How much can I realistically make as an accountant?

I have been an accountant for five years. I'm a CPA and I have a masters degree in accounting. I started in public accounting at a mid-size firm with two internships under my belt and my starting salary was about $50k, and that was over 5 years ago. I left public accounting after 4 years and now I work as a lead accountant in SEC reporting for a very large corporation. I make significantly more than $50k, and I'm not even 30 years old yet. Some of the highest paid invdividuals at my company are accountants or have accounting degrees.

When you see accountant jobs for $30k, it's for people who have no degrees or associates degrees. I know for a fact that back in 1997 people were starting at Big 4 firms making about $40k.

Talk to your professors about their knowledge of the job market in your area. Also, most colleges have some type of career placement. My college's accounting department actually had its own job placement service. If you don't want to use your college, use a professional recruiter...it doesn't cost you anything and they have inside info on jobs that are not posted publicly. One firm you could use would be Robert Half, for example.

Good luck...I have found accounting to be a very rewarding career (both financially and professionally)!

Accountant positions start around 30,000 as you said. If you get a masters and sit for a CPA exam, you will probably start at about 40,000 or more, but within 5 years you should be making 70,000 or so. I had to interview an accountant for a high school accounting class and he figured that most accountants make 90,000 by their tenth year in the field. I don't know if this was just based on his experience or if it was based on research.

But yes, you can make a good living as an accountant, and CPAs often have the chance to move up to upper management. I know several CPAs who are now CEOs and VPs.

Where I'm at, the average salary for a person with a Bachelors in Accounting can get a staff accountant position at around 35k. Within two years, they are making 40-45k. The IRS actually has a great program for accountant majors. I'm working part-time as an accountant while I'm getting my Masters in Accounting. I'm making $17/hour.

The issue is what the employer wants the employee to do.

For example. a bookkeeper could be called an accountant and so could a CPA.

Those in public accounting (CPA) make more than private companies usually.

Entry level jobs with accounting degrees should pay closer to 40000.

Right now is a great time to get involved in your University's accounting club; it'll answer all your questions regarding your future career. Most accounting students don't get involved and miss out on A LOT of different opportunities/information available. Most students who are involved in accounting clubs get a job offer for after they graduate; basically, you'll have a job waiting for you.

There are different public accounting firms you can go into: Big4 firms (Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG), Mid-size (BDO, GT, etc), and local firms. The starting salary for most of these firms are around $50,000. It goes up as you get promoted and you earn more when you pass your CPA exam.

Basically, GET INVOLVED as soon as possible because the sooner you start the better chance you can prepare for interviews and get your name out there. Best of luck!!! =)

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"I interested in accounting" (You typed). Maybe you could be a writer? Well, may not, you have trouble with sentence structure.

Look at www.salary.com this will give you some ideas of pay ranges, educational needs, duties, and the like. You should also look at the jobs outlook on the US Dept of Labor website.

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