Maths, Accounting and Finance or Civil Engineering??

[MonkeyTennis34]

DS17 is trying to decide on one of the above degree courses.

He's studying Maths, Physics and Film Studies..predicted B,B,A..in that order.

He enjoys buying and selling items online and has a good nose for the best deals...so he thinks maybe Accounting and Finance?

I have posted on here a few times so thanks in advance for your patience!

A few questions....

1. Maths is obviously a broad subject...what career might it lead to?

1. Are civil engineers guaranteed a job at the end of their degree and what is the best kind?? E.g. Not sure what "Foundation year" means.

1. With his grades, where might he be best putting in his UCAS form?

I know I/he can google alot of this on Unifrog etc.. just wanted a bit of the human touch!

If you want to be an accountant, don't do any kind of accounting degree. An accountancy qualification is vital. Go to one of the big accountancy firms and get on their school leaver scheme where they will train you up and pay a salary - you'll be qualified in five years, with brilliant work experience, insight into top class clients and no debt. They normally have a couple of rounds of entrants a year.

ilikecatsandponies
Thank you.
Can you give me some examples of big accountancy firms?

Just to add - if he's not sure, the amount a degree costs these days is a huge amount. What about temping for a while to see what life is like in different types of companies? He could always do it as a gap year.
Personally I trained in audit (I'm an accountant as you guessed from my last post) which is a brilliant way to get an insight into all kinds of businesses. The right audit firm will get him in front of the finance director or CEO of clients from very early days asking all kinds of questions, so he will have the chance to learn about their businesses. Then once you qualify you can specialise in just about anything or go and work in any company.

www.accountancytoday.co.uk/top-30-accountancy-firms-uk-2021-2022/

There's a very big culture difference between the big four, the rest of the top ten, and the rest of them. They will mostly have student recruitment events where he would have the chance to talk to existing trainees which would give him a chance to find out where he would be a good fit. Also working in audit vs anything else! It's probably easier to get into audit at the moment but definitely talk to existing trainees to see if it's a good match. Personally I really enjoyed it. You need to be able to meet a deadline and a good team player, and someone who can talk to people.

train.icaew.com/jobs/aca-trainee/ there will be some school leaver training contract jobs listed here for example. Some firms will list direct on their websites, but they've just taken a new intake, so more ads will come up later in the year depending on the firm's recruitment cycle.

I train accountants for their professional exams. The vast majority still have a degree before starting their professional training. Amongst those starting their training this week were students with degrees in:

Chemistry
Civil engineering
Aeronautical engineering
Accounting & finance
Business studies & marketing
Football management
Physics
Maths
History
Philosophy, politics, economics
English Lit
Sociology
Economics
PGCE (maths)

The list really is endless

Yes you can get jobs with Civil Engineering companies straight from uni with a Civil Engineering degree. But some people go into a totally different career.

Civil seems to be easier than Mech Eng to get a place at a good uni at the moment. With those predicted grades you probably need to look at the ex polys though yes a foundation year first is another route.

I've always thought an accounting degree is probably a waste of time when you've got to do an accounting qualification afterwards anyway. You're far more use as a chartered accountant with some other skills to bring to the table, it'll open up options later on.

My finance apprentice at work has a friend doing an engineering apprenticeship, rather than uni. So there are alternatives if he's interested.

My daughter did maths with no idea what she wanted to do, is now an actuary and at 30 is earning more than her dad and me combined! 🤣

Another accountant (chemistry PhD) saying not accounting and finance. Read economics if he’s actually interested in business. If he wants to go to uni (and I’m glad I did) then pick a course he’ll enjoy intellectually and work hard at.

To add: the best degree to do ( of those) is the one he will enjoy most and therefore be happy to put in the work.

They all have decent job prospects.

Maths is very sought after but is very tough at degree level. My nephew studied maths at Uni and needed Advanced Higher at A for his course. Not saying your son cannot do it, but he will need to love it.

As to what jobs Maths degrees bring - any generic industry jobs - accounting, HR, general management trainee jobs, or Actuarial, Financial Planning etc., plus of course academia or teaching.

Nothing wrong with those plans but , and I think I may have flagged this to you before, has he considered sound engineering in the film industry? Surrey does a degree and there are also apprenticeships.

If he wants to go to university then maths or engineering can still lead to accountancy afterwards. Civil engineering is usually possible via an apprenticeship. To get to the chartered status he would need an MEng degree or equivalent extra study. Look at the Institution of Civil Engineers for careers information.

Thanks all for your help.

Hello again piggywaspushed
I just said to DS, What about Sound Engineering and his face almost lit up....a very rare occurrence! So, thank you for that!

I think the (very loose) plan is to fill out his UCAS form and, hopefully, get an offer or two , defer and then travel.

He's also said that if he gets good grades (better than his predicted) he would apply AFTER a gap year.

ilikecatsandponies
DS's older brother currently works at KPMG so he knows a bit about it.
DS1 was a lot more driven....DS2 isn't exhibiting a lot of get up and go right now when he needs to be making decisions!!

DS2 is actually going to a degree apprenticeship "office event" at PWC
in a couple of weeks so I guess that's another possible avenue.

These are very disparate areas of study, OP, and it doesn’t necessarily sound like mathematical subjects are DS’ thing. Nothing wrong with that.

I too live that his face lit up when you mentioned the Sound Engineering suggested by @Piggywaspushed

I am in STEM and deal with a small number of misplaced personal tutees every year. I long to suggest they change to a field that would set their faces alight. And Surrey gets good feedback on this board

Best wishes to DS

Edit: live should say love

If he's interested in construction (civil engineering) and also finances/deals etc, then maybe consider Quantity Surveying (cost management/cost consultancy) - QSs seem to get paid more than civil engineers too!! QS work alongside the engineering team to estimate the amount of materials needed, supply/timing of these, how to save £ and carbon, working with clients and contractors to manage costs. A good QS can make or break the viability of a construction project.

What is a QS

How amazing! Where did your DD study maths @GardenersDelight ? Did she enjoy it? Does she work in London? My DS is considering Maths too.

@MonkeyTennis34 The recent salaries for civil engineers are higher than many other engineers. They can work in many other fields. However too many do and this is why there’s a shortage.

Everyone contemplating engineering needs to know the difference between a MEng and BEng. A 3 year BEng limits the final qualification status. It’s very important to look at a uni with lots of engineering where there is good investment. I would suggest if you don’t know what you want, engineering might not be it. However find out about it and he might get interested. Also QSs do not get more. Compare earnings at consulting engineers, not contractors. There’s a hierarchy of employers! As in Big 4 for accounting.

@Cratos she studied at Sheffield
Started as a masters in maths with French but dropped the French after first year so has an Msc in maths
Did an internship with ey between 3rd and 4th year and was offered a job for when she graduated