Related Career Categories

• Accounting Manager
• Auditor
• Bookkeeper
• Business Accountant
• Controller
• CPA
• Financial Investigator
• Government Accountant
• Not-For-Profit Accountant
• Tax Accountant
• Tax Preparer

School and Career Surprises: Tips From People on the Job

Career: "What surprised me about my career is that its not as simulating as I always thought it would be. My career consists of crunching numbers and sometimes it is very boring"

Career: "I was surprised to find that being an accountant consists of very long and tiring hours. I was always taught to believe that being an accountant is a 9-5 job."

Career: "I was surprised how many clients had basic troubles with their accounting."

Career: "I was surprised to learn that auditing required so much documentation paperwork. I was surprised that there was so much involved in taking the CPA exam that I am now studying to take."

Career: "I have discovered how much I love spreadsheets! They were tedious in school but in the work place with real world applications they are a joy to use."

Career: "I had expected there would be many jobs available after my graduation, but it more or less coincided with the big economic crash. Things are starting to go better, but hiring people is not in the interest of companies, it's one of their biggest costs and detrimental to profit. Also, I am 58 years old."

Career: "I was surprised to find out that Accounts must pay close attention to every detail of not just the accounts but of the entire company. I was surprised to find out how much you interact with clients or customers"

School: "I was surprised at how a balanced liberal arts education prepared me so well for the real world and that it enabled me to excel in a career that was outside of my major."

Career: "I was surprised by the level of diversity in the profession, there are many areas of expertise and you can pursue many alternatives with in the field."

School: "The breadth of knowledge and applicability that my major afforded me. Nothing has been more important in the job market than the abilities to write clearly, and state thoughts in a coherent and compelling manner."

Career: "How much technology has affected the ease and accessibility of accounting -- Quickbooks, online banking, etc. Technology has made it to the point where anyone who has a basic understanding of math and finance can quickly become an efficient accountant."

School: "I was surprised that there was so much freedom as it related to completing assignments and class work. The overall change from high school to college resulted in a fast maturing process."

Career: "I was surprised at how quickly technology changed and my knowledge become obsolete. I had to update my skill sets continually to maintain my position."

Best & Worst Things About This Career

"The best part of my job is the enjoyment of helping others understand their financials and even more so educating the administrators and operations team to learn skills to succeed in the future. I also have some flexibility in my schedule because of the travel. I make my appointments based on when I am available. the worst part of my job is the week of the close. While, I am an accountant at heart, I do not enjoy the routine part of the monthly close. I find it the same every month and do not like to be stuck in one place."

"The best part of the job is working with numbers and making sure accounts balance. I enjoy overseeing the payroll and keeping track of finances. There are changes every year and many updates to computer software that make the job much easier. The worst part of the job is the annual audits performed by outside agencies for our union employees, any workers compensation audits, or any general liability audits. Keeping track of sales tax is also a challenge and one that I am learning to do better with."

"The best parts about my career are that my organization supports a worthwhile cause, there is variety in the assigned tasks, and opportunities for career advancement exist. Also, I get along well with the people that I work with, and we often say "How are you doing?" or "Have a good weekend." Basically, it is a friendly work environment. The worst parts of my career involve a lack of clear communication and the monotony of working on tasks that seem tedious and unnecessary. Working in my field involves a lot of patience and a "can do" attitude."

"The best part of the job is developing an understanding of the complicated accounting required and setting up a process that creates the required information and then passing the work on to someone who is learning the job because the process makes it easier for the new person to understand. The worst part of the job is the constant change taking place within the company: changing management, changing work locations and the push for more information in a shorter time frame."

"The best part of my career is the lifestyle it allows me to live. Because accountants are always in high demand, you can rest assured that you will have a good job and some flexibility in where you work. When I go home at night I can leave my work at work. I do not need to work on weekends or stay up late at night to finish projects (generally). The worst thing about my job is that it can get monotonous. I often have to do small, detail-oriented activities over and over which can be quite boring to me. Although I generally enjoy my work, there are some activities that I would rather not do over and over again."

