Five Things You Can Do with an Accounting Degree

Once you’ve made the commitment to invest time, energy, and money towards completing an accounting degree, it’s important to feel your efforts will be rewarded. Even in these turbulent economic times, getting a degree in accounting is one of the smartest moves you can make. Completing your degree will open the door for career opportunities in a variety of ways – the following five are just the beginning.

1. Find a Job. News has been dismal for college graduates with bachelor’s degrees in the past few years; however, there are exceptions. In CNN’s 2012 career report, accounting is one of a handful of careers cited which shows a demand for increasing job opportunities. In a poll by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), 54% of employers stated they would hire more accountants or financial experts if they could find qualified candidates
2. Accounting and/or Auditing. If you’re interested in working specifically as an accountant or auditor, you are in luck. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the job market for accountants will grow as much as 11% by 2024. As other job markets continue to shrink, astute accounting students should have no concerns about their career prospects after graduation.
3. Be the Boss. Many companies require their management level employees, from top- and mid-level management all the way up to the executives, to have strong accounting backgrounds. Managers must have an in-depth understanding of numbers, budgeting, and statistics in order to maintain and/or increase the company’s profit margin. Accounting backgrounds provide managers with the ability to see the bottom line and make the critical decisions necessary to preserve it.
4. Enjoy the Role of Tax Guru. There are only a handful of people who truly understand taxes – and they have accounting degrees. The rest of the world visits their tax accountants with humble gratitude each year to watch the magic unfold. Getting your accounting degree is an employment insurance policy of sorts – you know you will always have plenty of work around “Tax Time.”
5. Freelance Work. It can be a struggle for working families to make ends meet. Not only is childcare expensive, it’s not always possible to work around childcare facilities’ time constraints. An online accounting degree can allow you to freelance. Many companies are flexible – allowing accountants to work on their books at odd hours or to work conveniently from home.

Regardless of which niche you choose to pursue after attaining your online accounting degree, know that the deck is stacked in your favor. Overall, your future earning potential will correlate with the level of your education. The five ideas for what you can do with your accounting degree listed above are just a glimpse at the professional doors your accounting degree will begin to open for you.