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Accounting questions?
Accounting questions?
I am considering majoring in Accounting in college and have some questions...
1.) Does taking Accounting classes in high school help to prepare you for college?
2.) What is the entry level salary?
3/) How many years of school is it?
4.) Do you need a master's?
5/) What is the schedule like? Do you work 24/7 with no weekends off?
6.) Is it hard to find a job after graduating college?
7.) Is it very very very stressful and difficult that you want to kill yourself?
8.) What's a CPA?
Answers:
mu?: 8.) CPA Certify Public Accountant
7.) If you like what you do it wont stress you.
6.) There are a lot of positions for accounting many of them ask for experience but when you go to classes they are giving you the experience.
5.) Don't know but you get your days off .
4.) Depends if you want to earn more money.
3.) 2 yrs to get associates degree 4 yrs to get your bachelors degree.
2.) Don't know sorry.
1.)
2008-01-12 11:14:25
7.) If you like what you do it wont stress you.
6.) There are a lot of positions for accounting many of them ask for experience but when you go to classes they are giving you the experience.
5.) Don't know but you get your days off .
4.) Depends if you want to earn more money.
3.) 2 yrs to get associates degree 4 yrs to get your bachelors degree.
2.) Don't know sorry.
1.)
2008-01-12 11:14:25
Chosen Answer
Robert W: 1)A little. One high school accounting class (at most schools) would cover half of your first college accounting class. However, this is incredibly important stuff (debits and credits, the nature of the balance sheet etc.) that some people find quite difficult, so it's probably a good idea to get started thinking about it now, unless there are other classes that interest you. My general thought on high school is to take electives while they're free instead of stuff you'll have to take in college anyway. So I'd say it depends on what other classes are available.
2) Varies widely according to what job you take. The best career option is to audit for a national firm for two years. This starts around 45-60K for most of the US. Other jobs pay less. Don't go to a school unless the Big 4 hire a lot of their grads, even if you don't want to go that route. Ask the accounting dept. what % go Big 4, they should be able to tell you.
3)It's usually a typical four year degree, give or take for your circumstances.
4)In most states, you need 150 college hours to take the CPA exam. Trust me, you DEFINITELY want to take the CPA exam. To get the extra hours, you may as well do a master's, so most people do now. There's no reason both degrees have to be in accounting. I did an undergrad in liberal arts and master's in accounting, and I'm doing just fine.
5)Typical answers: Big 4 - yes, part of the year. Corporate - for a few days each month, and for a few weeks after fiscal year end. Government - 40 hours per week. Keep in mind that if you do Big 4 for awhile, you can get into one of the less stressful areas at a much higher salary. If you don't audit, it's hard to crack the upper levels in corporate and some government.
6)Not if you go to the right school (see #2). You'll start socializing with the accounting firms your sophmore year. They send recent grads back to their school to visit with students. By junior/senior year, you'll know people at the firms and be able to find out what work there is like.
7)First two years - not if you can handle long hours. The people above you deal with that, you'll be doing simple work, you just might be doing it until 1 a.m. or later and working on weekends. Most people just do this during one "season" (spring for most). Once you advance in your career, it can be incredibly stressful at a growing/changing company or in public practice. Many companies have more relaxed accounting departments, though.
8)Certified Public Accountant, a difficult exam which you can't take unless you meet certain requirements (differ by state). You should plan your classes to meet these requirements. If you have a degree, you need to pass this exam. Most people don't pass the first time, but the great majority pass eventually. It may not mean much in reality, but it makes a huge difference in your career.
2008-01-14 11:57:44
Robert W: 1)A little. One high school accounting class (at most schools) would cover half of your first college accounting class. However, this is incredibly important stuff (debits and credits, the nature of the balance sheet etc.) that some people find quite difficult, so it's probably a good idea to get started thinking about it now, unless there are other classes that interest you. My general thought on high school is to take electives while they're free instead of stuff you'll have to take in college anyway. So I'd say it depends on what other classes are available.
