies and some of MNC hire econ graduate for their forte. I read an article somewhere but I couldn't restore the link. basically it tells why some small companies do not hire econ graduate. Commercial companies favor management graduate over econ because management graduate has excellent management theory knowledge and at the same time possess fundamental knowledge of econ (which is pretty enough for them).

This post has been edited by tanwailoon: Mar 24 2015, 10:10 AM

Think of taking Econs degree as akin to taking a Maths degree. Having said that, they are not the same. Just like a maths degree, an Econs degree is more slanted towards research path. You will have a lot of assignments on writing review papers and you will definitely have a year-end project. That's why you can see a lot of prominent economists holding doctorate degrees (PhDs). That's why you see a lot of prominent economists working in think-tanks and research centres. Well of course, some decided to work in corporate settings.

On the other hand, think of accounting as something more suited towards the commercial world. They prepare you in terms of business, strategies, costing, tax law, business law, and corporate accounting. Some even became chartered accountants without having an academic degree but just having a professional certification. You will hardly find any year-end projects for accounting degrees because accounting is usually geared towards practical business rather than research.

In short, if you like administration and business at the corporate level, take accounting.

If u prefer to delve into research that would affect everyone, take economic. Your ideas and your research can be used as a recommended piece for policy setting at the national level.

This post has been edited by Blofeld: Mar 24 2015, 11:28 AM

I hate to say this but book keeping ain't accountings.

It's the basic part of accounting but never more.

Malaysia have 138 tax codes IIRC so if you can understand few of them, that's nothing spectacular as well.

Higher end accounting work are much more fun, you get to use your brains much much more esp in fields like tax planning, some part of audit and etc.

I too like economics but it's never something you can't pick up elsewhere as well. You don't need a specialized degree in it unless you plan to be an economic adviser of some sort.

i would say go for econs... once you're in sg u will realise a lot of accts/audit positions are filled by foreigners especially msians so the pay is depressed.. as for econs, banks and even sg gov stat board are hiring the best... that's if u r able to enter their econs major

u can try pming Green_Emerald, she's doing econs at ntu.... alternatively post here;

https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=3511724&hl=

i have a fren, top of her cohort from econs ntu, now at EDB on their elite scale... 28 earning sgd200k+ p.a.

True, accounting is certainly not all about bookkeeping and I don't know much.

However, from what I observed, it seems like the only type of "analysis" done by the accountant (my superior) is deciding which account an expense is and giving commentary on variances and annual analysis in the financial statements. Oh, and also tallying figures with the HR for payroll and purchasing for invoices. Perhaps it's because I'm in a rather small company. And the auditors seem to do a lot of vouching. Like sitting on the floor screening through endless files. It certainly didn't help my perception of accounting. Do you mind elaborating more about some of the challenging things you mentioned? I know I can google it up but I'd rather hear it from someone in the field. And yes, economics is something you can read up on by yourself if you don't plan to specialise in it. Thank you.

EDIT: I hope I didn't come off demeaning the profession. I know I sound naive. I just want to know more, that's all.

This post has been edited by OTRoad: Mar 24 2015, 04:17 PM

Yes, I realise this is all just an empty talk if I get rejected from NTU lol.

How about if I plan to finish my 3 year bond there and come back to Malaysia to work in accounting?

Unfortunately, I'm not interested in banks or finance for that matter, just studying econs.

And your friend is doing great. I didn't know the government hires non-Singaporeans. Does she have a post-grad though or just a bachelor? I bet she's very talented though. Not sure about prospects for the average graduate.

That's more like.... Basic judgement skills.

More advance skills are like, deciding whether the particular transaction would be a risk in the coming year or not and so forth.

When you get dumped an entire file and you have to figure it out yourself ( happens most of the time in Big 4 anyways ), that's where you will learn to work fast to meet the deadline rush.

can always try nus/smu

no point, you're getting a bachelor from a top school then balik msia n earn less... only worth it if you're able to secure a high paying job or to help own family buss. , bond only if you're on scholarship if i had not mistaken

well, there's more than banks/finance... do explore...

usually sg gov hires d best even if the grads r foreigners but usually for non-sensitive stat board/ministries and u wont be able to enter d elite band... just bachelors but did very well... after working for them they will entice u to get pr, then convert then marry n breed with the locals...

Yea, companies probably prefer business graduates with experience in management. Whereas economics focus on things from the macro side which is not really applicable to business.

Yes, accounting is geared towards practice whereas economics seems more theoretical and you have to apply what you have learned. It also comes down to a macro-micro thing where I guess it depends whether I like business or research.


Yes, those that I mentioned are kind of basic haha.

I know most of the work is not easy. Will open my eyes a bit more. Hope to learn more about accounting if I do decide to go into the field.


Yep, am applying to NUS also. I think bond also applies to those taking up the subsidised tuition fees where you have to work 3 years in Singapore. Never really considered staying beyond that, something I should consider if I do get that far. Didn't know they are so lenient with their PR haha.

This post has been edited by OTRoad: Mar 24 2015, 10:43 PM

I'm a accounting student, for my own opinion I would suggest you take Accounting because it is a professional and specialize programme which mean u required a special knowledge and skill only can conduct the work. Yes, u might can say audit firm will accept Econ, Finance and BBA graduates to work as audit associate but in long term Accounting Degree student are more advantage because their increment and promotion chance will be more than non-accounting graduates. Beside that, the firm will require you to take professional exam like ACCA if u want to get promotion.

I would like to say what u have study in f6 econs is totally difference in what you will study in university. Degree in econs is not a memorizing course it is a understanding course not like f6 level u memorize it u can score it.

In addition, if you are just a normal econs graduate u might hardly to get a job after you graduate because your course is quite general so you might need to competitive with BBA and finance graduates. Unless your econs degrees have offer you second major like actuarial science or double degree with accountancy then you can take econs.

P/M: Last time, when i finished and received my STPM result I am faced the same problem with you. I'm lucky have a person to share me his experience after that I decide to do accounting.