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Q. What are the educational requirements (degrees, certifications, etc) for your industry/role?
Amber: At a minimum, you need a Bachelor's degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, or other related field. Some bonus certifications to help you stand out include: Master's degree in Accounting or related field, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification
Q. What has your career path been?
Amber: After undergrad, I got my master's degree in accounting and took the CPA exam (and passed). After getting my master's, I opted for the public accounting route, which is client-based; I was an external party providing accounting and auditing services to corporate clients. I did this for 3 years, and then shifted to corporate accounting, which means that I now work in the accounting department at a company. I've been doing this for the last 8 1/2 years, specifically in the hospitality real estate industry.
Overall, I've had a very traditional career progression in public accounting. I started as a staff auditor and was then promoted to senior auditor. I entered corporate accounting as a senior accountant, and progressed to assistant manager, manager, and now senior manager. But what's great now is that even if I don't progress much higher, what I am able to do is gain additional skills by moving laterally, and gaining experience in other departments like financial reporting, finance, and financial planning and analysis (FP&A).
Q. What resources exist to learn about your career and/or industry?
Amber: Because accounting is a technical discipline that's also highly regulated (specifically for those who hold a CPA license), it's important to take legitimate accounting training taught by a professional. The beauty of accounting, though, is that once you know it, you can work for any company, in any industry.
Q. What advice do you have for someone who graduates from high school unsure of what career they would like to pursue?
Amber: If college is the route that you take, explore a variety of courses across disciplines and see what interests you the most. Then dig deeper on that discipline. Regardless of whether or not you're sure that college is what you want to do, take some time to think about what you value in life, what you do during your everyday life that makes you happy, and the things that you DON'T enjoy doing. Consider if financial stability is important to you? Do you like frequent interaction with people? Do you like serving others in some capacity? Do you like a steady, predictable schedule or do you prefer spontaneity? At the very least, this could help narrow down what you *don't* want to do.
"Don't panic! It's never too late to change your trajectory"
Most importantly, DON'T PANIC!!! There are plenty of adults who may appear to have everything figured out and will end up changing career paths later in life. It's NEVER too late to change your trajectory, nor is it anything to be ashamed of.
If you would like to connect or ask Amber questions about her career path, email info@dreamseebe.com.