What Jobs Can I Get With an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting?
Key Takeaways
- Online accounting degree programs require online students to follow the same materials and meet the same expectations set on campus.
- Innovative online learning programs provide students with many tools to elevate their accounting careers.
- An online bachelor’s degree in accounting can lead to a career as an auditor, budget analyst, financial manager, and more.
Students pursuing an online bachelor’s in accounting will take the same courses and lectures as those in traditional on-campus accounting programs.
Perhaps a downside to online learning, however, is being limited to online communication with limited access to college professors. Unaddressed, this issue can potentially affect the educational process, leaving online students with a lack of support for web-based learning.
Thankfully, today’s digital era is characterized by virtual programs that provide an excellent platform for learning and communication among students. Most institutions offering online programs today feature systems that allow students to communicate via emails, forums, and simultaneous streaming class sessions.
Featured Programs
All About the Online Accounting Degree
Online accounting degrees provide students better flexibility in when and how they complete their courses. The online bachelor of accounting program is an arrangement that offers convenient coursework and flexible class attendance schedules.
This allows students—who might otherwise be unable to attend on-campus courses—to enroll in an online program amid even the busiest of schedules.
Mathematics, numerical calculations, and financial data are the core of online accounting programs. Accounting courses vary by specialization, but all undergraduate students are expected to prove themselves adept in these subjects and to understand the generally accepted accounting principles.
Skills Needed to Excel in Accounting Careers
Analytical Skills
Enrolling in online accounting degree programs equips students with analytical skills and attention to detail, which are crucial in analyzing financial records. Online accounting degrees not only provide theoretical knowledge but also offer practical exercises and real-world case studies, fostering a comprehensive skill set necessary for navigating the intricacies of financial analysis and accounting tasks.
Organizational Skills
Accountants must be extremely organized so they can easily meet deadlines, juggle clients, and monitor proper reporting guidelines. Every accounting task requires a great amount of documentation.
A disorganized accountant will find it nearly impossible to prepare financial statements and keep track of all the crucial paperwork.
Critical Thinking Skills
As they say, accounting professionals eat discrepancies, inaccuracies, and errors for breakfast. These problems, especially when involving massive companies, are very critical. When the professional fails to recognize or address these problems, there can be serious ramifications for clients and employers.
The curriculum of online accounting degrees immerses students in scenarios that require astute critical thinking, enabling them to identify risks, evaluate variables, and devise practical solutions.
Accountants must possess critical thinking skills to come up with feasible solutions by considering all risks and variables.
Communication Skills
Next to studying and optimizing financial records, accountants are expected to explain their findings to their clients and colleagues, many of whom with no solid knowledge about financial concepts. An online bachelor’s degree in accounting integrates a curriculum that equips students with the right communication skills that enable them to transform complex charts, tables, and numbers into something that any average person can understand.
How to Maximize Online Learning Experience
Provided the student has built a strong skill set, accounting majors seeking lucrative careers will have many opportunities after graduation.
One way to boost your professional resume is to take advantage of the flexibility of online education. Specifically, employers will be impressed by self-motivated students who managed to hold a job or pursued an internship while earning their degree.
That is not to say though that an online accounting degree isn’t enough by itself.
An online accounting degree, is widely recognized by accounting firms and employers, just like any accounting program at a traditional brick-and-mortar college. However, it matters that you enroll in and complete the right program that features a specific area of study and meets the demands of the job market.
Engage your instructors, and ask how you might improve your skills to better appeal to employers. They will appreciate your forward-thinking!
Online Accounting Bachelor’s Jobs
Some graduates of distance learning education programs are worried about getting hired. The concern is that they might lose out to their contemporary brick-and-mortar college graduates when competing in the job market.
But this concern doesn’t have much merit so long as you earn your accounting degree from a reputable and accredited online degree program.
Accounting is a profession that has a long history of successful people who have pursued their accounting education online. Through hard work and determination, these accountants were able to work their way up to the top.
As a result, accounting careers for online graduates will be the same as those who have obtained their degrees from traditional brick-and-mortar schools.
