Some students entering university do not yet know what they want to achieve in the future, while others already in their first year have specific goals and dreams. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what your future will look like and what steps to take to succeed. But even when you have decided on the direction of study, you often doubt whether it is mine? Will I be able to realize myself and find a job after graduation? In this article, Lucy Guan, a last-year student of the commerce program, shares her experience of her way to university, how she managed to get a job at one of the largest accounting firms in Vancouver, and what difficulties she faced.
Lucy Guan first heard about UNBC through a presentation at her high school in Vancouver. She remembers from the presentation on UNBC in high school that the presenter said Prince George barely rains. The weather is primarily overcast or sunny, which piqued her interest since it rains almost daily in Vancouver. Lucy would say that fact isn’t entirely actual after living here for most of her time in the past four years. Although it doesn’t rain very much, it snows a lot here, and it can get super cold! Guan ultimately decided to come to UNBC because she got the chance to play on the women’s basketball team here. She also wanted the opportunity to move away from home to attend university. Lucy also liked that UNBC was a smaller university with smaller class sizes. Guan remembers when she came on her visit to UNBC, she fell in love with the snow and the scenery, but Lucy is not sure that she loves the snow after almost four years of it! Overall, Lucy has enjoyed her experience at UNBC and is glad that she came here for a degree. Guan loves her accounting professors, she has met many incredible people, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Guan did not choose her major until her second year in the business program. Initially, she decided to only major in finance because she enjoyed the content she learned in her finance classes. Lucy is also interested in investing, so she believed majoring in finance would help her learn more about investing. At the beginning of Guan’s third year, she decided to add accounting as her second major because she liked how the accounting career path was very straightforward. Another reason she chose to major in accounting was because her older sister was majoring in accounting. It was also a bonus that is double majoring in accounting and finance is only an extra 4-5 courses.
Lucy thinks it was worth it to double major in accounting and finance. She feels like these two majors complement each other very well since there’s a lot of crossover between accounting and finance. Guan also thought it was worth it since it allowed her to choose whether she wanted to pursue either accounting or finance for her career. Lucy believes the content learned in both majors has been applicable and valuable for her public life. For example, learning about personal tax and investment strategies are topics that she can use in her career and life.
Some people think accounting is boring; do you think they’re right? “To be honest, I can see why people would think accounting is boring.” Accounting isn’t for everyone, but Guan has enjoyed her accounting classes. When she first chose to major in accounting, it was more because she felt it would be helpful. Lucy didn’t choose it because she thought it would be an interesting major. She enjoys accounting because you can learn a lot about a business through their books. She thinks accounting knowledge is a valuable foundation since it can be applied to any business; every company has or uses some form of accounting.
Lucy plans to work as an accountant after she graduates and obtains her CPA, using the knowledge she has learned through her accounting major. Guan said that she would probably use her finance major since there’s such a close relationship between finance and accounting. The CPA program also has specific required courses or subject area/CPA preparatory courses, including corporate finance. Guan said that she is sure that she will draw on knowledge from her finance classes as she goes through the CPA program.
Guan hopes to travel in the summer if she can, depending on the health guidelines and restrictions and how the pandemic is. Hopefully, by summertime, everything’s back to normal or close to normal. Lucy also has accepted an offer to work at KPMG in Vancouver as a staff accountant in an audit. So, she’ll start there in September and go through the CPA program.
Lucy applied to KPMG during spring recruit, so in spring 2021. She went through the application process, which starts with filling out an application on the KPMG website and submitting a resume, cover letter, and unofficial academic transcript. Then, she played some virtual games that KPMG sends as part of their assessment methods for applicants. Lucy ended up getting the chance to do a first-round interview with KPMG, which was with a manager, and it went well, so she got invited back for a second-round interview. Lucy’s second-round interview was with a partner at KPMG, and shortly after, she was emailed with an offer letter. Guan’s application process with KPMG began before the spring recruit even started. She attended a few networking events to get to know KPMG and see if she thought they would be a good fit for her and her career goals.
On advising people purchasing a Commerce degree, Lucy said that it is super beneficial to get out to networking events to meet people and connect with them. When Lucy decided to pursue accounting for her career, she signed up for many networking events with various accounting firms she was interested in. Through these networking events, Lucy was able to get her name out and hear about what it was like to work at those firms from their employees. Lucy chose KPMG after attending networking events with other firms, so she could compare KPMG to other firms and decide which firm she would enjoy working at the most. Guan also received an offer from Deloitte and was lucky enough to get the chance to chat with a staff accountant or junior accountant from both firms, which helped her a lot with her decision. Networking events are also crucial since it helps you learn a lot about the support and benefits each firm offers to its employees. You might even be able to get a job offer through a networking event, which is what happened to her after she attended the Deloitte National Leadership Conference.
