Running head: Accesing a career in accounting 1

Accessing a Career in Accounting

Michelle Barrios

Salt Lake Community College

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Abstract

This paper explores the career of becoming an Accountant. I have gathered research from online

sources as well as a personal interview from someone in the profession. Questions regarding the

career have been answered as information was collected which include, what the job duties of the

career were? What level of education is required for the career? What are the disadvantages and

advantages of the career? With thorough research I have found answers to these questions along

with more helpful information to help others looking into a career as an accountant.
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Accessing a Career in Accounting

Starting a career in accounting can be difficult for most people. An accountant has the job

to fully collect, analyze and summarize account information while keeping it confidential. In

order to become a great accountant one must have knowledge and experience in the accounting

world. Being a CPA requires more education and is time consuming because it consists of getting

a bachelors degree and passing an exam to be licensed. Throughout this paper I have collected

information on the career to help anyone wanting to know what a career in accounting consists

of.

Job Description:

An accountants job is to inspect and or prepare financial accounts. They prepare

liabilities, assets and capital accounts to document financial transactions by collecting, analyzing

and summarizing the account information. An accountants biggest responsibility is to maintain

and protect the customers financial information so it is kept confidential.

General Career Path:

The general career path consists of first obtaining an associates degree in accounting.

After completion one can start looking in to getting an accounting job to gain experience. Then

can continue on to an accounting bachelors degree program to further ones education in

becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Once becoming a CPA it will open many doors

for management positions and work ones way to the top.

General Education Experience:

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In order to get an accounting job one does not need to attend college, there are

many jobs that do not require a degree just a high school diploma, for example

book keeping, collection, and tax preparation. There are also options online to

obtain certificate for a job. For example, one can get a book keeper certificate and

pass an exam to become a bookkeeper.

An associates degree in accounting prepares one for entry-level positions such as,

accountant, staff accountant, tax accounting clerk or property accountant. The

degree consists of taking accounting and business credits to learn the basics.
Becoming a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) requires more education. A

bachelors degree with 120-150 credits in accounting from a college that is

accepted by the state and passing the CPA exam is needed in order to be licensed.

This is also very time consuming as it can take an additional six months to a year

for the exam. (Stein)

A masters degree in accounting is helpful for people who want to have skills that

are at governmental level, these people are known as treasurers. A masters degree

is not necessary and only furthers one knowledge of accounting.

Average Salary:

An accounting job, such as book keeping with just a high school diploma ranges

from $37,532 $40,329.

An entry-level accountant with an associates degree in accounting salary ranges

from $48,916 $63,350. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

A CPA salary is about $73,800 (CPAexam)

Career Outlook:

A career in accounting differs on what level of accounting one chooses to be at. There are

many jobs that only require a high school diploma and a certificate of completion. This can be
Accesing a career in accounting 5

ones career and even a way to be able to work ones way up. Entry-level jobs require more

education such as an associates degree, but there are more jobs available for those with this

degree. Lastly, with the bachelors degree in accounting and becoming a CPA the opportunities

are endless. When it comes to becoming an accountant there are many ways to reach its full

potential. Whether its staying at an entry-level position or being a CPA theres always ways to

climb up to the top. Accountants make a great amount of money with experience and education.

Bio of someone in the profession:

Maria Gonzalez is an accountant for Jordan Valley Medical Center. She first got

introduced to accounting in high school when she was randomly placed in the accounting class.

Maria says I am glad I didnt switch out of the class because it was my favorite class I had ever

had. She was intrigued learning about the financial accounts and how they were documented.

Maria graduated from Salt Lake Community College with an Accounting AAS degree in 2013.

She went on looking for a job to gain experience from and landed a job as an accountants

assistant for her friend at Morgans Office. Maria said, The job really helped me learn and be

hands on at times when they needed me, I loved it. She worked for six months as an assistant

and was promoted to an accountant. Maria worked there for another two years and half, but was

upset when her friend decided to no longer continue her business. She eventually moved on to

being an accountant for Jordan Valley Medical Center. She now helps aid in the companys

financial transactions along with a few other accountants and helps review the financial reports.

