Accounting Jobs

There are a lot of accounting job opportunities that you might be interested in pursuing. Getting a job in the accounting field is largely dependent on your level of education. Accounting jobs can be generally classified into four groups. These include bookkeeper, accounting clerk, accountant and certified public accountant (CPA).

The postions of accounting clerk and bookkeeper require that you have graduated from high school and in some cases require you have a two-year degree in accounting. An accountant position requires that you have a bachelors degree in accounting. To become a CPA, you will need addtional college credits, accounting work experience and you have to pass the CPA exam.

Bookkeeper: Responsibilities include paying attention to details, be efficient and accurate with basic financial information. A bookkeeper needs to be able to handle the company's financial transactions which includes purchases, sales and payroll.Bookkeepers are also expected to handle documents such as purchase orders, invoices, and track payments.

 In most jobs, the work of the a bookeeper is reviewed by an accountant or manager within the compnay or by an accounting frim hired to audit a bookkeepers work.

Bookkeepers are not expected to have a bachelors degree, but are often required to have a high school diploma and in some cases, at least two-years of college accounting classes. You can expect to be required to know or learn some of the basic computer accounting software.

The average salary of a full-time bookkeeper can range from $18,000 to $45,000+ depending on differences in job responsibilities, local demand for bookkeepers, and the size of the company.

Accounting Clerk: The accounting clerk is hired to assist accountants with routine tasks. The jobs are usually well defined and can include inventory clerks, payroll clerks, accounts receivable clerk, or cost clerk.

Accounting clerks usually have a least a two-year associate accounting degree. Some employers require accounting clerks to have a high school diploma and will provide training on the job. There is no requirement for accounting clerks to have degree in accounting.

Annual salaries for accounting clerks range from $18,000 to $40,000+ per year.

Accountant: Professional accountants are usually required to have a college degree in accounting. Typical college credits include classes covering cost accounting, financial accounting, auditing, accounting systems, and income tax. Business classes are also required such as marketing, business law, business statistics, computer systems,  and economics. You need to have 120 semester credits from a university to get a degree in accounting.

Accountants are employed by hospitals, banks, insurance companies and brokerage firms. The federal government also hires accountants to work for the IRS, Government Accountability Office, and even federal law enforcement agencies.

Accountants can be expert in specific accounting jobs, or conduct general accounting tasks. Your actual job description will depend on the size of the company and whether other accountants are on staff. Accountants can be specialists like financial analyst, tax accountant, or internal auditor.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA): In order to qualify to be a CPA, state boards of accountancy require that certified public accountants have at least 150 college credits in accounting and business courses. You must also pass the Uniform CPA Examination. You need to make sure that the college you select for your accounting degree has accounting curriculums that meet the 150 credit requirement.

In order to become a CPA you must have the 150 credit accounting degree, pass the CPA Exam, and most state accounting boards require that you have a minimum one year of professional experience and you must pass an ethics test prior to being licensed as a certified public accountant. You will also be required to obtain professional continuing education requirements to keep your license.

CPA firms hire new certified public accountants to work at small firms or large international companies. CPAs are also hired by banks, government agencies, big not-for-profit organizations, and large companies.

In order to be an effective CPA you need to be focused and not get side-tracked on unimportant jobs. CPAs are usually billed out to clients on an hourly basis so you need to make sure that you are efficient.

After you have completed your first year to get your CPA experience, you will probably be assigned to work with new clients to increase your experience. The more years you are with a CPA firm, you will probably get a chance to broaden your experience and obtain additional training.

The annual salary for entry level CPAs is about $50,000. Experienced CPAs usually make over $100,000 per year. Of course your salary depends on your experience and the size of the company.