Commerce queries (1 Viewer)

[fullychilled]

Hello everyone,

I had my heart set on doing a commerce course. The ATAR seemed o.k and it sounded like something that I liked. However, couple of days ago, when a family friend told me that with only a commerce degree it would be difficult to secure a job, it came to my mind that I should check out the majors and figure out where it would lead me. So I generally have my mind set on UNSW:

"Flexible core courses account for 24 UOC (4 courses). Students should choose four courses from the following list:

• ACCT1511 Accounting & Financial Mgt 1B (6 UOC)
• ACTL1001 Actuarial Studies and Commerce (6 UOC)
• ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1 (6 UOC)
• FINS1613 Business Finance (6 UOC)
• INFS1602 Info Systems in Business (6 UOC)
• LEGT1710 Business and the Law (6 UOC)
• MARK1012 Marketing Fundamentals (6 UOC)"

Any ideas where these would lead in terms of future occupation?
and also I don't get the advantages of doing Business and the Law, wouldn't knowledge in law and practising it usually mean that one is a lawyer?

Thanks in advance.

 

[fortune_cookie]

Your friend is an idiot. There is nothing wrong with just one commerce degree (provided you have good majors and reasonable marks (Distinction Average) ).

If you do majors like Management or Marketing , then you will have trouble finding work.

If you do majors like Economics, Finance or Actuarial Studies (and are good at them!) , you should have pretty good job prospects

 

[Shadowdude]

Flexible Core Courses shouldn't be where you pick your 'future job' from. You major in the thing you want a job in - and these flex core courses are just there to round you out as a Commerce graduate.

Pick whatever interests you.

 

[fortune_cookie]

Flexible Core Courses shouldn't be where you pick your 'future job' from. You major in the thing you want a job in - and these flex core courses are just there to round you out as a Commerce graduate.

Pick whatever interests you.

Yeah, but if you want to major in accounting you need to do ACCT1511, if you want to major in economics you need to pick ECON1102, If you want to major in finance you need to pick FINS1613, if you want to major in actuarial studies you must pick ACTL1001, etc

 

[Shadowdude]

True, true. I kinda assumed that one would major in what interests them - which leads to them picking Flexi Core Courses that fit in with what they want to major in.

 

[MichelleV]

What major were you thinking of doing though?

For something like Accounting, Bcom with a major in accounting is enough to get you a 'secure job' as such

If you were looking at major such as International Business for instance, it probably wouldn't.

 

[Shadowdude]

What major were you thinking of doing though?

For something like Accounting, Bcom with a major in accounting is enough to get you a 'secure job' as such

If you were looking at major such as International Business for instance, it probably wouldn't.

Personal experience, MichelleV?

 

[MichelleV]

Personal experience, MichelleV?

Didnt even have a place at uni yet and i got my job ktnx.

But yes, I'd say the majority of graduate accountants at my firm have just at standard commerce degree with an accounting major.

 

[Shadowdude]

Didnt even have a place at uni yet and i got my job ktnx.

But yes, I'd say the majority of graduate accountants at my firm have just at standard commerce degree with an accounting major.

You got it without even being in uni yet? Wow... nice. I thought you were already at uni and then... yeah.

Nice.

 

[MichelleV]

You got it without even being in uni yet? Wow... nice. I thought you were already at uni and then... yeah.

Nice.

Nope.
Most cadets have interviews in September (before the HSC) and some places make offers on the premise that you get into any of the Unis

My interview wasnt actually til January, but it was like, the day before early offers came out

And then I got an early offer and a job on the same day

 

[Shadowdude]

Ah, close enough.

I'm assuming accounting is fun fun fun (kinda) for you.

 

[seremify007]

Your friend is an idiot. There is nothing wrong with just one commerce degree (provided you have good majors and reasonable marks (Distinction Average) ).

I don't think you need a D average though; I'd say a Credit average is more than enough. But agreed that a straight Commerce degree is fine but one key thing is that most people undertake some form of extracurricular activities and/or work experience to develop the softer skills which employers look for (e.g. team work, initiative, ability to manage time, dealing with customers, teaching/training others, etc).

That all being said though, given the current economic climate, who knows...

 

[fortune_cookie]

I don't think you need a D average though; I'd say a Credit average is more than enough. But agreed that a straight Commerce degree is fine but one key thing is that most people undertake some form of extracurricular activities and/or work experience to develop the softer skills which employers look for (e.g. team work, initiative, ability to manage time, dealing with customers, teaching/training others, etc).

That all being said though, given the current economic climate, who knows...

Wrong. I keep hearing from people that all the top firms/banks set a minimum of 75WAM. If you don't have at least 75WAM, your application is automatically canned.

 

[seremify007]

ps. Moved this thread to relevant spot (i.e. UNSW - ASB)

Hello everyone,

I had my heart set on doing a commerce course. The ATAR seemed o.k and it sounded like something that I liked. However, couple of days ago, when a family friend told me that with only a commerce degree it would be difficult to secure a job, it came to my mind that I should check out the majors and figure out where it would lead me. So I generally have my mind set on UNSW:

"Flexible core courses account for 24 UOC (4 courses). Students should choose four courses from the following list:

• ACCT1511 Accounting & Financial Mgt 1B (6 UOC)
• ACTL1001 Actuarial Studies and Commerce (6 UOC)
• ECON1102 Macroeconomics 1 (6 UOC)
• FINS1613 Business Finance (6 UOC)
• INFS1602 Info Systems in Business (6 UOC)
• LEGT1710 Business and the Law (6 UOC)
• MARK1012 Marketing Fundamentals (6 UOC)"

Any ideas where these would lead in terms of future occupation?
and also I don't get the advantages of doing Business and the Law, wouldn't knowledge in law and practising it usually mean that one is a lawyer?

Thanks in advance.

LEGT1710 is mandatory if you wish to complete the CA program and hence a lot of people take it (along with the three other "Business law" major subjects- contract law, corporate entities and taxation law). These areas whilst not law law, give you sufficient appreciation and understanding of the content to help you make informed decisions in your future careers. Everyone knows you aren't a lawyer, but you need to be able to know when to consult with experts as well as how to interpret what they say. Furthermore there are other basics such as contract law or entities which you may need to know for your work such as what clauses should/shouldn't be included in a contract which you may be responsible for reviewing, or understanding the implications when a business creates SPVs for certain investment activities. These areas are also required knowledge (i.e. assumed) because post grad courses will often go into more detail and you are expected to understand the basic principles behind these areas.

 

[seremify007]

Wrong. I keep hearing from people that all the top firms/banks set a minimum of 75WAM. If you don't have at least 75WAM, your application is automatically canned.

Maybe for certain specific jobs but I can think of many who didn't have D wams and still got decent grad jobs. I've also seen in my firm at least that a D wam is definitely not required for most roles (to this day I can only think of one area which specified a D wam and that's no longer the case).

 

[deterministic]

Wrong. I keep hearing from people that all the top firms/banks set a minimum of 75WAM. If you don't have at least 75WAM, your application is automatically canned.

For IBs its more like 80 WAM