Should You Consider A Career In Accounting?

Posted on: 29 November 2018

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If you're giving some thought to advancing your education by attending an accounting school, you are also likely wondering what might be in store for you. How long will it be? Do you need to become a full-on CPA? What are the additional options? Let's take a look at some of the choices you can explore at an accounting school.

Time to Complete a Degree

There is a wide range of options for degrees in the accounting field, offering opportunities to folks who might be interested in everything from entry-level jobs to high-paying positions with Fortune 500 companies. If you're looking to get your career track cooking as quickly as possible, you'll want to check out an associate's degree program that only takes two years of full-time accounting school work to complete.

Beyond that level, there are further educational opportunities. Should you continue on with a four-year program in accounting, you'll eventually attain either a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Those interested in getting a master's degree can move ahead with a Master's of Professional Accounting or an equivalent program, and there are even doctoral schools in the sector.

Building on Your Education

Depending upon your educational goals and career ambitions, you may want to try moving through each stage in a structured manner. This will give you a chance to start earning quickly with an associate's degree and then move ahead with time toward higher attainment.

If this approach seems like something you'll want to do or at least keep open as an option, talk with someone at the accounting schools you're checking out about how well different credits will transfer. For example, a student looking to transfer their associate's degree credits toward a bachelor's should discuss that with both schools they intend to attend. The same goes for each step up the ladder you climb.

Accounting Is Just CPAs

We tend to stereotype the accounting industry as nothing but CPAs, but there's a diverse range of professions within the trade. The most common alternative that students exercise is becoming a chartered financial analyst, a job that entails dealing with investing, securities, and asset management. If taxes are more your thing, you may want to consider becoming an IRS-enrolled agent, a professional who represents clients before the agency. Anyone in accounting school who prefers the operations side of business may want to explore becoming a certified professional controller.