Inside Not For Profit Accountant Careers

Biggest Surprises

"The Many Different Areas Of Accounting...
The first thing that surprise me mostly is there are so many different areas of accounting that a person may pursue. The second thing that surprise me is that accounting is not just math. There is a lot of thinking and research involved." (Accountant; 2014)

Career: 10 years of experience, currently based in Alabama, female
School: Studied Accounting at Mississippi State University in Mississippi; completed Bachelor degree in 2002

"On The Job Training...
Accounting is a field where you can expect to need on the job training to complement the education that you have received. Your success depends on the ability and willingness of your supervisor to train you properly." (Accountant; 2014)

Career: 8 years of experience, male
School: Studied Accounting at Missouri State in Missouri; completed Bachelor degree in 2004

Best & Worst Things About This Career

Senior Staff Accountant: "The best part of my job is problem solving, which I find helps keep the mind fresh. I usually have to reconcile other's work and it can take some time to finding their errors. The end of the year is the busiest time due to audit reconciliations. The worst part of the job is the constant repetition which can make the job boring. The entries and reconciling are the same for every month and the work always follows the same monthly cycle." (2010)

Career Background

Not-For-Profit Accountant

  Salaries

Career Tips

"Remember The Basics...
To be a successful accountant, always remember the basics that are taught in school. It is easy to get trapped in the more complex situations but if basic accounting is applied to complex problems, they would be easily resolved." (Accountant; 2014)

"Pursue Training Opportunities...
To be successful in Accounting I would strongly recommend working for a firm that is willing to train you. Get all of the training you can, either through work experience or by attending training seminars, etc." (Accountant; 2014)

"Effort For CPA Worth It...
If you like numbers and problem solving you would like accounting. I would suggest accounting as a major and management as a minor. Working toward a CPA will require a lot of studying and take a lot of your time, but in the end it should be worth the work. You can also do well in this career with an undergraduate degree. The higher the degree the faster you will advance in you career as with all jobs." (Senior Staff Accountant; 2010)