OSUstudent

I've done a lot of searching on the internet and these forums, and i've found a lot of information about accounting.

However, I see some people talking about great salaries available to accountants, but then I look at median salaries and its somewhere in the 45-55k range.

What from what I understand this is how you make money as an accountant -

1. Join and big 4 or medium sized regional firm
2. Work there for several years
3. Either get promoted more and more within the firm, or join a private firm.
4. ???
5. Profit.

Can anyone explain how the process works? Such as how much pay goes up per year, or how much it goes up after a certain promotion and the usual time it takes to get said promotion, etc.

taxguy

The 45-55K median salary is for starting accounting. It is NOT median salary for all accountants or for all CPAs,which would be even higher.

Thetaxdad

Doing public accounting right away is usually a good move for most grads. Public accounting exposes you to many types of businesses and also in the process allows you to create quite a network. Having public accounting experience tends to make you very marketable for private industry positions if that is what you are after.

Right now I would focus on getting an internship while in school, this would be a great place to start. Doing the internship, getting a job offer and then getting your CPA as soon as possible will get you on the right track. The money will follow.

openedskittles

As taxguy said, that is just the starting salary. You will likely get promoted a few times within your first few years and be making decent money, but most people will go back for an MBA or look for another job after about 5 years and that's when the real money starts to flow. If you get into a good MBA program, you can go anywhere, if you get the right work experience, you can do anything.

OSUstudent

WOuldnt it be easier then to go straight from a bachelors to a masters?

So that way I dont have to take 2 years off of work to go to school to get it?

Dawgie

Most masters programs are 1 year. And if it is the MBA you are talking about, there are no top MBA programs that don't require work experience.

openedskittles

Top MBA programs pretty much expect 5 years of work experience. Also, you will need to work in public accounting for at least 2 years to become a CPA if you want to do that. Also, after 5 years is when you generally reach some senior title in your job position at a big 4 that looks really good on resumes and it just makes sense to have a nice title for the job you put on your MBA/job application. Also, if you have no experience, it will be a lot harder to compete with your MBA classmates for jobs, because they will almost all have some.

student01

Why do you hear about accountants eventually making $100K+? How realistic is this expectation, how many years?

And if it takes about 5 years to reach senior position, wouldn't there be a glut of workers?

taxguy

EVERYONE: Please read post number one in the thread< "Everything you wanted to know or should know about accounting." There is a discussion about average Salaries for Maryland Accounting firms found there. There is also a url that gets updated yearly about these salaries that you should click on.

OSUstudent

Are salaries in Maryland a good basis of comparison for everywhere else though?

And are those salaries for people with an undergraduate degree?

Is there a separate chart for those with an Masters?

Dawgie

100K is very reasonable, just sit tight and do your job. We already went over this, MSA doesn't do crap for your salary. Top MBA will help secure a CFO position though.

OSUstudent

So then this "...but most people will go back for an MBA or look for another job after about 5 years and that's when the real money starts to flow." isn't true?

What would you guess that average salary for an accountant with 7+ years of experience is?

I don't want to seem like one of those kiddies who just cares about the numbers in his paycheck, but i'm a business and math man at heart and i'm in it for the money.

Also, what other options are available for someone after they get their big 4 experience?

Dawgie

No where did I mention that MBA's dont help. I said MSA's dont. Get a top 5 MBA and cash will flow. Just not as useful for accounting.

OSUstudent

I see. I think i'm confused in the difference between an MSA and MBA.

What are the top 5 MBA programs?

Also, just to make sure I get this correctly, the ideal steps for an accountant would be this -

1. Graduate from an accredited University
2. Take 30 extra credit hours of class to meet CPA requirements
3. Get a job at one of the big 4
4. Work for 1-2 years.
5. Take and pass the CPA exam
6. Work until you have worked for 5 years at the big 4.
7. Apply for one of the top 5 MBA programs
8. Graduate from one of the 5 MBA programs.
9. Find a job.
10. ???
11. Profit.

tbradford

Firstly, you should be taking the CPA exam right out of college. Secondly, you can do the additional 30 credits (or MSA MAcc) while you're working on your BS or directly after. You don't have to do an MBA to make money in accounting, you have to be good at your job and move up through the ranks (either in public or industry). An MBA from a good program won't hurt you, but it's something that will generally have a large opportunity cost you'll have to weight at the time (opportunity cost of taking a couple of years off work to go back to school).

I guess the ??? part of your "equation" would be to excel at your job and move up through the ranks. You can make 100k+ per year in accounting doing a variety of things, not just at the big 4. The most important steps to get there are to get your CPA and to excel at your job (big 4 or otherwise).