Personal Finance: Ask the Experts: Want a job? Get an accounting degree: Sac State has online program

Personal Finance: Ask the Experts

Get advice on money matters from The Bee's Claudia Buck and a panel of local experts

June 25, 2012

Want a job? Get an accounting degree: Sac State has online program

My Sunday Personal Finance column focused on a new, first-ever UC master's degree in accounting that's starting up this fall at UC Davis and UC Riverside.

And it's perfectly timed since accounting graduates are among the most sought after by U.S. employers. According to a recent survey of 600 companies, the most hard-to-fill jobs include: software developers, sales representatives, registered nurses and - yes - financial analysts and accountants.

The new UC degrees fit with a recent California state law requiring an extra year of accounting studies - essentially a master's degree - to qualify for a CPA license, starting in 2014.

As noted in the column, CSU campuses have been offering master's degrees in accounting for years. At Sac State, the degree is taught entirely via the web.

Despite the UC competition, CSUS business school dean Sanjay Varshney said "We have no plans to change it." The online-only coursework, he said, is "very attractive to working people and people outside the region," including students who've enrolled from China.

Since 2005, CSUS graduates about 30 students a year with a Master of Science in Accountancy (MSA) degree.

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Claudia Buck is The Sacramento Bee's personal finance columnist. Read all her columns here. Contact her at cbuck@sacbee.com

Terri Carpenter

Terri Carpenter offers advice on job hunting, retraining and career counseling. Carpenter works at Sacramento Works Inc., the career and job training arm of the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA). With 15 years in the field, she has hands-on experience with everyone from first-time job seekers to career professionals seeking advice after a layoff or looking for a mid-career change. Ask her a question.

Carlena Tapella

Carlena Tapella is a partner in the law firm of Webb & Tapella Law Corp. in Sacramento. The firm specializes in estate planning and probate, such as estates, trusts, conservatorships and litigation. She is a past president of the Sacramento County Bar Association's Estate Planning & Probate Section. Ask her a question.

Kimberly Foss, certified financial planner, is the founder of Empyrion Wealth Management in Roseville. With nearly 30 years in the financial industry, her clients include women in transition, small business owners, retirees and "pre-retirees." Ask her a question.

Gregory Burke, a CPA and tax expert with John Waddell & Co. in Sacramento since 1984, worked as an IRS tax auditor for six years. He’s a past chairman of the California Society of CPAs. Ask him a question.

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