Associate's Degree in Accounting

If you're interested in pursuing a career in accounting, take note: earning a bachelor's degree is not the only path to your dream job. While a traditional bachelor's degree in accounting can take up to five years to complete, at the cost of $20,000 to $40,000 per year, a student can earn an associate's degree in less than half that time and for less money.

Degree Basics

Associate's degrees in accounting are designed to offer students a basic educational background combined with a specific investigation of modern accounting practices. When pursuing this degree, students can expect to take a variety of courses from English, science, and math to specific, advanced accounting classes.

One valuable characteristic of many accounting associate's programs is the technical aspect. Modern accounting involves a plethora of specialized computer programs that are seldom used outside of the accounting world. In order to be successful in the modern accounting environment, professionals must have a concrete background in this technical side of the practice. Before enrolling in any institution in order to pursue an accounting associate's degree, it's a good idea to make sure that it has at least one or two courses designed specifically to deal with this issue.

Program Cost & Length

A typical accounting associate's degree program will take about one-and-a-half to two years to complete, and will require around 65 credit hours of work. Depending on location and the specific institution, the cost of enrolling in this type of course can range anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000, not including books and other fees. One thing to keep in mind: as with most university programs, online courses tend to be less expensive.

Employment Outlook

Once a student has graduated and attained his or her associate's degree in accounting, he or she can work in just about every aspect of the business world. From bank tellers to payroll clerks to business accountants, graduates of associate's degree programs can be found everywhere. Additionally, an associate's degree is an excellent first step in the pursuit of a Certified Public Accountant license and will provide a significant number of course credits that can be put towards the requirement for the exam.

Accounting is one of the few sectors of the job market that has grown steadily throughout the recent recession, and is projected to continue growing at a solid clip in the future. For this reason, there is significant room for advancement compared to other lines of work. Plus, associate's degrees in accounting are becoming more and more popular with professionals who are looking for a career change, but who don't possess the economics and finance background required to attain their professional certificate.

Article Resources:

“Where The Jobs Are: Accounting,” Forbes
Ferris State University: Accounting Associate Degree
Colorado Technical University: Accounting Associate Degree
Florida Tech University Online: Associate of Arts in Accounting
PayScale.com
Central Pennsylvania College: Accounting Associate Degree
Oakton Community College: Accounting Associate Degree