What would you choose: SFU BBA (Accounting) VS BCIT Construction Management

[jordann1987]

Did 2 years at Capilano U, Ready to transfer.

Assuming from an interest stand point that I like both the same, what do you think both offer in terms of long term career opportunities.

There is a sea flooded with BBAs and everyone wants to be a CA so I know the market is highly competitive. I think there Vancouver's real estate market will keep growing over the years and Construction Management isn't something that everyone is tapped into yet. However, seems like BCIT's Construction Management degree is relatively unheard of so it might be hard to find a job.

Life crossroads here, what do you guys think?

[Terrific_Deals2k8]

IT Programming FTW, tbh. I'm a current CA candidate and wish I learned to program. You can get a job with a CISA (certification) and other IT enterprise risk type consulting gigs. Pays very well!

[tylaw83]

IT Programming FTW, tbh. I'm a current CA candidate and wish I learned to program. You can get a job with a CISA (certification) and other IT enterprise risk type consulting gigs. Pays very well!

Run that by me again? If you work at a big firm, why don't you run over to the enterprise risk group and ask the partners if they get paid more than audit partners.

OP: Who knows how the future will turn out? At the moment, Accounting is still more stable than Real Estate. The housing/infrastructure market goes through a lot of ups/downs so sometimes you'll do really well and sometimes you'll have a hard time finding new projects. Right now, the Vancouver market is slowing down (prices have stopped increasing and have actually dipped a little). Toronto/Calgary isn't showing major growth or slowdown. The US market is coming back and many construction companies have posted year-over-year growth from 2010.

[forthewinwin]

In terms of potential doors to open, the sfu bba would be better.

[jordann1987]

Wow thanks for the advice guys. I'm actually quite shocked about the BBA recommendations when there are soooo many graduates every year. Guess I better network well or be prepared to be a low end accountant making 40K forever.

[Kappa21]

I like that construction management position.

I mean, Vancouver is a big hub for construction boom and there is a lot of opprotunities both in the city and outside for it..... so i guess it fits well.

Again, if you have Construction Management but you need engineering, your screwed.

Same with Accounting and you need to know SQL or DBA or some crap like that... dont know if you do but if you do.... your screwed....

[craftsman]

Depends if you are willing to relocate.

There will ALWAYS be some part of the world that will experience a massive building boom and need construction management types. Sure you see the Lower Mainland cooling but that's after YEARS of growth. Have a look up North in the Peace River region if you want BOOM!

[airclimber]

I would choose SFU BBA because thats what i am trying to do as well. This is off topic but I'm starting my first year at Capilano this fall and I'm also planning to transfer to SFU for their BBA, could you give me some advice on what courses to take? I know there are 9 required ones but if i finish those what am i supposed to take for 2nd year. I talked to the adviser but she didn't really answer me. Any help is appreciated. :/

[thefeebster]

I am thoroughly surprised the BBA has so many recommendations. I am 2 years graduated from BBA Accounting plus minor in ECON and honestly, I left the school wondering what good it has served me. I was active in several business clubs, on the board for a few and really its sort of worthless. I've watched a lot of my friends graduate this past year and the amount that have jobs in their field of study lined up out of University is really 2/10.

There is no better word to describe the market for CAs... saturated. The competition is bonkers at school. Not only are you competing with SFU students, there is also UBC, the DAP program and BCIT. I know some people who went through CA recruit 3-4 times and still nothing. You better stand out personality wise, rather than just being book smart, because that's what they care more about. Network like crazy to get a job. If that's what you want, good luck to you.

The best part of SFU Business is the co-op program. Easier to get into than the UBC one and provides some good work experience. They gouge you on the fee, but its worth it if it gets your foot in the door with that company later on.

[Eidorian]

Same here. I'm finishing my last semester at SFU and don't understand what all the hype is about. If I could go back, I'll probably major in computer science as that's probably one of the few fields with plenty of jobs available in Vancouver. There's way too many accounting students right now (you can forget about going the CA route unless you're really exceptional), so you're likely stuck in a clerk job making peanuts after graduation.

That being said, the co-op program is really good and I know many people who got job placements out of it. Just don't expect to find a job easily or get a high salary once you finish the BBA program.

[airclimber]

I am thoroughly surprised the BBA has so many recommendations. I am 2 years graduated from BBA Accounting plus minor in ECON and honestly, I left the school wondering what good it has served me. I was active in several business clubs, on the board for a few and really its sort of worthless. I've watched a lot of my friends graduate this past year and the amount that have jobs in their field of study lined up out of University is really 2/10.

There is no better word to describe the market for CAs... saturated. The competition is bonkers at school. Not only are you competing with SFU students, there is also UBC, the DAP program and BCIT. I know some people who went through CA recruit 3-4 times and still nothing. You better stand out personality wise, rather than just being book smart, because that's what they care more about. Network like crazy to get a job. If that's what you want, good luck to you.

The best part of SFU Business is the co-op program. Easier to get into than the UBC one and provides some good work experience. They gouge you on the fee, but its worth it if it gets your foot in the door with that company later on.

Which market isn't saturated nowadays ... ?
I actually want to know, any recommendations?

[thefeebster]

I'm not sure, I'm certainly no expert on market trends. But what i do know is what i went through during recruit and what i saw when i left. It was slim pickings for students then and from a friend doing it this coming fall, its going to be even tougher.

When I went through it, there were summer events where you could network with firms, do tours of their offices as well. Then in the fall there is a recruiting period of 2 weeks where every firm would have their specific networking night and one midsize night. Now from what i heard from my friend, they are scrapping that two week session, cramming it into a one night session for all firms and all GVR schools. As if the previous recruiting procedure wasn't already hard, now you have to compete face to face with other schools, 100s of students trying to get their face time and a word in with a rep for an off-chance they will remember them when they read their resume. How hard is it going to stand out in this situation now?

One thing i really wanted to do was an MIS concentration as well. Some firms have an IT Audit division, more of a niche than regular Audit. Not a lot of people have that concentration combo. Ton of people do accounting and finance.