Accounting Degree Jobs in 2027: What Can You Do With an Accounting Degree?

An accounting degree opens the door to eight kinds of jobs, from bookkeeping clerk to financial manager. How far you go is up to you. A bachelor’s gets you into accountant, analyst and budget roles, and experience gets you into management.

What Are the Main Accounting Degree Jobs and What Do They Pay?

Here are the median pay figures for May 2025, from BLS, highest first:

Two quick notes on that list, so you don’t get tripped up. The “financial specialists, all other” group is the closest BLS match for fraud examiners. And certified public accountants (CPAs) and forensic accountants are counted inside accountants and auditors, since BLS has no separate line for them.

Which Jobs Need a Bachelor’s Degree?

BLS lists a bachelor’s as the usual entry education for accountants and auditors, financial analysts, financial managers and budget analysts. You only need some college to work as a bookkeeping clerk.

That split matters when you’re picking a program. A degree is what moves you from the bottom of the table toward the top. Compare options on our bachelor’s in accounting list, or start with the cheapest programs if cost drives your choice.

What Does an Accountant or Auditor Do?

This is the core job, and it’s the one most accounting degrees point to. BLS says accountants and auditors check financial statements, prepare taxes, inspect systems for fraud risk and recommend ways to save money.

The median is $83,680, and BLS expects 79,400 new jobs by 2035. Read how to become an accountant for the full path. Want a specialty? See the cost accountant path, or what an auditor salary looks like.

Two branches are worth knowing about. Becoming a CPA adds a license for roles that ask for it. And forensic accounting turns the fraud-risk part of the job into a specialty.

Which Accounting Degree Jobs Are Growing Fastest?

Financial managers lead. BLS projects 10 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average. Financial analysts are next at 7 percent, then accountants and auditors at 5 percent. Budget analysts come in at 2 percent, which is slower than average.

Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks go the other way. BLS projects a 6 percent drop, but it still expects 144,100 openings as people leave the field. If that’s where you want to start, here’s how to become a bookkeeper.

Where Are Most Accounting Degree Jobs?

The two biggest groups are accountants and auditors, with 1,449,500 jobs, and bookkeeping clerks, with 1,373,680. You’ll find plenty of financial manager jobs too, at 841,710.

Payroll, tax preparer, budget analyst and the other groups are smaller. That doesn’t mean worse. Budget analysts have a median of $91,640 from a base under 50,000 jobs. It does mean fewer openings, so you’ll want a second option in mind.

What Are the Downsides?

Three things stand out. The top-paying jobs ask for years of experience, so your first role is rarely your best-paid one. Some roles, like tax preparation, run in seasons and bring long weeks at predictable times. And the clerk roles that need the least school are the ones BLS expects to shrink.

None of that is a reason to skip the field. It’s a reason to plan your first five years, not just the degree.

What Does Each Job Look Like Day to Day?

• Financial analyst: research investments, study financial data and write recommendations. See financial analyst pay.
• Budget analyst: work with managers to build the organization’s budget, then track spending against it.
• Financial manager: prepare statements and forecasts. You’ll also supervise reporting staff and help leaders make decisions. See financial manager pay.
• Bookkeeper: enter transactions, process payments and reconcile accounts. See bookkeeper pay.
• Tax preparer and payroll clerk: prepare returns or keep pay records accurate.

How Do You Choose Between Them?

Start with how much school you want. If you’d like to be working in a year or two, bookkeeping, payroll and tax preparation open up first. If you can commit to a four-year degree, accountant and analyst jobs pay more, and BLS projects steadier growth.

Then think about what suits you. Accounting rewards care and routine. Analyst work rewards judgment and writing. Management rewards patience with people.

Here’s a quick way to sort yourself. If you like clear rules and finishing things, look at accountant, auditor and tax roles. If you like asking what a number means for next year, look at analyst and budget roles. If you like leading people and answering for results, aim for financial manager and plan for the years of experience it takes.

You can also move between them. Many financial managers started as accountants, and some analysts began in accounting. A master’s can help you switch, so see our master’s list. For the first jobs open right after school, read our entry level accounting jobs guide.