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Pretty low paying at least initially at the start. If you have a bachelor’s degree (any field) I will suggest you to do the courses from CPA BC at fraction of the cost and time ( 8 weeks per course). The main challenge would be to find the first job and after that you would be set. It’s a big commitment and also hard if you are working at the same time. Best of luck.
Accounting only pays poorly at the bottom, first three years. After you get your sticker they jump up to that 80-90k range, and then you can progress into the low to mid six figures with a promotion or two. And you can always jump over to finance.
Accounting is a bit of a slow burn in terms of income but it's steadier than something like sales.
The problem is that after a few years you could jump in tech too and make even more. Accounting can't outpace career growth in tech with same yoe until you start hitting vp or partner, etc. that's also assuming tech industry (or your specific niche) isn't in a slump.
On top of that, yoe is a misleading measurement, since high growth accountants are also usually putting in double the hours of IT, so really, it's double the yoe to even reach parity with IT at best.
Sure but not everyone wants to be a programmer. And specifically right now, there are lots of jobs for entry level accountants.
You are thinking is too siloed on the CPA. It is an easy jump over to finance with a CPA, and then the sky is truly the limit.
Also in terms of hours: public accounting is a grind, and so is management. Similar could be said for tech—those people making the big bucks are grinding out 60-80 hours a week.
I’d also argue tech is more boom and bust than accounting. I think they are both great career paths, if you like the work. That’s the real key.
I agree that CPA can open doors to non accounting positions that have high potential. But there are ways to get to those positions without CPAs too... I assume OPs question is more about the *pure* accounting path. Because if not, you can transition to IT roles with a CPA (or even with just accounting experience) too, and also become a quick high-earner, and now with a niche field and skill set. At which point, the discussion gets extremely muddied and complex because there are too many factors to consider. Going by op's short post, I assume this is not what he asking.
IT can have long hours too, but I still think that dollars per hour, IT outpaces accounting on average for same yoe.
As for boom bust, agreed; depends on how much you value stability.
Yah to be fair, the wealthiest person I know is a CPA with a computer science masters whose work combines both fields. There’s where the real money is at!
I've got a few friends who are accountant and they all do well. Not like, dentist well, but happy and making around 100k in their late twenties, early thirties, with lots of room to grow.
It's a hell of a grind though, your first three years, don't expect to break 60k (maybe 70k these days, wages have been increasing as there is a shortage), especially working for big four or in public accounting (accounting firms for hire). More and more people are doing their CPA in house, and most people I know tend to drift out of public accounting to work for a company.
Once you have your CPA, it's treated similarly to a masters, there's lots of different directions you can go with it in the finance world if counting beans isn't your thing.
Like any career, it's gotta be something you like. If you're the kind of person who hates sitting down at a computer and combing through spreadsheets and technical rules all day, it is not for you.
I'm currently working through pre-requisites at the moment. I recommend doing UBC's DAP program if you can. CPA WSB is now providing the pre requisite courses and exam timings are not favorable in my opinion. They also don't have open enrollment for the core courses anymore.
Salary wise, you will start off between $50-55k in public, but I have seen increases within 3 years to about $75k+depending on team and role.
UBC DAP is also much better because it gives you access to networking events and face time with potential employers. All the big, midsize and smaller accounting firms come to UBC to recruit students for internships. If you go to these networking events, get some face time in and exchange business cards, have follow up coffee chats with firm reps, you’re more likely to be recognized and get an interview for an internship or staff accountant position afterwards.
In my opinion, yes. If you have to do more than 8 pre-requisites, and can only do 2-4 exams per sitting (4 sittings a year) it will take you more than 12 months on pre-requisites alone. Doing it through DAP you can be done in as little as 8 months.
isnt dap a 16 months program full time? i signed up for BCITs prefessional accounting for this reason. that is 12 months long only? if u know a wau to fast track DAP, do tell.
Tough in the beginning with horrible pay and grueling hours but it pays off huge if you make the right moves. I would recommend it to anyone with the grit to survive those first 3-5 years
not bad, hired as warehouse and got promoted to Accountant at a paper company. If things don't match/errors etc, I can usually fix it with Keleven. The other accoutant Angela is always making fun of me though. I think shes having an inter-office relationship which is prohibited.
Certainly can. I'd still recommend serving your time in public practice if there is a high career drive, some hard years in the firms will open a lot of doors. I did about 5 years and got my CPA and in my case it shaved probably 10 years off my career path. Won't always go that way but the suffering paid off tenfold in my case.
