Letters of Recommendation

[acup313]

I am having a dilemma deciding who to ask to write my letters of recommendation. I want to apply to an Accounting PhD program, and like many accountants I went straight throughto get a Masters in 5 years, I then went to a large accounting firm and have not had contact with Professors for a few years. Also, I did not exactly have a lot of contact with them outside of class when I was attending college.

Anyway enough background. I current have one assitant professor who said she would definitely do on. Also, I have a full professor who was previously the head of the department (he stepped down to run for office) who I am fairly certain will do number two. Now, number three is what is causing the dilemma. My four options are a Senior Associate at my work, a Manager where I work, another associate professor who knew me quite well, or another full professor who did not know me as well. The cons of all of them are that most people in the accounting world know that a Senior Associate is right above my position so we are very close, more like friends than him being my boss. If I ask my Manager, he will know that I am planning on leaving soon which could upset him causing him to write something bad or even possibly leading to me being laid off. Or he could be cool about it, I am not sure. The two professor are obvivous in that one is a lower level and the other doesn't know me well.

Any advice you guys could give me would be great. Like do some colleges prefer at least one from where you work, or will it matter how well the professor knows me? Thank you in advance.

[Minnesotan]

People who know you well are best. For a third reference, I think someone who can evaluate your professional experience would be good. If you didn't have any professors it might look bad, but two professors and a boss wouldn't be out of the ordinary at all.