Pros:
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Growth - Progression is fast in accounting, Marie-Pierre Stein says. People start

supervising others within a couple of years. (Marie-Pierre Stein)

Money Accountants are paid well, the median salary is about $48,916 and if the more

educated and experienced the accountant is the higher the salary up to $63,350. (Bureau

of Labor Statistics) Being an accountant provides income stability for one.

High Demand A career in accounting is expected to grow 13 percent through 2020,

according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Making being an accountant a high demand

to fill positions.
Cons:
Stress The stress level is pretty high with the heavy workloads especially during tax

season.
Boring Accounting may be a bit boringif youre the creative type (Ericksen, Jobs in

Accounting). The career requires one to spend a lot of time sitting at a desk on the

computer, which some people may find boring.

Getting Certified Becoming a CPA can be quite difficult for some as there is a lot of

knowledge required in order to pass the CPA exam and get licensed. According to Stein,

it takes an additional six months to a year to pass the exam. (Ericksen)

Your fit with this career:

Being an accountant has its ups and downs, but I feel that it is a good fit being my

career. I am currently pursuing a degree in accounting and have enjoyed most of my courses so

far. I enjoy learning about the financial accounts and the many different ways to journalize

entries. Looking over financial reports is difficult at times, but it gets easier over time and I gain

knowledge from it. The business courses have helped me a lot in learning about business basics

and how it interacts with accounting.

Reflection:
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This e-portfolio assignment helped me learn about the different tasks and requirements

needed to become an accountant. An accountants job is to inspect and prepare financial

accounts. They have to collect, analyze, and summarize account information. Their biggest

responsibility is to keep their customers financial information confidential. Through research I

was able to see the education requirements for different jobs in accounting. A Certified Public

Accountant is one of the highest positions one can get, but it requires a lot of education and an

exam to be licensed. Overall, this assignment helped me gather information to access a career in

accounting, which will be helpful for me to look back on when I need it.
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Sources

Accounting Careers. Retrieved April 25, 2017, from

http://allaccoutingcareers.com/accounting-careers

Accounting Coach. CPA Requirements | Accounting Coach. Retrieved April 21, 2017,

from https://accountingcoach.com/careers/cpa-requirements

Accounting Degrees. (2012, May 6). Jobs for a Masters in Accounting? Retrieved April

25, 2017, from http://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/may-2012/jobs-for-a-masters-in-accounting

All Business Schools. Accounting Careers and Duties | What You Can Do. Retrieved

April 24, 2017, from http://www.allbusinessschools.com/accounting/job-description/

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2015, December 17). Accountants Summary. Retrieved April

20, 2017, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm

Ericksen, K. (2014, July 8). Rasmussen College. Retrieved April 22, 2017, from

http://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/business/blog/must-know-pros-cons-accounting-career/

Gonzalez, Maria. (2017, April 20). Being an Accountant [Personal Interview].

Monster. Accountant Job Description Sample | Monster.com. Retrieved April 23, 2017

from https://hiring.monster.com/hr/hr-best-practices/recruiting-hiring-advice/job-

descriptions/accountant-job-description-sample.aspx

Ng, S. (2017, March 14). How to Become an Accountant without an Accounting Degree.

Retrieved April 23, 2017, from http://ipassthecmaexam.com/how-to-become-accountant-without-

accounting-degree/

Salary.com, S.B. Accountant I Salaries. Retrieved April 25, 2017, from

http://www1.salary.com/Accountant-I-Salary.html
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Salry.com, S.B. Salaries for Bookkeeper with No Diploma. Retrieved April 25, 2017,

from http://www1.Salary.com/Salaries-for-Bookkeeper-with-a-I-Have-not-earned-a-degree

Study. Associate Degree in Accounting. Program Overviews. Retrieved April 23, 2017,

from http://study.com/associate_degree_accounting_jobs.html
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