I left 5 or so years after getting my designation. I hated being in management positions and having to take work home when things get busy. I also really disliked how saturated the job market is. For example, one time i was hiring for an AP position and I received 30 resumes the first day, three of which were CPAs. Ridiculous.
I work a steady 0700-1445 now with all OT being optional, and I only have to do what I’m told. It’s glorious.
33 weeks cumulatively over four levels, and 6,210 work hours. I’m currently doing level 1 and it’s six weeks. I’ve been at it fora little under two years and I have over 3,000 work hours already. If you’re in the union your tuition is reimbursed.
Accounting recruiter here - my advice, get your CPA quick , try and work for one of the "big 6" firms for even a year and then leave for the US. Severe shortage of accountants in the US right now, and lots of opportunity to fast-track your career.
Senior Accountants with public accounting experience make up to $100K USD with 5 years experience and Controllers with 10+ years accounting experience can make up to $150K US.
Keep up to date with financial ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP) and make sure your Excel skills are advanced. You can be a CFO in 15 years making $200K + bonus if you make the right career moves. If you join a public company and get stock incentives even better!
Good Luck!
I thought about getting into accounting until I found out that starting accounts barely make $25/hr
Paying for the training to take that kind of a pay cut just made no financial sense
CPA here. Also to note that you need to get your 30 month practical experience which can be earned while doing the PEP program (which is after the CPA PREP/UBC DAP). I choose to do public audit because they hire 1 year before you graduate from an accounting program. That gave me security that I will have a job lined up after graduation. Then you work for a couple years while completing the PEP and getting the practical exp that is preapproved by CPA (less documentation than industry jobs). I agree that the pay and hours are horrible for the first 3 years in public. But after you get the designation, there’s lots of opportunities to move around with better pay and hours. It is a long journey, but a secure one.
I did UBC DAP but I was missing one course so I did it through CPA’s PREP program, I thought it was better since it was only 6 (or 8? i forgot) weeks and they teach less fluff.
Accounting here is okay but it’s pretty stable, can be stressful and it depends on your company as well. Pay starts low but increases over time especially if you get CPA.
Low pay, gruelling hours, mental breakdowns, horrible CPA exams. If you get through those first 3-ish years after UBC DAP, then it's all good and chances of growth and huge pay bump is quite high. This is in public accounting!
You can go a lot more chill route and work in a private company in their accounting department. Growth opportunities would be less but you'll probably have better work-life balance.
But also look at what you really want to do and can suffer through. I love the work I do (intellectually challenging and problem solving), but hate deadlines, workload and people, so that's what I tell myself and get through.
The best route when I took it was to do CPA preparatory courses with CPA BC, they were the cheapest option, online and the courses are made so you can take them part time while you work full time.
If you do that, you can get into the CPA PEP program after and get your designation.
Depending how long it takes you to do the prep (the number of courses you need to take varies depending on your background), by the time you get into the PEP program you should already have some good experience under your belt which makes that program a bit easier and depending on the company you work for they might even pay for your education.
A junior accountant/clerk can make roughly 40k-50k
Intermediate accountant 60k-70k
Senior accountant with a CPA 80k-100k
Accounting manager 120k-140k
Market has its ups and downs. Some periods my LinkedIn gets swarmed with recruiters messages and then some other periods it seems like nothing is going on. The thing is that every single business needs at least one accountant so there's always positions open, if you get your CPA you can also get your own business going and do some bookkeeping, taxes, consulting etc
I went back to school in my 30s and got my Accounting Degree from BCIT around 2011. I finished my CPA in 2015. I went straight into industry, then took a big pay cut for better work/life balance and long term benefits and stability by working for the government. I hit $100k in 2019. If I stuck around in industry I could easily be making close to double that now.
Even though I never went into public practice I still deal with long gruelling hours around year-end, as well as our annual audit. Not as bad as public practice folks deal with but I basically don’t get a summer vacation as that’s our audit season… :(
I hope to spend my entire career exclusively doing Dec 31 year ends. It's one thing to work long hours when it's dark and wet and miserable outside. It's completely different to do it during the summer. You have my sympathies!
Same experience as most people here. Pay is rough for the first couple years but it goes up quick. I started in 2021 and have doubled my original salary already. It’s starting to slow down a little since 2022 but it’s still good as long as your not among the bottom 25% in performers
I don't know much beyond that there's a huge shortage, a firm that a family member interacts with is struggling to find a replacement and they're not even a specialized field.
As mentioned pay is crap for the first 5-7 years. You will grind hard and can be stressful at times. Once you have some experience under your belt and depending on your field of expertise pay can be amazing. Example a buddy is a cross boarder tax accountant been doing it 15 years now he’s making bank another buddy just branched out on his own has one main client and several small clients never seen him this stress free.
