Associate degree in financial accounting can lead to a great career and great pay

If you're a number cruncher in the hunt for a career with not much time on your hands, consider an online associate degree in financial accounting. It can take two years, but you can go slower or faster, depending on your schedule. This is a career field that has a solid future. An associate degree in financial accounting could lead to a handful of different career options:

• Actuary
• Accountant
• Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks

For certain jobs, such as accountant, most graduates use their financial accounting degrees to transfer to a four-year program and complete their education. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), most of these financial occupations will be steady in the future. For example, there were more than two million accountants in the US in 2008.

Associate degree in financial accounting as a stepping stone

An associate degree can be a means to an end, where you go on to a bachelor's accounting degree, or an end to a means, where you join the workforce post-graduation. Here is where it's an end to a means:

• Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks: All that's usually required is a high school diploma, but a two-year financial accounting degree is gaining in popularity among employers. The BLS predicts job growth between 2008 and 2018 to be 10 percent, or about as fast as average. In May 2009, median annual wage was $33,450.

And a couple of jobs where it is usually a means to an end:

• Actuary: You could transfer your associate degree in financial accounting into a bachelor's program. It could take several years until you have all of your necessary credentialing. 52 percent of actuaries have bachelor's degrees while the other 48 percent have master's and doctorates. According to the BLS, in May 2009 actuaries earned a median salary of $87,210 and predict that actuaries will grow 21 percent between 2008 and 2018, much better than average.
• Accountant: With just an associate degree in financial accounting, you could land a junior accounting position and work up from there. But you would still need to fulfill the requirements to be a certified public accountant--Most states require 150 semester credit hours, which is about 30 more than a traditional bachelor's program. This is another occupation where the majority has bachelor's degrees--79 percent, according to the BLS. The BLS predicts that this job market will grow by 22 percent--much faster than average--between 2008 and 2018. The median annual salary in May 2009 was $60,340.

Earning an associate degree in financial accounting

While working on your financial accounting degree, expect to study ethics in accounting, financial reporting and accounting information systems among others. For an online associate degree in financial accounting, you could be given the option of paring classes together to help expedite your time in school.

Students are highly encouraged to intern while still enrolled. In addition to financial aid, several scholarships are available if you want to pursue an associate degree in financial accounting, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. These have various different requirements and amounts.

Whether you decide to use your associate degree in accounting as a stepping stone to more education or as your final destination, you may end up in the same place: with a solid career.

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