Being Put on the Spot - thanks to Bush and the Gang

Some people hope for a miracle cure
Some people just accept the world as it is
But I'm not willing to lay down and die
Because I am an innocent man...........................Billy Joel


Today, one of my really smart advisees came to see me about courses she was planning to take in the next term. She had chosen Accounting as her major last year. She told me today that after taking a few accounting courses, she was not sure if Accounting was right for her. I quickly looked up her grades to make sure she still had her 4.0 GPA, and she said she was doing fine in all her courses, including Accounting ones. So, it was not poor performance but she said that she was not excited by a future spent in Accounting. I had given her plenty of grief in the past about there being no accounting for her choice of major, but she assured me that it did not play a role.
She then said that she was considering majoring in Finance. This put me in a difficult spot, given the turmoil in the financial industry- turmoil caused by Bush and the Gang's ownership society actions. Should I encourage or discourage this bright lady? After some quick but deep thinking, I told her that the 'financial market' patient could stabilize in the next year or two before starting a serious recovery. I added that if she chose Finance, she should become really, really good at it, and she would do well after graduation. Perhaps it was a reflection of my guarded optimism.