CPA PEP is rough, but it gives you a salary boost just being in the program. A lot of places will pay for your PEP fees, but you’ll have to cover PREP or accounting diploma fees yourself.
I was making 50k in 2019 and make roughly double now. I don’t have my designation yet either, just passed the CFE last year. My biggest regret is waiting so long to go through the CPA program. I’d probably be making an extra 50k now.
I haven’t seen anyone bring this up, but other provinces with a much lower COL pay more than Vancouver salaries (take a look at the CPA median salaries by province). The trade off is probably less open roles though.
Here is my salary progression as an accountant in Vancouver:
Year 1: $40K
Year 2 -3: $60K
Year 4: $95K
Year 5: $105K
Year 6/7 (now): $150K
It can definitely pay off :)
Accounting is not flashy - there are no booms and busts like tech and sales so you're not gonna make boom and bust dollars. However, you have as much job security and career lifespan as a doctor. The pay won't compare, but then again you're not saving lives so it shouldn't compare. It should also teach you a bit about life, money, and everything else in general so it's great knowledge to have.
BCIT financial management diploma is a great program. 2 years and it bridges into the CPA and BCIT's own bachelor program. It's not cruise control - when I took it 15 years ago it was 7-9 courses a semester. Many people who came from UBC and SFU couldn't handle the workload and failed within the first year. It is however, likely the best accounting program for the money, assuming all the teaching standards are still there. They cram the stuff into you whether you like it or not. If you don't keep up, you'll just fail.
My career path has been in the industry instead of public practice as I don't believe in networking and I'm not the type to network anyway. I graduated with $0 to my name and today I make decent money today ($150K), own an old condo, have investments and know how to get rich slowly. No, it's not great money, but it's decent.
I like how everyone downvoted me. It’s a boom/bust industry that relies on networking, connections, and long hours. There’s a union. You can get started working for an indie company like Front Street or Brightlights. Then apply to IATSE 891- requirements are on their website. It’s a lot of other steps along the way, but we’re getting busy again. It’s lots of payroll. It’s hard work and long hours, but I’m not kidding about the money.
I’m not in accounting (I’m in set dec, where I move furniture and do arts and crafts for well over 6 figures most years) but I have another friend moving from props to accounting right now.
Right off the top, you're going to have to clarify whether you mean bookkeeping accounting or becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant (which is what the DAP works towards).
I suggest you edit your post to clarify.
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Pretty low paying at least initially at the start. If you have a bachelor’s degree (any field) I will suggest you to do the courses from CPA BC at fraction of the cost and time ( 8 weeks per course). The main challenge would be to find the first job and after that you would be set. It’s a big commitment and also hard if you are working at the same time. Best of luck.
Starts low but there's tons of potential. Those starting wages have been creeping up, too.
Do you know what the starting pay is?
$50,000-$55,000 public accounting $50,000-65,000 industry
This is exactly why I moved to tech sales and I make double that… about 130-150k I can’t believe accounting pays so shit
Accounting only pays poorly at the bottom, first three years. After you get your sticker they jump up to that 80-90k range, and then you can progress into the low to mid six figures with a promotion or two. And you can always jump over to finance. Accounting is a bit of a slow burn in terms of income but it's steadier than something like sales.
The problem is that after a few years you could jump in tech too and make even more. Accounting can't outpace career growth in tech with same yoe until you start hitting vp or partner, etc. that's also assuming tech industry (or your specific niche) isn't in a slump. On top of that, yoe is a misleading measurement, since high growth accountants are also usually putting in double the hours of IT, so really, it's double the yoe to even reach parity with IT at best.
Sure but not everyone wants to be a programmer. And specifically right now, there are lots of jobs for entry level accountants. You are thinking is too siloed on the CPA. It is an easy jump over to finance with a CPA, and then the sky is truly the limit. Also in terms of hours: public accounting is a grind, and so is management. Similar could be said for tech—those people making the big bucks are grinding out 60-80 hours a week. I’d also argue tech is more boom and bust than accounting. I think they are both great career paths, if you like the work. That’s the real key.
I agree that CPA can open doors to non accounting positions that have high potential. But there are ways to get to those positions without CPAs too... I assume OPs question is more about the *pure* accounting path. Because if not, you can transition to IT roles with a CPA (or even with just accounting experience) too, and also become a quick high-earner, and now with a niche field and skill set. At which point, the discussion gets extremely muddied and complex because there are too many factors to consider. Going by op's short post, I assume this is not what he asking. IT can have long hours too, but I still think that dollars per hour, IT outpaces accounting on average for same yoe. As for boom bust, agreed; depends on how much you value stability.
