Accounting is likely one of the oldest professions in human historical past. Folks have employed accountants since historical Babylon and Egypt. Accountants are important to enterprise and our whole financial system.
The accountant profession path is projected to develop by 6% or extra within the subsequent 10 years. The median wage for an accountant is $81,680 (that’s $40 per hour!). As companies increase into AI and tech, accountants are nonetheless wanted and relied upon to audit funds. 2025 is a good yr to start educating college students about profession paths in accounting.
The CPA Journal experiences that accounting is an ageing occupation, that means that many accountants are retiring within the subsequent 15 years and never sufficient younger professionals are taking their place.
This text will assist highschool academics educate and encourage the subsequent era of accountants by explaining what precisely accounting is, exploring the advantages, profession choices, and classroom methods.
Foremost Takeaways
- Accounting careers provide job safety, sturdy pay, and a constructive job outlook.
- The accounting profession path consists of numerous job choices.
- Lecturers can use real-life situations and simulations to interact college students in accounting training.
- Future accountants must have expertise akin to arithmetic, information group, consideration to element, analytical considering, and FinTech literacy.
- EVERFI affords a free accounting profession course.
Desk of Contents
- Why Train College students About Accounting Careers
- In style Accounting Profession Choices
- What Does a Typical Accounting Profession Path Look Like?
- Easy methods to Focus on Accounting Careers in Your Classroom
- Abilities for Future Accountants
- EVERFI’s Free Accounting Profession Course for Lecturers
Why Train College students About Accounting Careers
Some folks assume accounting is all about math, spreadsheets, and calculators. There’s a lot extra within the accounting profession path. Accountants have to make use of vital considering and problem-solving expertise, be capable of use state-of-the-art monetary expertise, and develop enterprise technique.
A trainer from Tampa, Florida, explains the significance of exploring monetary expertise (FinTech) in accounting: “We favored diving into the profession facet of the module and giving a unique technological angle to accounting slightly than simply specializing in among the customary vocabulary.” — Ted Newfrield, Instructor – Hillsborough County College District, Tampa, FL.
Sturdy Incomes Potential
College students can earn a aggressive wage in an entry-level accounting place. As they achieve expertise and their expertise develop, accountants can demand six-figure salaries. In the event that they specialize, akin to in forensic accounting or auditing, accountants can enormously improve their revenue potential.
Transferable Abilities
Studying about accounting will assist college students in different methods, even when they resolve to not observe the normal profession path. Accounting teaches about vital considering and problem-solving. It’s important to be organized and talk technical content material to a broader viewers. No matter profession a scholar chooses, they are going to use what they discovered in accounting. College students who do resolve to observe the normal accountant profession path will find out about different fields like entrepreneurship, enterprise administration, and legislation.
Private Finance
Accounting isn’t only for companies and governments. Many accountants are making lateral transitions into the monetary literacy house due to the rising demand. College students ought to know that studying about accounting can enhance their monetary state of affairs. They’ll even train others in a while!
In style Accounting Profession Choices
There are numerous accounting profession choices, however three standard ones are employees accountants, auditors, and forensic accountants. You will discover these careers in the private and non-private sectors. Authorities companies might use accountants to assist monitor program compliance, preserve budgets, and guarantee correct use of public funds. Personal sector jobs like firms, small companies, and accounting corporations will make the most of these roles to assist increase monetary reporting, income, and tax methods.
Workers Accountant
Workers accountants are usually entry-level finance professionals working for a enterprise, a authorities company, or another group. Your college or college system most definitely has a workforce of accountants to deal with the funds of such a big and complicated group. Workers accountants do all the things from bookkeeping, tax recording, budgeting, payroll, presenting monetary experiences, and conducting monetary audits.
Wage Vary: $50,000–$70,000
Abilities Required:
- Proficiency in spreadsheets akin to Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel
- Abilities and expertise utilizing accounting and finance software program
- Certifications like a CPA are often not required, however are most popular
- Sturdy consideration to element
- Authorized and procedural accounting data
Auditor
Auditors are drawback finders and solvers. They scan monetary information to ensure organizations are precisely reporting their funds and that they’re compliant with state or federal legislation. Finance auditors are typically employed inside an organization to forestall issues earlier than they grow to be public. Some organizations rent an auditing agency to come back in and double-check their work. Typically, auditors are despatched by authorities companies to examine in on a corporation to ensure they’re complying with monetary legal guidelines.
