I'm probably one of the few people to have experienced both the accounting program in university and the history program in university. My original degree is in

I'm probably one of the few people to have experienced both the accounting program in university and the history program in university. My original degree is in history, and I ended up going back to school to train as an accountant (I'm a CPA now working at a non-Big 4 public accounting firm). It could be just my school, but the quality of professors in each program were light years apart. To a person, the history professors were personable, smart and good lecturers. They cared about their students and helped them succeed. Accounting professors, on the other hand, largely stood up in front of the class, read directly from their slideshows, and answered any questions with "read your textbook". My thought is that this is related to the supply and demand between the two fields. In history, universities can afford to hire the best of the field. They can picky and wait for the right person to come along. In accounting, the best of the field go make big bucks somewhere else. Professors pay well, but not nearly as well as working at a firm. I can't imagine working at a Big 4 firm and teaching as well, just with the hour commitment of their full time job! As an aside, when I was completing my history degree and considering next steps, I consulted with one of my professors who basically told me I should give up my dream of becoming a PhD just because of how horrible the job market is. I ended up applying for my masters anyways and was rejected, which I take now as a blessing. I made more in my entry level job in accounting that I probably would be making now if I had ended up with my PhD.