Back in the day, accounting was regarded as a “boring” profession that’s only for the anti-social type who like numbers. Today, that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Accounting is now one of the most exciting professions in today’s job market. Here are five terrific reasons why you should consider becoming an accountant.
1) MONEY. You’ll certainly be making a healthy amount of money as an accountant! Accountants have one of the highest starting salaries in the jobs market today, right alongside engineering and nursing. Furthermore, the career path for accountants tends to follow a very straightforward, linear progression: start off as a junior accountant, then a senior accountant, then go into middle management, then go into more prestigious upper management positions (such as controller, VP of finance, partner, or even CEO of your company). However, keep in mind that the most lucrative and sought after positions are usually reserved for those with their CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation. The CPA exams are some of the toughest to pass, but once you buckle down and obtain your certification, the sky is the limit financially.
2) SELF-EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL. Accountants will usually start working with another firm (either public or private) straight out of school, but after a few years and establishing your own client base, you can choose to leave your company and open up your own full-time practice or even stay with your company and have a part-time side practice (depending on your company’s anti-competition policies).
3) EXCELLENT JOB MARKET. Because of the financial scandals earlier in the decade (remember Enron?) accountants are in much greater demand to make sure company’s finances are in order. In fact, the US government passed legislation called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 which basically enhances the financial standards for companies and firms to follow. For you, the jobseeker, this means accountants are in great demand to make sure companies are being honest with their finances.
4) VARIETY OF JOB FUNCTIONS. If you think that accountants just do taxes and auditing, you’d be surprised at the sheer amount of professional options available to them! Other areas of accounting include financial planning, forensic accounting, management, consulting, and more. There is plenty to beyond taxes and auditing, depends where your interests lie, so the average accountant is rarely bored from doing the same thing over and over.
5) SHORT ACADEMIC PREPARATION. To become a doctor, you need a bachelor’s degree plus medical school plus years of residency. To become a lawyer, you need a bachelor’s plus three years of law school. But to become an accountant, all you need is a bachelor’s degree in accounting. That’s it! You can start working straight out of college. Just keep in mind that a number of states of increasing the requirements to obtain the CPA designation (this usually translates to one extra year beyond the bachelor’s – be sure to check your own state’s requirements to make sure).
And there you have it! Five terrific reasons to become an accountant. Best of luck to you!