2) Varies widely according to what job you take. The best career option is to audit for a national firm for two years. This starts around 45-60K for most of the US. Other jobs pay less. Don't go to a school unless the Big 4 hire a lot of their grads, even if you don't want to go that route. Ask the accounting dept. what % go Big 4, they should be able to tell you.
3)It's usually a typical four year degree, give or take for your circumstances.
4)In most states, you need 150 college hours to take the CPA exam. Trust me, you DEFINITELY want to take the CPA exam. To get the extra hours, you may as well do a master's, so most people do now. There's no reason both degrees have to be in accounting. I did an undergrad in liberal arts and master's in accounting, and I'm doing just fine.
5)Typical answers: Big 4 - yes, part of the year. Corporate - for a few days each month, and for a few weeks after fiscal year end. Government - 40 hours per week. Keep in mind that if you do Big 4 for awhile, you can get into one of the less stressful areas at a much higher salary. If you don't audit, it's hard to crack the upper levels in corporate and some government.
6)Not if you go to the right school (see #2). You'll start socializing with the accounting firms your sophmore year. They send recent grads back to their school to visit with students. By junior/senior year, you'll know people at the firms and be able to find out what work there is like.
7)First two years - not if you can handle long hours. The people above you deal with that, you'll be doing simple work, you just might be doing it until 1 a.m. or later and working on weekends. Most people just do this during one "season" (spring for most). Once you advance in your career, it can be incredibly stressful at a growing/changing company or in public practice. Many companies have more relaxed accounting departments, though.
8)Certified Public Accountant, a difficult exam which you can't take unless you meet certain requirements (differ by state). You should plan your classes to meet these requirements. If you have a degree, you need to pass this exam. Most people don't pass the first time, but the great majority pass eventually. It may not mean much in reality, but it makes a huge difference in your career.
2008-01-14 11:57:44
Ryan R: 1) That wasn't offered at my school so IDK, but it sure can't hurt.
2) It's going to very by location, probably over $40k for public accounting firms.
3) 4 years
4) Having a masters degree won't help that much, but you do need 150 hours of college credit to be eligible to take the CPA exam. The master's degree might help get a job, but after that it's pretty much meaningless.
5) My busiest time is January through April (50 - 65 hours a week) most CPAs work a lot more than this, but I also have other times throughout the year where I have to work a bunch. It really just depends on what kind of job you get.
6) It isn't usually that hard to find a job out of college if you are in a metropolitan area. There may be an accounting club or fraternity you can join at college when you are an junior or senior and have good grades. They have presentations put on by accounting professionals and that is a good place to meet employers.
7) It can be stressful at times, but it isn't that bad in the entry level positions. The longer you stay and more promotions you get the more stress you will have.
8) The Certified Public Accountant designation means you have passed the CPA exam and have a broad range of public accounting knowledge. You will need to pass the CPA exam if you want to be promoted in most major accounting firms.
2008-01-14 18:46:58
2) It's going to very by location, probably over $40k for public accounting firms.
3) 4 years
4) Having a masters degree won't help that much, but you do need 150 hours of college credit to be eligible to take the CPA exam. The master's degree might help get a job, but after that it's pretty much meaningless.
5) My busiest time is January through April (50 - 65 hours a week) most CPAs work a lot more than this, but I also have other times throughout the year where I have to work a bunch. It really just depends on what kind of job you get.
6) It isn't usually that hard to find a job out of college if you are in a metropolitan area. There may be an accounting club or fraternity you can join at college when you are an junior or senior and have good grades. They have presentations put on by accounting professionals and that is a good place to meet employers.
7) It can be stressful at times, but it isn't that bad in the entry level positions. The longer you stay and more promotions you get the more stress you will have.
8) The Certified Public Accountant designation means you have passed the CPA exam and have a broad range of public accounting knowledge. You will need to pass the CPA exam if you want to be promoted in most major accounting firms.
2008-01-14 18:46:58