My Academic Life at HCC and My Future Career

When it comes to your academic goals and future career, some people are very clear, while others might be unsure or wish to change their goals midstream. I was actually one of the latter. When I was in my senior year at university in Japan, I started thinking about studying abroad after I finish my bachelor’s degree. I found the thought of studying outside of Japan very fresh and stimulating. 

I loved it when I studied in Maui, Hawaii, for a semester as an exchange student in my junior year. That experience made me want to continue studying in the United States, where students’ attitude towards learning and how classes are conducted are very different from Japan. I feel like they are more motivated about what they want to learn, and they participate more actively in classes. Professors are very friendly in the United States, and classes at a community college usually have less people than they do in Japan. Another reason was that I wanted to learn something new, acquire new skills for my future career, and improve my English skills. 

Why I chose my school

First, I chose Florida because of all the diversity in the state, great weather, and fantastic beaches (I am a big beach lover!). Plus, it is home to one of my favorite things, Disney World. Second, I choose accounting as my major at Hillsborough Community College (HCC), which I had never learned in my life until I started studying here. In fact, I had always wanted to work in the hospitality industry. However, during the pandemic, I witnessed a lot people working in hospitality who lost their jobs because of all the travel restrictions, which made me think critically about my future job. 

Why I chose accounting

After this, I started looking into accounting, because I thought having accounting skills would be very beneficial in many different workplaces. Accounting is something that is needed in many companies, hotels, restaurants, and so on. Additionally, I knew that having accounting skills plus English language skills can lead me to get a great opportunity to work for foreign capital companies in Japan. Since the world is getting more globalized, and more companies in Japan are using International Financial Reporting Standards. There is a large demand for those who have accounting skills and an English ability. 

Now, I would like to go back to my academic life at HCC. From what I have learned here so far, I found that accounting has great potential in addition to what I mentioned above. Accounting could be related to many things, like entrepreneurship, business, and even computer skills. In my entrepreneurship class, I had to create a business plan, which included a detailed financial analysis. It was very helpful that I already learned how to do a financial analysis in an accounting class. I am sure it would have been more difficult, if I did not have any previous knowledge about accounting. 

Taking my skills with me

I know that accounting is not the most popular major. I do want more people to know that accounting is not just math, but it is something that you could related to many things. This is only my second semester at HCC, but I am glad that I choose accounting as my major. I am excited to have a deeper understanding of accounting and gain skills that I can actually use for my future job. I am sure that I will be able to contribute the skills that I have learned at HCC to jobs in Japan, by bringing everything that I learn back to my home country. 

Ayako Miyakoshi from Japan is pursuing an AS degree in accounting at Hillsborough Community College (HCC).