# Is ACCOUNTING a good career? Channel: Kelly Randolph Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifNoZfpdW2M Duration: 7 min Language: English Words: 1377 Transcript page: https://viewrankai.com/tools/youtube-transcript/ifNoZfpdW2M --- [0:00] I worked in accounting for over 10 years now, and if you're wondering if accounting is a good career, here's what you should know. Hi, I'm Kelly. I'm currently a financial reporting manager, and I've worked at both Fortune 200 and Fortune 500 companies, as well as private and public companies. So, in this video, I'm going to share with you if accounting is a good career, and the three things you should know before deciding if it's right for you. So, let's first talk about salary. Did you know accountants actually get paid really well? Take myself for example, I make well over six figures. And I'm much closer to that multiple six-figure mark [0:33] at this point in my career. So, if your goal is to make six figures, you can definitely do that working in accounting. Staff accountants usually make between $70,000 to $90,000 a year. Senior accountants typically can make anywhere from $90,000 to $110,000 base salary per year. And then accounting managers typically will make over $100,000 per year, and usually are paid much closer to that $120,000 to $140,000 range. And all these are base salaries [1:03] and do not include any annual bonuses. Oftentimes, to remain competitive, companies will offer employees annual bonuses. So, for example, let's say you're a senior accountant, and you earn $90,000 per year, and you also receive a 10% annual bonus. In addition to your annual salary, you would also be receiving an extra $9,000 per year from your annual bonus. Granted, you would still have to take into consideration getting taxed on your bonus, which is super high, but it's still nice to get an annual bonus. Obviously, salary flow can vary by your location, your experience, and the company you work for, so you'll definitely want to keep that in mind. In addition, you don't [1:41] just have to stop at the accounting manager position. You can also become a senior accounting manager, a director of accounting, a senior director of accounting, an assistant controller, a corporate controller, a business unit controller, a chief accounting officer, or a chief financial officer. It really just depends and how far you want to take your career. And obviously, as you continue to progress up the corporate ladder, your salary is only going to increase as well. For example, a lot of accounting directors earn over $200,000 per year. So, not only can you make 100k in accounting, you can definitely make way over that as well. Which I think is [2:19] often not talked about because when we think about high-paying careers, we often think about finance, investment banking, consulting, or becoming a doctor. But, not often times are we told that accountants actually make really good money, too. And there's a lot of room for advancement in accounting and career growth. So, you don't have to remain stagnant in your position. So, in addition to getting paid really well, reason number two is the amount of opportunities having an accounting degree opens. I think a lot of times when we are in school, teachers talk about big four audit and tax. Like those are the only two options you can do with [2:52] an accounting degree. But, in reality, there are so many different types of accounting positions. So, for instance, when I was in college, I never even heard of financial reporting, corporate accounting, or consolidations, to name a few other types of accounting roles. And the list really goes on with what you can do with an accounting degree. For instance, did you know with an accounting degree, when considering corporate opportunities, you can also work for a business unit, or you can work on the investor relations team, or you can work for treasury, or you could work with a specific type of asset or expense. For example, you could be a [3:26] fixed asset accountant, a lease accountant, or an SGA accountant, or you could work as a cost accountant, or a real estate accountant. There are so many things you can do with an accounting degree that aren't talked about enough. And depending on what type of accountant you are, that would directly impact the day-to-day activities that you are responsible for. Which is awesome because if you are working as one type of an accountant, but you don't really like the things that you're working on, you could always pivot into a different area. I personally recommend when you are just beginning your accounting career to try to keep your experience more broad. This [3:58] is going to help prevent you from pigeonholing your experience too soon in your career. The positions I typically recommend are going to be working in audit, whether that is internal audit working for a company or external audit working for a firm, or financial reporting, which is my personal favorite area to work in, or corporate accounting. Other things you should consider is try to work for a large well-known company in your area. A lot of times well-known larger companies have very established processes and procedures in place, which is something that is definitely going to benefit you from a learning perspective when you are first starting your career. Before we [4:33] get into the third reason, if you are enjoying this video so far, definitely hit the like button and subscribe to my channel. It lets me know that you like this type of accounting career content. The third reason is accounting is a very stable career. In the era of AI, whether you are in college trying to decide what major to choose, or if you already have a career but are thinking about switching to accounting, accounting is a great choice because the truth is all companies need accountants and that is never going to change even in the era of AI. So, when thinking about future careers and the types of positions that [5:04] are going to be replaced by AI, in my opinion those positions are going to be much more mundane and repetitive. But not accounting because sure, AI may help make some processes more efficient, but it will never replace the need for accountants. Accountants still need to review the work and analyze the data, understand what the numbers mean, and use those findings to make decisions that impact the company you work for. I recently went to an AI for finance and accounting conference and a reoccurring theme was human in the loop, meaning sure, you can use AI to enhance processes, but a human cannot be removed from the equation because at the end of [5:40] the day, if a number is wrong, a human is accountable, not AI. That being said, I don't think AI will ever replace accountants. And according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the outlook for accountants is positive with a projected growth year-over-year of 5% through 2034. And from my personal experience, that is very true because I have like 10 recruiters in my LinkedIn inbox trying to recruit me daily for various positions that they are hiring for. Now, I will say the hardest part about becoming an accountant is actually getting your first accounting job and just getting your foot in the door. But once you get accounting experience, the [6:17] job stability you have with an accounting career is very strong. So, is accounting a good career? Yes, I think accounting is a great career. Especially if you are looking for a career with stability, a clear career path, and the ability to make a really good salary over time. If you are interested in becoming an accountant, that is something I help with. I have now created the Accounting Career Starter Program, which is a one-on-one program where we talk about your goals, work on your resume together, pick out accounting jobs you should apply to. And then once you start hearing back from companies for an interview, we will do a [6:48] mock interview to ensure that you are set up for success to get your first accounting job. If you have any questions about accounting careers, definitely leave them in the comments below because I get the majority of my video ideas from your questions. See you in the next video. --- About this transcript Read from YouTube's own caption track and laid out by ViewRank AI (https://viewrankai.com). 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