It sounds ideal, and many people who've been in accounting for years feel that it is. Many people who are no longer in accounting feel it's ideal too, because of another advantage: job advancement. Many company officials started out as accountants not so long ago.
There are so many choices. Let's say you have completed a 48-week course in accounting. Right away you begin working as a junior accountant in a firm that pays you around $200 a week. Then, if all goes well and you work hard, you may advance to a semi-senior or senior accountant-with more money, of course. The next position in many companies would be assistant to the controller or treasurer, or chief accountant. Or you can take a four-year college course combined with academic courses and internship and be ready for the CPA examination upon leaving college (more about that later). So many decisions
Accounting does not tie you down to one company as does, say, engineering. Your accounting knowledge can be easily utilized in a score of companies of every nature. And it is not uncommon nor different to go from public accounting to private accounting. Company officers realize this and are ready to offer promotions more quickly.
If by chance, advancement does not come to you in one company, you have another choice: you can leave your job and go to another company, because you have a talent that is so usable and needed by so many businesses. In fact, you can even switch to another kind of business. If you are, for example, working for a small manufacturer and find that you're getting tired of it, you can change to a bank, supermarket, department store-anything-either in your own city or in another one.
There's another important thing about accounting: you can be independent. You can set up your own office and be your own boss, setting your own working hours and selecting your clients as you desire. This gives you the greatest variety of experience, since you have the opportunity to work with many different businesses.
Another thing: there is always room at the top in public accounting. The field isn't overcrowded yet because of the in-credible growth of new businesses, the increase in shopping centers, the restoration of the cities, and the increased financial complexities of our economic setup. You can control your own growth in public accounting. You can employ junior accountants to work for you. You can grow as big as you wish.
In accounting, opportunities will come from all directions. For example, tax work will undoubtably be an important part of your work. Taxes are always with us. As a public accountant, tax work will make up 25 percent of your work. If you work in a large city, you may decide to specialize in costs, auditing, or systems. If you should, by some chance, desire to work in a small city or a rural area, it may be best for you to go into general accounting and tax work.
You can live anywhere and be an accountant. If you like to explore, you might want to settle down-at least temporarily-in a city other than the one in which you are living now. In fact, accounting is so flexible that you can be an accountant and not be an accountant. That means that your background in accounting can fit into many other businesses as well.
In terms of money the possibilities are limitless. It depends, like any other job, on how skilled and educated you are, as well as where you are working. Some accountants can get as much as $35,000 for a 20-minute conference, but you can be sure that they aren't fresh out of college.
Starting salaries, of course, depend on your education and training, the size of the firm that employs you, and the location.
If you start your own accounting business, your pay depends on many things, among them your motivation and ability. The government does provide social security benefits for self-employed accountants, but at a higher cost. There are no pensions when you are self-employed except whatever you save. But there is freedom to be your own boss, to set your own hours, and to put in extra hours and work to gain a high yearly income.
So many things are possible in a career in accounting. Take your pick. All of the above? Some of the above? Or none of the above?
