<p>career wise. or is it most likely having the same job for many years. like in engineering you can easily move to management with some experience, but how about accounting, I never heard to much about other opportunities. plz explain</p>
<p>Sorry but you are better off asking an accounting professor about that then these boards.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/511865-everything-you-wanted-know-should-know-about-accounting.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/business-major/511865-everything-you-wanted-know-should-know-about-accounting.html</a></p>
<p>I mean there are literally 3 topics between this and that topic…did you even look?</p>
<p>Anyway your question has already been answered at least 10 times in that topic. If you read every page of that topic you should find most of your questions.</p>
<p>All the accounting answers shouldn’t point to just that one thread.</p>
<p>You are better off asking an accounting professor. Maybe an assistant professor in the accounting department who has some real accounting experience.</p>
<p>Quick answer:</p>
<p>public: become senior manager, etc. all the way through partner</p>
<p>private: you start at staff and you could get promoted to controller all the way to CFO (unlikely though)</p>
<p>there are people in the topic who have real experience with accounting.</p>
<p>And the question asked was actually answered in that thread. The thread is pretty much a q&a.</p>
<p>Do whatever the hell you want. If that’s what you think, stick to it.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would rather go talk to someone I know personally who can answer my questions that would fit my needs. There’s just more credibility to it,
Because I have heard a lot of contradicting opinions from the thread and people I have talked to in real life. </p>
<p>All I am saying is, don’t just buy everything in that thread. A professor knows whats up and knows your situation quite well when you talk to him/her and can address your problems better.</p>
<p>I really think the OP brings up a valid question though.</p>
<p>It seems that whenever someone brings up the word “accounting” they go on and mention that they earn up to 80K+ with several years experience, and can continue on to 120K+.</p>
<p>But what they normally don’t mention is how many people actually advance that high. I would even imagine 80K to be really high for a job that doesn’t necessarily require a) a brilliant IQ or b) really good connections. Then millions of people would hear about these supposed benefits of accounting and there would just be too many accountants asking for a job, thus raising the supply and driving down the wages.</p>
<p>So I think the OP is asking, what are the odds of actually rising to a decent position in accounting, so that one could earn about 70~80K or more? If the odds are too favorable, then I don’t see how accounting can stay financially generous for long.</p>
<p>70-80k isn’t an unreasonable amount for the average accountant to expect. The field stays somewhat financially generous because not that many people find accounting interesting enough to pursue as a career and not everyone excels at it. You also have to have a certain amount of determination and motivation to get a CPA, which makes hitting that range much easier.</p>
<p>Almost every CPA that I know is earning at least 70-80K and MORE. This is even true for government accounting jobs after only a few years. The key is that you have to be good at your field and be willing to constantly keep up with the changes in the field. In fact, most CPAs that I know are earning in excess of 100K. Thus, 70-80K is an extremely achievable, although rather low goal.</p>
<p>how about working in a corporate setting? many accountants in the company i now work for make just as much as cpa’s at the comparable level, except they work much fewer hours compared to cpa’s. in fact, many of those working for public companies have stock options, which make the total compensation package even more lucrative. </p>
<p>another point is the broad range of opportunities a corporate guy/gal can get into. </p>
<p>big companies have many different departments like general accounting, finance, budget/planning, cost accounting, internal audit, and so on. unlike cpa firms, a lot of public companies tend to switch their employees around as they develop professionally. </p>
<p>it’s generally accurate that with cpa firms, employees stick to audit or tax for their entire career, with no mobility across different fields in the same firm. i know some that were laid off not because they are bad at what they do, but rather due to low demand for the particular service. it’s usually move up or move out.</p>