Perhaps for many people, studying abroad is to get a degree, however, for me, pursuing a master’s degree is the first step to achieve my ultimate dream of becoming a professor in Accounting and Finance. I believe that coming to University of Bristol is the best decision that I have ever made.
“Soon, that curiosity turned into interest, and then into passion as my college years flew by. I fell in love with financial theories…”
In high school, I was originally a chemistry specialised student and had once yearned to become a doctor. I wanted to become a doctor not because it is my passion but because it is considered one of the most prestigious jobs in Vietnam. With such a career, I would be able to financially support my younger brother and my soon-to-be-retired parents, who were struggling to save up enough money for my college’s tuition.
However, because my college entrance examination’s score was just half a point below the requirement for medical schools, my goal was shattered. Without much hope, I decided to apply for another major that I was curious about: accounting and finance. Soon, that curiosity turned into interest, and then into passion as my college years flew by. I fell in love with financial theories, with doing research with professors at school and with every moment I stood in front of students as a teaching assistant. I realised that this is the career path that I wanted. Becoming a professor in Accounting and Finance was what I needed to pursue. Therefore, I decided to go for graduate school to realise my dream, to continue to conduct research, to teach and inspire the next generations of students.
“Here, I could also learn from many famous professors that I had long admired…”
I chose University of Bristol because it was a great place to start my journey and the master’s program in Accounting and Finance here is suitable for those who are passionate in doing research and pursuing a Doctoral degree in the future like me. In the first semester at University of Bristol, I was taught some of the most basic subjects in research, from understanding how many types of research or how to evaluate the quality of a research paper, to studying subjects related to statistics to be able to design a model before writing a full paper. Here, I could also learn from many famous professors that I had long admired such as Professor Chris Chapman, my Research Design and Qualitative Research Methods in Accounting and Finance teacher.
Of course, the path to become a great researcher and professor is still very long. For now, I am proud that I dared to make every effort to walk slowly but steadily along the way to conquering that big dream. Graduate school is the first challenge and the first opportunity for me to turn that dream into reality. And of course, I believe I can do it.
