From engineering to accounting: A graduate’s unusual journey to her M.S. in Accounting degree

Jooyeon Kim (‘22M) broke the mold more than once when she set out to pursue an accounting-related occupation.

As a college student at Dongguk University in her native South Korea, Kim had earned a baccalaureate degree in electrical engineering -- a field with no more than a casual connection to the recording and processing of financial information. She then spent seven grinding years applying her specialized technology training in industrial settings around Seoul.

It was during this period that Kim met her future husband. After marrying, they emigrated to the United States in 2008. Compounding the dizzying set of changes Kim’s departure from the land of her birth and upbringing entailed, she by this time also knew that she wanted to radically alter the direction of her professional life.

Kim pivoted to a career in business – specifically one anchored in the accounting profession. She and her family came to the Central Shenandoah Valley, where Kim enrolled at Eastern Mennonite University for the specific purpose of fulfilling the prerequisites for the Master of Science in Accounting program at nearby James Madison University.

Kim entered JMU’s M.S. in Accounting program in the fall of 2022 and graduated the following May. She was able to secure a graduate assistantship that enabled her to receive a waiver of her tuition plus a stipend – financial assistance which helped to make her dream a reality.

Kim’s key insight was that she didn't require a B.B.A. from JMU to be considered for the university's M.S. in Accounting program. She also learned that enrollment in the program would provide her with access to stellar enrichment opportunities.

In VITA, for example, M.S. in Accounting students help provide no-cost tax-preparation services to income-constrained residents of Harrisonburg and the Central Shenandoah Valley. This past spring marked the ninth consecutive year in which VITA has been offered at JMU, as 22 graduate students again teamed with School of Accounting faculty members to provide tax-preparation services to community members.

Another example is Meet the Firms, which annually attracts more than 500 students and 200-plus recruiters who represent financial-services firms throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It serves as an opportunity to make valuable connections while networking and learning about careers.

A bustling marketplace for those pursuing degrees in accounting, finance or computer information systems, Meet the Firms is an especially good fit for those enrolled in JMU's M.S. in Accounting program.

Only two years removed from her own stint in the program, Kim has already begun her third semester teaching financial accounting to JMU undergraduates. She has also established a small bookkeeping practice which serves several nonprofits in Harrisonburg and the Central Shenandoah Valley.