1Pay
$83,680
High national median pay
2025 national median. Top quarter for pay among careers on ChooseField.
Business and Finance · Career brief
Accountant / Auditor
Is it a good career to pursue?
The 30-second read
Accountant / Auditor at a glance
Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.
2Demand
5%
Steady projected growth
Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Above the middle of ChooseField careers for growth.
3Openings
115,300
Exceptional hiring volume
Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Top 10% for openings among careers on ChooseField.
4Route in
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is typically expected
Bachelor's degree. Prior related work is not typically required.
5The work
Structured / detail
Accuracy, process, and organized information matter
Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
6The catch
Know this first
What could make this a poor fit
Unknown: review standing, lifting, repetitive movement, and posture with a practitioner. No overall physical-demand rating is assigned.
ChooseField take
The strongest national signals are pay and opening volume; each ranks in the top quarter of ChooseField careers. It makes the most sense if structured, detail-oriented work appeals to you and you are comfortable with a bachelor's-degree path. Main tradeoff: Unknown: review standing, lifting, repetitive movement, and posture with a practitioner. No overall physical-demand rating is assigned.
National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.
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Want the evidence behind the snapshot?
Market and path
Pay, outlook, and the route in
National median pay (2025)
$83,680
A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.
2025–2035 outlook
5%employment growth115,300openings per year
Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.
Typical entry route
Bachelor's degree
BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.
2025 employment
1,595,200
Estimated workers in this occupation across the United States.
Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Accountants and auditors (13-2011).
Actual responsibilities
What you would be trusted to own
Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.
- Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
- Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
- Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
- Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
Work profile
What the work emphasizes
O*NET importance scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.
- Getting Information4.5
- Working with Computers4.5
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.4
- Documenting/Recording Information4.3
Interest profile
Career interests
O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.
Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.
- Conventional7.0
- Enterprising3.9
- Investigative3.6
- Social2.1
- Realistic1.1
- Artistic1.1
Preparation
What the training must make you competent at
Subject matter
Economics and Accounting
Mathematics
Law and Government
Computers and Electronics
Software and tools named in job postings
Intuit QuickBooks
Before choosing the major or training
Run a cheaper test first
- Work through a realistic case with incomplete information: make a recommendation, show the numbers behind it, and defend the tradeoffs.
- Ask an early-career worker which beginner task consumes the most time, what makes new hires quit, and what school or training failed to simulate.
Field-specific evidence
What changes the picture
The graduate pipeline has contracted
-6.6%
Bachelor's and master's accounting graduates fell in the 2023–24 academic year.
AICPA Trends Report · 2023–24 ↗But enrollment is rebounding
+7.3%
U.S. undergraduate accounting enrollment grew year over year in fall 2025.
AICPA / National Student Clearinghouse · Fall 2025 ↗Firms still expect to hire
75%
Of responding public accounting firms that hired in 2024, 75% expected to hire the same number or more in 2025.
AICPA · 2025 outlook ↗The fuller career guide
How the evidence fits together
The tradeoff that matters most
The useful tension is between a large ongoing hiring market and rapid changes in how accounting work is performed. AICPA data in this brief show both a constrained graduate pipeline and continued firm hiring expectations. That is stronger evidence than either 'AI will kill accounting' or 'there will always be accountants.'
Common questions
Questions people ask about this career
Is accounting a good career?
Consider this field if its core work interests you: examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Try an introductory project, class, or permitted observation before committing to training. Compare the actual cost and required experience with entry-level work available where you plan to live.
Is accounting oversaturated?
The evidence does not establish a single national saturation verdict for Accountant / Auditor. Hiring varies by location, specialty, and experience. Compare entry-level postings with their required credentials and experience, and ask recent entrants about hiring outcomes. Long-term projections cannot tell you how many qualified applicants compete for a particular job.
Will AI replace accountants?
The sources here do not establish an AI replacement probability. Ask employers which processing tasks their tools handle and which work still requires review, reconciliation, audit judgment, and client communication. Use the duties in a specific role to plan your skills; general growth projections are not an AI guarantee.
Accounting salary
The national median annual wage in May 2025 was $83,680. This is a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Adjacent options
Compare before committing
The useful question is not whether one field wins overall, but what changes when you choose a nearby path. Explore the full career guides for Financial Advisor / Planner, Data Scientist, Software Developer, Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products.
Financial Advisor / Planner
- Median pay
- $105,070
- Growth
- 1.4%
Bachelor's degree
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- $120,230
- Growth
- 34.6%
Bachelor's degree
Compare side by side →Software Developer
- Median pay
- $135,980
- Growth
- 10.2%
Bachelor's degree
Compare side by side →Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products
- Median pay
- $77,710
- Growth
- 6%
Specialty requirements need verification
Compare side by side →Sources
- BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections and worker characteristics: pay, employment, openings, education, experience, and training for occupation 13-2011.
- O*NET 13-2011.00 occupation summary: tasks, knowledge, work context, and technologies.
- AICPA Trends Report: 2023–24.
- AICPA / National Student Clearinghouse: Fall 2025.