There is a common language we all speak that transcends cultural backgrounds and even dividing lines of nation-states: business. We all have to work to live; we have bills to pay; we have expenses to track. Some of us are more fluent in that language than others. In the words of Warren Buffett: “Accounting is the language of business.” A good accountant can build and interpret a spreadsheet as closely and insightfully as a poet reads a sonnet, and that fluency with numbers can save businesses, individuals, and even the accountants themselves a lot of money.
If you have a passion for figures and breaking business down to its nuts and bolts, accounting could be a great career path for you. At Rio Salado College, our accounting degree and certificate programs can give you a firm foundation of practical skills and knowledge to build a career. Put down that calculator and pick up your reading glasses as we explore what you can learn in these programs and what you can do with your degree when you graduate.
What You’ll Learn
Rio’s accounting degree and certificate programs can give you a solid backing in a variety of skills that are useful for both business and for handling your own personal finances. An accounting education expands on your basic knowledge of mathematics, teaching you how to accurately diagnose the health of an organization’s financial positions. You’ll learn the fundamentals of computerized accounting and business ethics and apply them through real case studies. Our courses will help you understand the tools you’ll use in your work, as well as the theories and best practices that guide business as a whole.
An accounting education can help you prepare taxes, handle payroll, manage and report personal property, and understand the importance of compliance in accounting. Remember: part of why accountants are so important is that they protect businesses and individuals by giving them the information they need to make choices that won't put them in hot water with the IRS. It can be very easy to dig yourself into a financial hole if you don’t have somebody around to tell you to stop digging.
What Can I Do With An Accounting Degree?
An accounting degree might seem to present a very focused and specialized career path, but there are things you can do with an accounting degree besides being an accountant. The organizational and analytical skills you’ll acquire from your program can prepare you to take on a career as:
- Auditor
- Personal financial advisor
- Executive
- Bookkeeper
- Tax examiner
- Human resources
- Banker
- Stockbroker
- Cost estimator
- Financial planner
- Actuary
- Supply chain management
- Analyst
Workers with accounting degrees are in-demand in both the public and private sectors, so getting a background in this area of expertise could give you career options for governmental or corporate work. Also keep in mind that people with accounting expertise are needed in every industry, so if you have a passion for healthcare or education or risk management, you can combine that passion with accounting and build a career in that industry.
What Does a Future in Accounting Look Like?
When it comes to career prospects, accounting offers a lot of opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of accountants and accounting related occupations like bookkeepers and auditors is projected to grow 5% from 2024 through 2034, which is faster than the average for all occupations. What that 5% means is a projected 124,200 job openings each year.
Even with the increasing adoption of AI technology across many industries, human accountants are still vitally important to vet and double-check the efforts of digital agents who may be taking on some of the workload that belonged to bookkeepers and analysts in the past. Rest assured that the expertise you can acquire by studying accounting at Rio Salado College will come in handy no matter what industry you end up working in. After all, when it comes to profits and losses, we all speak the same language.
You’ll Earn More Money
Another important finding from the BLS: workers with degrees (including community college degrees) display lower rates of unemployment while also earning higher wages than workers without degrees. One of our accounting graduates, Destiny Spurling, was inspired to join Rio’s program for just this reason.
“I was offered a full-time position in a company’s accounting department, but they told me they could not pay me more because I did not have a degree,” Spurling said. She turned her associate degree into a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree. She is currently working on her CPA.
Even if you’re already an Excel prodigy and can crunch numbers with ease, getting a degree in accounting could give you a welcome pay boost. A two-year degree at Rio Salado can also be a good launchpad toward getting a four-year degree at a state university as Rio Salado credits are transferable. You can fulfill your general education requirements at more than half the cost of a four-year school’s tuition while earning a degree that can open doors for your career and net you a heftier paycheck.
Learn More
Interested in learning more about our accounting program? Check out the accounting, banking and finance program page and complete the request for information at the bottom of the page.
Article by Austin Brietta