Hello house,the career section of this forum have always been my favourite section because of the sincere replies which has made me focussed.Guys am a graduate of zoology and i want to go into the finance world.i will be writing my acca this december.i want to know whether i can do my masters in accounting or finance since my first degree is in the natural sciences.thanks

House please am still waiting. I dont know it that's why am here. Please Jarus,odunnu et al.help out

oguguamlov: Hello house,the career section of this forum have always been my favourite section because of the sincere replies which has made me focussed.Guys am a graduate of zoology and i want to go into the finance world.i will be writing my acca this december.i want to know whether i can do my masters in accounting or finance since my first degree is in the natural sciences.thanks

Hi,

I would begin by saying that you should pursue a Master's degree in Finance and then top it up with a professional certification in Accounting. There is no point pursuing a Master's degree in Accounting when you can become a respected and chartered accountant through professional exams. So, your choice of ACCA is on point.

Standards for admissions into M.Fin programs vary around the world. The requirements for a Master's degree in Finance vary from country to country and from school to school. Some M.Fin programs require that you have an average knowledge of linear algebra, economics (micro and macro), basic calculus and simple calculus based probability theory. If you have these courses on your transcript, plus a good GMAT/GRE score, I bet any good Finance program around the world would find you competitive.

So, you need to answer two very important and helpful questions before we continue with the discussion. The first is where you would like to do the M.Fin and the second is whether you took some A level/year 1 Mathematics/Statistics courses while doing your Zoology. I am not sure of the university you graduated from, but I am sure that if you went to Unilag and studied Zoology, then you most probably took Prof. Ray's 2-unit course in Statistical Inference, 3-unit course in Statistics for Sciences and two of Dr. Solomon's courses in Pure Mathematics for Biological Sciences and Statistics for Biologists. These courses are basically for Biological Sciences students; hardcore Math/Physics students were prohibited from taking them. If you went to Unilag and you did all these courses and got a B or a C or even a D in each of them, then I guess you can manage to graduate from an M.Fin program that is not quantitative inclined. Many M.Fin programs do not require that you hold a BSc Hons degree in Finance and the likes. I know it sounds weird, but that is the way it works at graduate level.

I will leave you to tell us about the quantitative courses you took while at undergrad.

T22.

Thanks tanimola,i graduated from unijos.i wrote 2 A level mathematics in 100l with a 2 credit unit statistical course.In 200l i took a 4 credit unit course,sta-bio,as per the grades,within A and c. I think i will like to pursue it in unilag because i dont have the means to do it outside the country for now.thanks

So is the gmat for the foreign schools or can i equally make use of it here in the country?

hope u realise how important ur first degree is and i want to know ,please can you explain how Zoology relates to accounting or finance that combination is questionable especially to serious minded employers why dont you go do masters in a course that relaltes to your first degree zoology instead of trying to make things difficult for yourself.

xyloxloto: hope u realise how important ur first degree is and i want to know ,please can you explain how Zoology relates to accounting or finance that combination is questionable especially to serious minded employers why dont you go do masters in a course that relaltes to your first degree zoology instead of trying to make things difficult for yourself.

Hi,

Any company, plus the most serious minded employers, would employ you again and again if you could convincingly prove that you know your onions and can get jobs done. There is no disadvantage moving from biology to finance, provided the mover can cope well. Some companies even highly value such people because they bring in the requisite professional diversity to the companies. I am sure the phrase 'diversity and inclusiveness' rings a bell.

There are many non finance/economics/business/management graduates working for top financial institutions around the world. The list is very long. If the OP can scale through Master's level Finance, then he is not less competent than his Master's degree colleagues who did their undergraduate studies in Finance/Economics/Accounting/Management.

It may interest you to know that many of the very top graduate students at the most popular Finance/Economics programs did not study Finance/Economics/Accounting/Business at undergrad.