Commerce student purchasing double major: Lucy Guan
Some students entering the university do not yet know what they want to achieve in the future, while others already in their first year have specific goals and dreams. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine what your future will look like and what steps to take to succeed. But even when you have decided on the direction of study, you often doubt whether it is mine? Will I be able to realize myself and find a job after graduation? In this article, Lucy Guan, a last-year student of the commerce program, will share her experience of her way to university, how she managed to get a job at one of the largest accounting firms in Vancouver, and what difficulties she had to face.
Lucy Guan first heard about UNBC through a presentation at her high school in Vancouver. She remembers from the presentation on UNBC at my high school that the presenter said Prince George barely rains. The weather is overcast, primarily/sunny, which piqued her interest since it rains almost daily in Vancouver. Lucy would say that fact isn’t entirely actual after living here for most of her time in the past four years. Although it doesn’t rain very much, it snows a lot here, and it can get super cold! Guan ultimately decided to come to UNBC because she got the chance to play on the women’s basketball team here. She also wanted the opportunity to move away from home to attend university. Lucy also liked that UNBC was a smaller university with smaller class sizes. Guan remembers when she came on her visit to UNBC, she fell in love with the snow and the scenery, but Lucy is not sure that she loves the snow after almost four years of it! Overall, Lucy has enjoyed her experience at UNBC and is glad that she came here for a degree. Guan loves her accounting professors, she has met many incredible people, and she wouldn’t have it any other way!
Guan did not choose her major until her second year in the business program. Initially, she decided to only major in finance because she enjoyed the content she had been learning in her finance classes. Lucy is also interested in investing, so she thought majoring in finance would help her learn more about investing. At the beginning of Guan’s third year, she decided to add accounting as her second major because she liked how the accounting career path was very straightforward. Another reason she chose to major in accounting was that her older sister was majoring in accounting. It was also a bonus that is double majoring in accounting and finance is only an extra 4-5 courses.
Lucy thinks it was worth it to double major in accounting and finance. She feels like these two majors complement each other very well since there’s a lot of crossover between accounting and finance. Guan also thought it was worth it since it allowed her to choose whether she wanted to pursue either accounting or finance for her career. Lucy believes the content learned in both majors has been applicable and valuable for her public life. For example, learning about personal tax and investment strategies are both topics that she can use in her career and her life.
Some people think accounting is boring; do you think they’re right? “To be honest, I can see why people would think accounting is boring.” Accounting isn’t for everyone, but Guan has enjoyed her accounting classes. When she first chose to major in accounting, it was more because she felt it would be helpful. Lucy didn’t choose it because she thought it would be an interesting major. She enjoys accounting because you can learn a lot about a business through their books. She thinks accounting knowledge is a valuable foundation since it can be applied to any business; every company has or uses some form of accounting.
Lucy plans to work as an accountant after she graduates and obtains her CPA, using the knowledge she has learned through her accounting major. Guan said that she would probably end up using her finance major since there’s such a close relationship between finance and accounting. The CPA program also has specific required courses or subject area/CPA preparatory courses, including corporate finance. Guan said that she is sure that she will have to draw on knowledge from her finance classes as she goes through the CPA program.
Guan hopes to travel in the summer if she can, depending on the health guidelines and restrictions, and how the pandemic is. Hopefully, by summertime, everything’s back to normal or close to normal. Lucy also has accepted an offer to work at KPMG in Vancouver as a staff accountant in an audit. So, she’ll start there in September and go through the CPA program.
Lucy applied to KPMG during spring recruit, so in spring 2021. She went through the application process, which starts with filling out an application on the KPMG website and submitting a resume, cover letter, and unofficial academic transcript. Then, she played some virtual games that KPMG sends as part of their assessment methods for applicants. Lucy ended up getting the chance to do a first-round interview with KPMG, which was with a manager, and it went well, so she got invited back for a second-round interview. Lucy’s second-round interview was with a partner at KPMG, and shortly after, she was emailed with an offer letter. Guan’s application process with KPMG began before the spring recruit even started, as she attended a few networking events to get to know KPMG and see if she thought KPMG would be a good fit for her and her career goals.
On giving advice to people purchasing a Commerce degree, Lucy said that it is super beneficial to get out to networking events to meet people and connect with them. When Lucy decided to pursue accounting for her career, she signed up for many networking events with various accounting firms she was interested in. Through these networking events, Lucy was able to get her name out there and hear about what it was like to work at these firms from their employees. Lucy chose KPMG after she had also been attending networking events with other firms, so she could compare KPMG to other firms and decide which firm she would enjoy working at the most. Guan also received an offer from Deloitte and was lucky enough to get the chance to chat with a staff accountant or junior accountant from both firms, which helped her a lot in my decision. Networking events are also crucial since it helps you learn a lot about the support and benefits each firm offers to its employees. You might even be able to get a job offer through a networking event, which is what happened to her after she attended the Deloitte National Leadership Conference.
