You probably heard that accounting degree jobs are among the best high-paying jobs and that accountants are highly demanded. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States’ auditing and accounting degree job is expected to grow by 7% from 2020 to 2030. This projection shows the need for accounting graduates for various needs.
However, not everyone can be an accountant. You may be great with numbers, but do you have the personality needed for accountants? Accountants should have a keen eye for details and comprehend the big business picture.
Besides the personality, accountants also need to pass specific accounting courses and tests. The beauty is that technology has made it possible to pursue an online accounting degree in the comfort of your home and build a stable career with plenty of growth opportunities.
Do you enjoy accounting? If so, the next question you want to ask is: how can I tell if an accounting degree job is right for me? This article highlights what shows you are cut out for an accounting job and the benefit of an accounting degree to equip you with good decision-making knowledge.
Is An Accounting Degree Job Good for Me?
Some people choose accounting degrees because they thrive in math and eye the world of business. They may want a firm grip on business and entrepreneurial skills. Since college requires that you specialize in your niche, accounting offers a lucrative opportunity worth pursuing. You can enjoy this subject, but you must have certain characteristics and qualifications.
Let’s now discuss some signs that show accounting is suitable for you:
Numbers Are a Piece of Cake for Your Brain
Accountants deal in numbers, but there is no geometry or calculus here. There are just simple subtraction, additions, division, and multiplication. You may also encounter some basic algebra, nothing complicated. If you think you are good with numbers, you can pursue a degree in this field.
Organizing Makes You Happy
Are you known to be excellent at categorizing things, or are you disorganized? If you are the guy who loves procrastination and is poor at organizing simple things like closets, you want to think twice before pursuing an online accounting degree.
A career in accounting requires serious organizers. Organizational skills are intertwined into accounting DNA. You have to organize all the data and analyze them before presenting a report to decision-makers.
You Have a Perfectionist Mentality
Many people do not often love perfectionists, but demanding neatness is an admirable quality of an accountant. So, ask yourself: Does it bother me that numbers in columns are not properly aligned, or do I fail to notice these small details? Even if the numbers are on digital excel sheets, people with the passion of an accountant will not rest until every figure is in its rightful place.
However, accounting is not your thing if you find people who obsess over numbers or lining up things unbearable. Regardless of your love for numbers, if counting and organizing numbers are not your thing, the accounting will kill you.
Is Accounting Degree a Good Major?
Yes. If your goal is to succeed in accounting, business, or finance, investing in a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting is worthwhile. The current and future job market will continue to rely on an accounting degree. Here are some reasons:
Accounting is a constant necessity for all industries: One thing is certain – there will always be taxes wherever you live. This is good news for accountants because organizations and governments need their skills for tax computation. Businesses also depend on financial accountability and records’ accuracy to make sound decisions in a competitive world, and accountants are needed to solve these problems.
Demand for auditors and accountants is ever-growing: The United States alone has over 1.3 million auditors and accountants, but there is still a huge demand for more. Approximately 135,000 related accounting jobs are posted nationwide every year, resulting from a need to replace those who retire or transfer to a different occupation. This statistic shows a growth rate much faster than other occupations.
An accounting degree job is flexible: An accounting can help you work anywhere. Whether you want to grow to a top management position in your organization or start your own business, an accounting degree will equip you with the needed expertise in financial reporting, responsibility, and regulations.
What Jobs Can You Do With An Accounting Degree?
Most people mistakenly think that an accounting degree leads to a specific career path like working in a bank. You will be surprised to learn about several job openings that suit a person with accounting skills. However, some opportunities depend on your certification level. Consider some jobs you can apply for with a degree in accounting:
Bookkeeper
An accounting degree equips you with the basic accounting skills needed to succeed as a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping involves tracking expenses, paying bills, and updating a business’s financial records, such as reports and invoices.
Accountant
Most employees often begin as a bookkeeper before becoming accountants. With a bachelor’s or master’s degree in accounting, you can apply for an accountant job. As an accountant, you will be required to prepare financial statements, conduct an internal audit of the company’s ledger, and prepare tax documents.
Manager
Of course, you cannot qualify as a manager fresh from campus without experience. However, an accounting degree will provide the foundation you need to rise to a managerial position in any organization.
Accountants can also specialize in specific financial areas like internal accountability (cost accounting and managerial accounting) or external reporting (tax and financial accounting).
An accounting degree is not limited to traditional accounting fields. You can work in other related fields that might require less computation and more organizing. You can also write articles about accounting and related subjects or run your own business.
You do not have to restrict yourself to a desk, a computer, and spreadsheets. Consider an accounting degree as a key to a large gate that leads you to other areas like marketing, economics, taxation, communication, and finance.
Whether you pursued an online accounting degree or went for in-person classes, the knowledge you acquire in class should help you with critical insight to apply to any business or job. An accounting degree empowers graduates with the skills to act as a bridge between a world of numbers and language.
The Bottom Line
Accounting is not everyone’s cup of tea. Some people are not cut out to deal with details in numbers to try to make sense of it. Nevertheless, a degree in accounting is not left only for a few introverted nerds. If you have a passion for numbers and have good organization skills, you may as well plunge into this sea of spreadsheets and make a living out of it. The labor market for accountants is bright and continues to improve.
