Arthur Anderson typically is engaged by very large clients, some of whom would be outsourcing their accounting work, and this would be scaring these Anderson guys who are giving you their tale of woe. However, smaller businesses don't have the quantity of work to outsource... in this sense it's a lot like what's happening with programming work, which is what my industry is. And with programming, while some of the work does get outsouced and offshored, there is still a lot of work onshore, especially with small- to medium-sized companies who can't offshore or who prefer closer communication between their business folks and their support staff (not to mention quick response, lack of a language barrier, and accountability, i.e. a face to ***** to over the water cooler in the morning when something is screwed up), and there is almost always work in any industry for people who are good, flexible, and establish good reputations and networks.
So, yeah, get your degree, learn to spell or spellcheck for crying out loud because communication skills are always key, and don't listen to the disgruntled working stiffs. Keep in mind it's to their advantage to discourage new entrants from going into their field, as that's less competition for them