T22.

oguguamlov: Thanks tanimola,i graduated from unijos.i wrote 2 A level mathematics in 100l with a 2 credit unit statistical course.In 200l i took a 4 credit unit course,sta-bio,as per the grades,within A and c. I think i will like to pursue it in unilag because i dont have the means to do it outside the country for now.thanks

Ok. Good. But I don't know about the admissions policies for MSc Finance at Unilag. I guess they may wrongly assume that the only people fit for MSc Finance are graduates of Finance/Economics/Accounting/Actuarial Sc/Business/Marketing etc. If this is the way the school's policy is, then you will have to re-plan your strategy.

Let us know the entry requirements for MSc Finance at Unilag.

T22

oguguamlov: So is the gmat for the foreign schools or can i equally make use of it here in the country?

It is mainly LBS than demands GMAT scores for admissions. Typical naija schools may not even ask you to write any admissions essays.


T22.

tanimola22:

Ok. Good. But I don't know about the admissions policies for MSc Finance at Unilag. I guess they may wrongly assume that the only people fit for MSc Finance are graduates of Finance/Economics/Accounting/Actuarial Sc/Business/Marketing etc. If this is the way the school's policy is, then you will have to re-plan your strategy.

Let us know the entry requirements for MSc Finance at Unilag.

T22

thanks tanimola for your encouraging replies.Am not presently in lag,will be there next week to find our their requirements or house please can somebody in unilag help me out?

u can fit in by considering PG program then later u can take up d Masters, however, professional certifications is better

Msc Finance is it for me.

Msc Accounting is almost useless except you want to be in academics. I hardly advise people to gor Bsc Accounting sef.

Read whatever course, even engineering or law, and just write ICAN and ACCA and you are an Accountant. Someone with Bsc Agric plus ICAN stands a better chance of getting Accounting job than someone with Bsc, Msc Accounting.

Hello forum, am kind of confuse and in need of some assistance. Am an economics and statistics graduate am considering. Master programme in UNILAG but wouldn't know which course to fill in for aside economics or finance. Pls I need ur advice.

I think it is far better if you get Chartered with ICAN because it beats both qualifications hands down.
Please see www.IcanLectures.com.ng where qualifying has been reduced to a piece of cake.
Regards.

Hello house

Jarus:
Msc Finance is it for me.

Msc Accounting is almost useless except you want to be in academics. I hardly advise people to gor Bsc Accounting sef.

Read whatever course, even engineering or law, and just write ICAN and ACCA and you are an Accountant. Someone with Bsc Agric plus ICAN stands a better chance of getting Accounting job than someone with Bsc, Msc Accounting.

If your plan was to go for ICAN from the on set why is it not wise to start with an undergraduate degree from Accounting?

RonKenoly:
If your plan was to go for ICAN from the on set why is it not wise to start with an undergraduate degree from Accounting?

True but Bsc in a non-accounting course offers me flexibikity.

Jarus:


True but Bsc in a non-accounting course offers me flexibikity.

Understood and agreed.

Have you been able to get other job applicant from other state for your career training?

I am really interested, just that I don't have relatives in Lagos. Any other state would be nice Sir.

RonKenoly:
If your plan was to go for ICAN from the on set why is it not wise to start with an undergraduate degree from Accounting?

B.sc accounting is just a waste of time because been chartered is way better.

asuustrike1:

B.sc accounting is just a waste of time because been chartered is way better.

Lol, you intend to become a medical doctor. Why go for biochemistry first?

If your plan was to become a chartered Accountant from the onset, why go for another course then coming back to write and becoming chartered?

The best bet is to get your ACCA or ICAN qualification. YYou can then use that to apply for MSc Finance in a university. You will be accepted.

mikeapollo:
The best bet is to get your ACCA or ICAN qualification. YYou can then use that to apply for MSc Finance in a university. You will be accepted.

Hi. As someone with no previous finance degree, if I do ICAN, will that make me eligible for an MSC in finance?

Can you give examples of universities that accept that qualification?