Wage Vary: $55,000–$85,000+ (senior auditors earn $100,000 or extra)
Abilities Required:
- Similar or related expertise as a employees accountant listed above
- Certifications like a CPA are sometimes required, however not at all times
- Sturdy moral and authorized judgment to report incorrect info
- Sturdy communication and reporting expertise
- Analytical considering and familiarity with monetary statements
Forensic Accountant
Forensic accounting is about investigating monetary crimes. These accountants discover out issues akin to fraud (mendacity about how a lot cash their enterprise earned) or embezzlement (folks stealing cash from their enterprise). Accountants are sometimes employed by authorities legislation enforcement companies or attorneys to assist resolve monetary crimes.
Wage Vary: $60,000–$100,000+
Abilities Required:
- Superior accounting expertise and expertise
- CPA certifications are often required for all private and non-private organizations
- Should have an investigative mindset
- Perceive authorized procedures and legal guidelines
- Superior monetary and information evaluation expertise
What Does a Typical Accounting Profession Path Look Like?
- Highschool: College students ought to study and grasp the fundamentals in math, accounting, private finance, economics, and enterprise.
- School: The formal a part of an accounting main’s profession path would start right here with an undergraduate bachelor’s diploma in accounting or finance. These are usually important for entry-level roles in accounting. College students may achieve expertise as interns or volunteers. The Massive 4 accounting organizations (Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Younger, PwC) rent aggressively from faculties, which generally is a nice alternative for pay and profession constructing!
- Early profession: Profitable corporations search to rent latest faculty grads to bolster their junior accountant and affiliate ranks. Throughout this time, accountants can earn certifications like CPA, CMA, or CFA so as to add worth to their talent set.
- Mid-career: Accountants can transfer up into management positions or transition laterally to different areas in finance, like working their very own enterprise, turning into a associate, or consulting elsewhere. After 5-10 years, junior accountants can grow to be senior managers, controllers, or finance administrators.
- Additional profession development: Expert and extremely skilled accountants transfer up the ranks in a enterprise and get promoted to senior associate, finance controllers, or CFOs, the place they’re put accountable for all of the funds of a corporation. Some executive-level finance positions are sometimes tapped to grow to be the top of the complete group!
Easy methods to Focus on Accounting Careers in Your Classroom
Accounting may be enjoyable to show in the event you use correct sources and engagement strategies. Leesa teaches accounting in California, and he or she stated: “My college students’ eyes have been opened to the truth that accounting is a lot extra than simply ‘quantity crunching’. They have been stunned by the entire potentialities!” — Leesa Rankins Moore, Instructor – Riverside Unified College District, Riverside, CA.
When educating about profession paths in accounting, strive the following pointers:
You will discover extra instruments, sources, and methods by exploring EVERFI’s free course Accounting Careers: Limitless Alternatives.
A trainer in Albany, GA, reported this in regards to the course: “I like that the Accounting EVERFI Course is brief and impactful. It has modified my college students’ worldview in regards to the nature of Accounting careers. Most of all, they’ve the chance to use for a $5000 scholarship” — Lorraine Montague, Instructor – Dougherty County College System, Albany, GA.
Abilities for Future Accountants
College students might want to get hold of expertise in math, analytical considering, consideration to element, and FinTech proficiency.
Math and Analytics
Accountants want to have the ability to use math expertise to finish budgets, do taxes, and forecast monetary information. College students can give attention to algebra and statistics to achieve a bonus on this space.
Consideration to Element
Anybody working with monetary information wants sturdy consideration to element. Accuracy is necessary when designing budgets and producing monetary statements. College students can apply studying simulated monetary statements to search out issues.
Monetary Expertise
Most accounting is completed utilizing FinTech instruments and software program. College students can apply with among the fundamentals, like spreadsheet templates and QuickBooks. Many corporations use proprietary and customized instruments for his or her enterprise wants, so a scholar will want to have the ability to adapt. FinTech has been utilizing extra AI-driven instruments as properly, which college students will want to concentrate on.
EVERFI’s Free Accounting Profession Course for Lecturers
Encourage future accountants in your classroom by utilizing EVERFI’s free course on accounting careers. The course consists of lesson plans, interactives, tasks, case research, real-world situations, and extra. The course works nice as a standalone profession readiness lesson sequence. 
You can too use it to assist make your accounting and enterprise curriculum extra participating. Lecturers can information college students via the accounting course to indicate them that an accountant profession path is each financially rewarding and filled with difficult alternatives!
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Jack Woerner is a private finance educator and guide. He’s a former highschool private finance and economics trainer. Jack designs monetary curricula for organizations everywhere in the globe. He has written guides, articles, and blogs in addition to ghostwritten a number of books about monetary literacy. Jack is obsessed with educating private finance to everybody.
