Written by Master of Accounting student Marina Angeloglou.
Have I taken on more than I can chew? Am I setting myself up for failure? These were the questions plaguing my thoughts prior to commencing the Master of Accounting. Having transitioned into postgrad life following the completion of my Bachelor of Business in 2019, I feared that I had taken on too much.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the transition to the Master of Accounting wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined. I was indeed ready for this.
Here are five things which surprised me about my program.
1. It’s not as hard as you’d think
I enrolled in the course expecting it to be extremely difficult, but it was anything but! Now, this isn’t to say that it didn’t have its fair share of challenging times, because trust me, it did, but I found my Master’s much more relaxed than my undergrad. Why? Because a full-time load when studying a postgraduate is three subjects a semester rather than four. This meant that I was able to finish in only three semesters – thanks to credit points gained from my Bachelor of Business. How awesome!
2. If you say yes to more things, you’ll have more fun
My best piece of advice would be to say ‘yes’ to extracurriculars. I thought that I would be living the life of a study hermit and weighed down in contact hours and study. I was wrong! There was time to do the things that I really enjoy like playing on the Bond Tennis team and socialising with friends. After all, aren’t these meant to be the best years of our lives?
3. Internships are a gift from above…and the Career Development Centre
I was lucky enough to undertake an Accounting internship at the Surfers Paradise Marriott in the first semester of my Master’s. With one elective under my sleeve, I reached out to Angela Higgins from the Business School’s SASQ and the lovely team at the Career Development Centre. Together, they were able to help me score this position and do it as a subject. My role consisted mainly of auditing which I was also coincidently taking as a subject in the same semester. This meant that I was learning in class, and then applying that knowledge in practice at the Marriott. To my surprise, this is precisely the area of accounting that I have fallen into and am excited to pursue as a profession next year.
4. Classes are full of diversity and even SMALLER than what they were in my undergrad!
I still remember walking into one of my classes and seeing only two other students and our lecturer. I was waiting for more to show up, but to my surprise, that was it! Just three students and our academic. I thought my classes in my undergrad were small, but boy was I wrong.
I was also surprised by the diversity in our classrooms. There were students from all walks of life, and not just the ‘mature aged students’ that postgrad courses tend to market. I’m living proof that younger people can study postgrad courses too!
5. Time flies when you’re having fun
My biggest surprise of all however, was making it. In just one year, I finished my Master of Accounting! I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be just 20 years old with both Bachelor and Master degrees to my name. But alas, here I am ready to make the move north to work for one of the world’s largest accounting firms. I cannot thank Bond enough!
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