What Careers Are Available to Someone With a Degree in Accounting?

There are probably very few backgrounds that would qualify a person for as many roles within a business or other organization than accounting. For this reason, it should come as no surprise that so many high level executives in American business, government, and other areas are either accountants or have at least some accounting knowledge. And why not, since an accounting background allows them to more intimately understand how an entity is functioning and what the financial implications of various actions will be?It is also important to remember that besides having an accounting degree, many combine these backgrounds with others such as law to open their options even further.

CPAs and Consulting

Among the most popular avenues taken by graduates in the accounting field is as Certified Public Accountants, or CPAs for short. Despite what some people think, a CPA is not a degree. Instead, a CPA is a license that is granted by the state in which he or she practices. Although becoming a CPA is the normal course of career progression, even for those who decide to pursue a different field of accounting, many stay with the accounting field to work with public clients, both as accountants, business, or tax consultants.

Other Accounting Avenues

Although it is true that many of those with accounting backgrounds practice in private companies, nonprofits, and other organizations without the benefit of becoming a CPA, others opt to combine their accounting degree with such fields as law where they work as tax attorneys, investigators for law enforcement, and many other areas.

Bottom Line, Upper Levels

The most important thing to remember in all of this is that accounting prepares those who earn their degree in the subject for a wide variety of roles in organizations, especially in the higher rungs of for-profit and nonprofits. Perhaps more than almost any other role, accounting prepares those who learn the business the most all-inclusive background for understanding its different functions.

Accounting for the Long Haul

Another attractive career benefit of an accounting degree is that many with this education open either private or public accounting firms after their retirement, some even working for the firms they spent their careers with as clients. This allows them to enjoy a lucrative post-career income as well as keeping their credentials active for many years in the future.

As might be obvious from the discussion above, those with accounting backgrounds are fortunate that they can take many avenues when their careers begin or at any point during their working lives. Accounting skills give those who learn them ample opportunities to exercise their skills in a variety of fields, which in the short term or the long term, is a career enhancer for anyone who wishes to take advantage of it.