"The interesting part of this job is that you get to see various processes from beginning to end. However, if you are interested in a certain area, you could speak to the manager and he would make sure that your main responsibility included what you like to do best. Every claim and every case is different, and you are rarely stuck doing the same thing every day. The worst part for me is reading contract wording and legal briefs as I am not the fastest reader. I typically prefer to do more reconciliation and reporting stuff."

"The best and worst parts of the job are providing management with the necessary information to move the company forward. Analysis and investigation can uncover both problems and successes. Financial analysis helps management make better decisions and knowing which product lines are profitable and which are not (and why) is imperative to running a business, but time constraints and the accounting software limit the amount of analysis we can do. Indeed, the software system we employ for accounting is more than a decade old and a lot of our work on the monthly reports has to be completed off-line in Excel. Just assembling the reports takes several days, and analyzing the data they contain takes much longer."

"The best part of the job is that it is different every day. Since I work with a variety of clients something new is always coming up. It makes the day go very quickly and keeps the job feeling fresh. It is very rewarding when I am able to help clients with a financial problem that caused them great stress. The worst part of the job is watching a business fail. Sometimes, no matter how much you try to help and advise the business just doesn't succeed. Also, there can be a significant amount of frustration with computer systems."

Tips for Succeeding in This Career

"I went to college to be an accountant because when I was in high school, we were given a test which the result would be a recommendation of what job we would be good at. Since I was good at math, I excelled in the math section and the result was accountant. What I did not realize while I was in college was the routineness of the job. What I have done in my career which has helped me to be successful is to also align myself with other departments and take on jobs to help people as they become available."

"Anyone interested in accounting has a lot of job opportunities and I would say that there is job security in the field. The constant challenge with numbers is something that needs to be given particular attention. "Slow and steady wins the race" could be the motto of accounting; sometimes you need to keep an eye on all angles and the only way to do that is to take your time and check your work."

"Nowadays, to secure a job in the field of accounting, it is a must to have at minimum of a four-year Bachelor's degree in Accounting. Better yet, your employer will favor you more highly if you also have a Masters degree and/or a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Having passed the CPA exam or furthering your education will show the company that you are willing to go above and beyond the absolute minimum for furthering your education and technical accounting skills. Accountants must be detail-oriented, organized, and must be able to meet deadlines. Sloppy and careless work will probably lead to poor job evaluations by your supervisor and will definitely hinder your opportunities for job promotion. Accounting careers pay well, but there is also a great deal of responsibility."

"Understand the relationship between accounting transactions recorded on the balance sheet and income statement. When you reconcile a balance sheet account, you should know where the other side of the entries have been recorded. Think about the next user of your spreadsheets. Develop simple spreadsheets that provide the information required. If a spreadsheet is poorly documented or too complicated, it won't be useful to the next person. When you're involved in an accounting process, make check lists of things that need to be done and when they need to be done so nothing gets missed during a crunch time."

"Even though accounting classes can be a bit boring in school, they generally pay off more than other classes will. Pay attention in your statistics courses and learn how to apply the principles in everyday life. Look for internships in this field before beginning any career. Some people love accounting and other people hate it (more probably fit the later category). I recommend getting some experience in the field so that you know if this is a good job for your or not."

"Be open-minded about the jobs you get offered. Sometimes you think you like or dislike something and you only allow yourself to try the work you like. But you could be surprised if you tried other areas. Don't be unreasonable or rigid when it comes to your first job."

"Once you get your Accounting degree, work for a public accounting firm for a couple of years and get your CPA. Even though you will have to work long hours during tax season, this will provide you with the best experience and knowledge of many different areas of accounting. Getting your CPA license is invaluable to your career, wherever you go in the future, no matter if you decide to work for a private company or open your own business."

"Consider taking on barter clients or low-paid accounts on the side when you are starting out. Look for small businesses that you can help out by keeping their books and managing their records. This will allow you to develop an organization technique that you are comfortable with. Try out a variety of computer software systems that are out there. Exposure to a variety of systems makes you more marketable to a prospective employer. Working with a large company at the beginning of your career helps to give you financial stability and teaches you how to work with corporate structures."