People Share Their Actual Accounting Salaries And The Results May Shock You

People are often shocked as they Learn how much Accountants make.
My best friend (to remain unnamed) always competed with me on how much money we both made.
Even though I know it's unhealthy, I participated in this weird contest for most of my adult life.
He is an engineer and I am a CPA
He basically made more money in our 1st 10 years. But we both noticed things shifting as I got my Controller title.
My friend still makes remarks like " I still don't know how a bean counter can make multiple six figures"

Anyway, I made this video to discuss some of the salaries posted in reddit by real users.
I do this because I want to motivate you and wake you up to the reality that Accountants are now not far from Doctors and Lawyers in salary.

Please keep in mind that money isn't everything. But it does help a lot.

-------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with me on Patreon (& download all the templates in my videos):
-------------------------------------------------------------
Get 30% off my Online Course on “Learn how to design and build KPIs and Financial Metrics for 2 example businesses”

🔥Take 30% off when you enroll in my online course “Night Before the Accounting Interview Guide” including All Levels Q&A🔥:

📈Get My “Controller KPI Dashboard” (Excel + Course) with the most important P&L and Balance Sheet KPIs:

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Hang Out with me on social media:

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you happen to purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!
All views expressed on my channel are mine alone. Not intended as financial or professional advice

[offlier]

I don't understand why anyone with a degree would make under 50k a year.

[invigil]

I make 90K a year. I don't have a degree of any kind and I'm only a high school graduate. I worked hard and learned on my own. Went from data entry clerk to pushing to get more responsibility and proving that I could learn and do it. God knows I hate school so I'm grateful to him for giving me this opportunity.

[Legacy-Talks]

Likely those who are willing to share their salaries online tend to be the ones most proud of their pay. So here is some realistic data. I went straight into industry and as a Staff Accountant I I made 44k. A year later I was promoted to Staff Accountant II and made 53k. Then a year and a half later I was promoted to Senior and make 65k. No CPA yet, so there is a lot of room to grow once I put in the work. Also, my role is 40 hours a week, maybe 50 for a couple weeks during year end. If you're willing to do public accounting and endure the longer hours you should be able to expect to make a bit more than I did.

[sade.shaday]

Yes!!!! You have just solidifed my point and view on my career path. Move around gain experience, accounting has so much areas and levels to explore. This is what I am currently searching for someone who can be a great mentor. Thank you for this video🙏🏽 it has made me glad.

[Soulenergy]

Thanks for posting this interesting perspective!!! Big thumbs-up as always!

[RachidRachid-dfhw]

Great content I think this one is one of your best videos. I won’t be surprise if it breaks a million views. Thank you again

[LadyBathory]

This was such a helpful video, thank you! You mention working in the city for a higher salary. I think that's a good point! I live in a rural area and I don't think the opportunities for an accountant making a higher salary is there.

[Deimian]

Thanks for this in terms of breaking down the proper way to job hop.

[xspbonz]

Hello, Thank you so much for your videos so inspiring and educational.

[armandogonzalez]

Can you make a video going over when to hit different areas of accounting in your career? Specifically, to pave the way to becoming a controller or CFO. Ex. You should get exp. In tax and audit while in public and the rest in industry. What environments are the best teachers to learn different types of accounting?

[msin]

I made over 200k working 2 jobs (non accounting) all while completing a MS in accounting. Just started my 1st accounting job at $30 an hour, lol.

[chrisschiller]

I worked at a top ten CPA firm until senior staff on the tax side. I made about 70k after 4 years. Switched over to a bank as a senior accountant making 70 after 1.5 years promoted to controller making 95k. I also work in a small town.

[patience]

This must vary be area. Here (medium COL area), entry level industry level accounting is about $40 to $50K. Senior level is $60 to $80. Manager is $80 to $100. Also depends on industry. Tech and manufacturing is usually higher.

[djjayjay]

Not sure if you know this, but the example you used is based in Canada. Accounting pays far lower in Canada than it does in the US. In 2019 my starting pay at Deloitte was $42k and was bumped to $48k into my second year. I left shortly after

[xmistaxcashxcoll]

Thank you for all this information. I just want too spend more time at home with my kids.

[jamiechang]

Thank you! I’m being reminded of what’s the future great opportunity I can have after graduating for my BS degree.

[GnarshredProductions]

the Principals/Directors at my firm apparently make between $400, 000-600, 000 per year. Audit associates around 70k per year and managers make in the six figures. It's not a big four firm but pretty big like within the top 15 largest in the USA.

[scoobyproper]

Hi bill, great video! It gives me hope. I am currently studying for the CPA and lacking the motivation. I start at a big four firm later this year in audit. My salary is honestly pretty depressing, I won’t make enough to move out of my parents house. I went to a target school in the Midwest and thought PA was prestigious. I’m kinda let down and feel like a loser. I’m 22

[gs]

BS and MS in Accounting, 22 years of experience including 7 years as a manager, now I work as Sr Analyst for fortune 100 company; my salary - well my wife with associate degree in nursing, RN license, and less than 2 year experience makes more money than I.

[Viperever]

I graduated in 2017 and started my career as a Finance Coordinator in a struggling non-profit making 50k a year. I left after 3 years and now starting a Staff Accountant position at a growing private SaaS company for 62.5K. I was cursing my luck after graduating because I was struggling to find companies to hire me because my internships never paned out due to an illness in my family and having to be a caretaker. Working for a non-profit that could barely pay its bills was a complete nightmare but dealing with those turbulent times really impressed the Controller I interviewed with. Getting into the SaaS space just opened a huge door for me and I can't tell you how exciting that is.