If you enjoy working with numbers and overcoming challenges, you might be asking yourself what career path makes the most sense. You won’t want to overlook the benefits of getting an accounting degree if you’d like to find a fulfilling career that offers plenty of opportunities across various fields.
Before you make your final decision, you’ll want to learn about the requirements of getting into the field, while also discovering some of the industries in which you’ll be able to work.
What an Accounting Job Entails
Taking a look at what you can expect if you pursue a career in accounting will provide you with a clear picture of what your future responsibilities may be. Learning about any potential rewards or setbacks that you could face can also help solidify your decision. When most people think of accountants, they picture people who help individuals and businesses prepare their tax paperwork each year, but accountants do much more than that. Accountants review and monitor every transaction that a business or individual makes and will strive to enhance efficiency and legal compliance.
As an accountant, you’ll advise management on how they can cut costs without harming the quality of their products or services. Depending on the company you work for, you can even review purchase orders and help different departments track their spending so they don’t go over their budget. Additionally, you can help analyze operational costs and revenue to show companies how much profit they are making each quarter.
As an accountant, your job will ultimately be teaching people how to make small changes in their business to get the most out of each dollar. Accountants are crucial to the success of any business when it comes to managing financial resources, and you’ll be pleased when you see how rewarding the job can be.
The Ease of Earning an Accounting Degree
If you want to advance in your career or start a new one, you might feel as though you don’t have enough time or money to get the ball rolling—but that isn’t true. One of the benefits of accounting is that you can get started with an associate degree. The ability to enter the field with a two-year degree dramatically reduces the barrier of entry for anyone who wants to become an accountant. When you don’t have much time or many financial resources, you can take classes part-time at a local college to get your foot in the door. Once you get a job in your field, you can take additional classes to improve your earning potential and solidify your job security.
If you prove to be a valuable asset to the company you work for, they may offer to pay for your tuition if you agree to continue working for them. Even if your client doesn’t offer you any assistance with your education, your increased income will make it much easier for you to afford your tuition, and the lessons you learn will reflect in your school work.
The Benefits of an Accounting Degree
Learning about the benefits of an accounting degree will help you decide whether this path is right for you and your needs. Without a good understanding of your expected pay rate, it can be difficult to know if it’s worth the time, money and effort. The bottom 10% of accountants earn around $37,000 each year, which is more than the national average. If you gain employment at a large company and strive to improve, you can expect to earn $67,000 annually. Accountants who seek a master’s degree and build a positive reputation in their industry can make as much as $107,000 every year.
Although you won’t make that much when you first get started, the goal is within reach if you are willing to work toward it. Accounting is also an excellent career choice if you value job security and want options no matter where you live. Since experts expect the field to grow 10% by 2024, you won’t have any trouble finding a company that will hire you.
In addition to offering job security, a variety of career choices, and attractive wages, accounting has some other benefits that you won’t want to overlook. Your career will invite you to solve problems and craft viable solutions that will allow companies to boost their profitability. Once you earn your degree, you will have many career paths from which you can choose.
The Adaptability of Accounting Degrees
Earning an accounting degree will open many opportunities that you won’t want to ignore when your mission is to find an industry that captivates you. Since all businesses need accountants to track and manage their budgets, you can work in almost any industry that grabs your attention. You can obtain a full-time position as an accountant at many companies across the nation, but you can even work for small businesses as a freelance accountant if you would like more flexibility.
If you would enjoy working for a bank or another type of financial institution, you can use your accounting degree to become a loan officer. Your job will be to look at people’s credit scores and determine whether to issue a loan and how much interest to charge. Similarly, you can choose to work for the government or a private company as an auditor. If you want to use your degree to start a part-time business, you even can help your friends and community prepare their tax documents for a small fee.
Accounting Offers Options
Job security, enticing wages, and plenty of opportunities are within reach when you seek an accounting degree. Obtaining an associate degree will get you started on the right path, but you can also choose to advance your education so that you can optimize your earning potential. You will have a range of choices when it comes to picking an industry, and you can decide which road is right for you and your lifestyle.
Whether you want to make accounting a career or a part-time business, you can reach your goal with the right education. Nothing compares to the feeling of accomplishment that comes with working in the career of your dreams, and you can take the vital first steps right away–you can start whenever you’re ready!
