April 9, 2001
International accounting firms snapping up UCSC students
For UCSC accounting instructor Bob Shepherd, the proof is in the numbers, and the numbers are looking good: Four of the "Big Five" international accounting firms are recruiting UCSC students, and more than 70 percent of seniors in the business management economics accounting program have jobs lined up after graduation.
"The big national firms are grabbing virtually everybody we've got," said Shepherd, a Certified Public Accountant (C.P.A.) who has taught accounting at UCSC for nearly 20 years.
As entry-level associates for such household names as PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche, graduates will be earning an average starting salary of about $50,000--a figure that will likely double after five years of employment with a firm. Most associates will be working as financial advisers in the areas of auditing and taxes, said Shepherd.
"There's a tremendous learning curve, but students who get on with these national firms are on the fast track," he said. "These are among the top 25 firms that M.B.A. grads want to work for. They give you an opportunity to stretch and develop. Of course, they're paying you pretty good money, so they work you, too." Fifty- and 60-hour work weeks are typical, especially during the busy months of February and March.
The business management economics major, introduced in 1998, is satisfying a strong interest among students--and prospective students, noted Michael Thompson, associate vice chancellor for Outreach, Admissions, and Student Academic Services.
The Big Five firms restrict their recruiting to a few select schools, and teams of four visit the campus to interview students. About 50 UCSC students were interviewed this February for 2002, and 15 were called back for follow-up interviews.
The recognition of UCSC as a source of high-level talent is a fairly recent phenomenon that Shepherd attributes to the hiring by PricewaterhouseCoopers of a couple of UCSC graduates about three years ago. "That has really brought our numbers up, and now UCSC is a target for recruitment," he said. "The floodgates are open."
Recruiters have been pleased to discover the pocket of talent coming out of UCSC.
"The students are very open thinkers, willing to listen and learn with a broad vision," said Norm Bustamante, a partner with Deloitte & Touche. "Quite frankly, when I was going into it, I thought they'd be laid back, being from Santa Cruz, but I was very impressed."
Michael Mueller, recruiting manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers, the first of the Big Five to recognize the talent at UCSC, said the results of his relationship with faculty here have been "very rewarding."
For Shepherd, the recognition has been a long time coming. "I've always been pushing in this direction, but I never thought it would get to this point," said Shepherd. "We've got a real feeding frenzy going on, with some of our students getting two or three job offers."
Firms are even hiring summer interns to assess prospective employees--and sometimes making job offers before students go back for their senior year. "Can you imagine that?" asked Shepherd. "Being a junior and knowing you have a job waiting for you when you're out of school?"
Nearly 85 percent of placements are in the San Jose area, with a few in San Francisco, San Diego, and Los Angeles, he said. Entry-level associates are expected to take the C.P.A. exam after two years on the job, and although the national passing rate is about 20 percent, UCSC graduates fare quite well, according to Shepherd.
"I've taught in other schools, and I've never seen the leadership talent
we've got here," said Shepherd. "You can spot the leaders right off the
bat."
Now, said Shepherd, the challenge will be to keep up with demand. "I had 235 students in my beginning accounting class last fall. It was jammed."
