Are there many job openings for accounting (bookkeeping)?

Hi Laura-

Great question! Having an accounting background in any field is very helpful because you can understand the ins/outs of a business even if you're not specifically in an accounting role. However, you can also aim for a career in accounting (i.e. public accounting, big 4, CPA, etc.). There are plenty of career opportunities for those with an accounting background. You can become a CPA at a Big 4 public accounting firm or at a smaller or midsize firm. There are also opportunities to work in consulting, tax, or corporate finance. But even if you don't want to be in the huge corporate world, there are lots of things you can do on a smaller scale. There are opportunities in bookkeeping, clerical work, government accounting (state/local), small/local accounting firms that do bookkeeping and tax for small businesses, and much more. While you're taking courses, you can apply for part-time positions as a bookkeeper or accounting assistant at local firms or at your school to get an idea of what you might want to do. You just have to feel around and see what you like and what you're most interested in!

Hi Laura,

This is a great question and props to you for thinking ahead about your future! Like the other two responses, an accounting background will provide you with a great degree of job security. If you earn an accounting degree in college, you will have more than just bookkeeper opportunities! You can even look into taking 150 credit hours to get a CPA license and then you will be highly sought after from accounting firms as well as corporations, increasing your job security. During your education, look into roles at your university for accounting experiences. For example, someone in my program did the accounting for the KU Athletics department (pretty cool if you ask me)! Every business, even the small local businesses, have to keep accounting records and I'm sure many of them would love the help of a college student to keep everything in fine tune.

Good luck in your future education and I hope you enjoy your accounting curriculum and score an awesome accounting related job!

Laura - Most business organizations have a or multiple needs for an accounting role and in a recessionary period, the risk of being jobless is lower than for certain other jobs. As an example, my eye doctor who runs a multi million dollar business explained that having some accounting background would have benefited him. He outsources his book-keeping/ accounting function but still wishes he understood the basics. Having an accounting degree / book-keeping certification is generally helpful in applying for jobs in accounting.