The Bottom Line: To enable the best professional prospects, focus on building valuable skills in your online degree program. Your skills are what will ultimately determine your success in the job market.
Here are some of the top accounting careers for bachelor’s degree graduates:
Financial Analyst
Financial analysts are detectives who help companies examine financial data and trends. These experts examine financial statements, appraise market circumstances, and analyze economic indicators and the company’s financial performance. In addition, these experts write reports that include their conclusions and observations, enabling other professionals and companies to traverse the complicated world of finance confidently.
Median Annual Salary: $96,220
Job Growth (2022-32): 8%
Budget Analyst
These financial experts assist organizations in managing their finances efficiently by developing, analyzing, monitoring financial activities, and maintaining budgets to ensure that expenditures align with financial goals. This entails projecting future financial requirements, examining proposed budgets, and suggesting necessary changes. Budget analysts are indispensable in the finance and accounting field, especially when it comes to assisting firms in making financially responsible decisions and allocating resources sensibly.
Median Annual Salary: $82,260
Job Growth (2022-32): 3%
Cost Estimator
Cost estimators are experts at projecting, producing, and estimating associated costs. To get precise figures, they carefully consider several variables, including labor, materials, and overhead. They aim to reduce costs.
These experts are essential in assisting companies with project viability assessments and price setting. To generate accurate and realistic estimates, cost estimators must pay close attention to detail and possess a thorough awareness of industry trends.
Median Annual Salary: $71,200
Job Growth (2022-32): 3%
You can get many other well-paying jobs if you use your online bachelor’s degree in accounting to get into grad school. A graduate degree in accounting can lead to a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) job. A master’s in accounting can also help you get top jobs like Financial Manager or Top Executive. The online bachelor’s degree in accounting is an excellent first step toward any of these jobs.
Student Submitted Questions About Online Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting
What else can I do with an online bachelor’s degree in accounting?
Graduates can use their bachelor’s degree in accounting to become management accountants, internal auditors, tax preparers, staff accountants, financial managers, and more. This could also lead to a career as a market analyst, independent consultant, or as a business owner.
Moreover, an online bachelor’s degree in accounting is valuable even if you don’t want to become an accountant. You can use your accounting degree for non-accounting jobs like policy consulting, stockbroking, postsecondary education, and more.
What does a job in accounting pay?
Pay for accounting careers can vary greatly, depending on location, position, experience, and educational background. The highest-paid professionals with a bachelor’s degree are Financial Analysts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows these professionals are paid a yearly average of $96,220.
What does a job in accounting pay?
Pay for accounting careers can vary greatly, depending on location, position, experience, and educational background. The highest-paid professionals with a bachelor’s degree are Financial Analysts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows these professionals are paid a yearly average of $96,220.
Should I pursue continuing studies?
If you want to be paid more, you should obtain an advanced degree, such as a master’s degree. This degree level will prepare you for executive positions that entail more than preparing financial statements, submitting financial reports, and storing financial documents. This will qualify you for chief financial officer positions, forensic accounting positions, and more. These jobs all pay better than the average pay for all jobs.
Will employers respect my online bachelor’s degree in accounting?
Employers will respect your online accounting degree as long as it comes from a good college or university. Employers respect online accounting degrees from accredited colleges and universities. Accreditation is very important. Accreditation means your degree comes from a school that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. There are two kinds of schoolwide accreditation—national accreditation and regional accreditation. Regional accreditation is better than national accreditation. Program accreditation is also important in accounting. An online degree in accounting should be accredited by either the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) or the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). An AACSB or ACBSP accredited online accounting degree from a regionally accredited college or university will be respected by employers. Check out the best online bachelor’s degrees in accounting to make sure you are getting an online accounting degree that employers will respect.
Conclusion
It matters less where you earn your Accounting degree, either online or on campus. What matters is that your school provides quality online education that instills in every student the relevant technical skills along with the right soft skills to make for an accounting career.
Continue your exploration by checking out Is an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting Worth It?.