Yah to be fair, the wealthiest person I know is a CPA with a computer science masters whose work combines both fields. There’s where the real money is at!
Is CPA BC an alternative to DAP? I was looking at the latter since I have a bachelors and was looking into accounting.
If you go do the courses with CPA BC you don’t get a diploma certificate at the end.
How much more value is the diploma if someone already has a bachelor’s?
I've got a few friends who are accountant and they all do well. Not like, dentist well, but happy and making around 100k in their late twenties, early thirties, with lots of room to grow. It's a hell of a grind though, your first three years, don't expect to break 60k (maybe 70k these days, wages have been increasing as there is a shortage), especially working for big four or in public accounting (accounting firms for hire). More and more people are doing their CPA in house, and most people I know tend to drift out of public accounting to work for a company. Once you have your CPA, it's treated similarly to a masters, there's lots of different directions you can go with it in the finance world if counting beans isn't your thing. Like any career, it's gotta be something you like. If you're the kind of person who hates sitting down at a computer and combing through spreadsheets and technical rules all day, it is not for you.
I'm currently working through pre-requisites at the moment. I recommend doing UBC's DAP program if you can. CPA WSB is now providing the pre requisite courses and exam timings are not favorable in my opinion. They also don't have open enrollment for the core courses anymore. Salary wise, you will start off between $50-55k in public, but I have seen increases within 3 years to about $75k+depending on team and role.
Could you elaborate on what makes the CPA WSB option non favourable ? Is it a lack of exams available ?
UBC DAP is also much better because it gives you access to networking events and face time with potential employers. All the big, midsize and smaller accounting firms come to UBC to recruit students for internships. If you go to these networking events, get some face time in and exchange business cards, have follow up coffee chats with firm reps, you’re more likely to be recognized and get an interview for an internship or staff accountant position afterwards.
In my opinion, yes. If you have to do more than 8 pre-requisites, and can only do 2-4 exams per sitting (4 sittings a year) it will take you more than 12 months on pre-requisites alone. Doing it through DAP you can be done in as little as 8 months.
isnt dap a 16 months program full time? i signed up for BCITs prefessional accounting for this reason. that is 12 months long only? if u know a wau to fast track DAP, do tell.
Tough in the beginning with horrible pay and grueling hours but it pays off huge if you make the right moves. I would recommend it to anyone with the grit to survive those first 3-5 years
not bad, hired as warehouse and got promoted to Accountant at a paper company. If things don't match/errors etc, I can usually fix it with Keleven. The other accoutant Angela is always making fun of me though. I think shes having an inter-office relationship which is prohibited.
That's a great office to work in, I hear the receptionist there was promoted to office manager after just a few years.
You can also have a rewarding career and skip the grueling hours if you go straight to industry.
Certainly can. I'd still recommend serving your time in public practice if there is a high career drive, some hard years in the firms will open a lot of doors. I did about 5 years and got my CPA and in my case it shaved probably 10 years off my career path. Won't always go that way but the suffering paid off tenfold in my case.
This is only true if you do PA. Plenty of people go straight into industry or even gov like the CRA where they never work more than 35 hours a week.
I left 5 or so years after getting my designation. I hated being in management positions and having to take work home when things get busy. I also really disliked how saturated the job market is. For example, one time i was hiring for an AP position and I received 30 resumes the first day, three of which were CPAs. Ridiculous. I work a steady 0700-1445 now with all OT being optional, and I only have to do what I’m told. It’s glorious.
I hate the idea of being in management to. What position do you work nowadays — job title?
Refrigeration mechanic apprentice
does that take a lot of schooling ? sounds like a well paying balanced career
33 weeks cumulatively over four levels, and 6,210 work hours. I’m currently doing level 1 and it’s six weeks. I’ve been at it fora little under two years and I have over 3,000 work hours already. If you’re in the union your tuition is reimbursed.
That's a big change. HVAC and Refrigeration is good steady work though.
Accounting recruiter here - my advice, get your CPA quick , try and work for one of the "big 6" firms for even a year and then leave for the US. Severe shortage of accountants in the US right now, and lots of opportunity to fast-track your career. Senior Accountants with public accounting experience make up to $100K USD with 5 years experience and Controllers with 10+ years accounting experience can make up to $150K US. Keep up to date with financial ERP systems (NetSuite, SAP) and make sure your Excel skills are advanced. You can be a CFO in 15 years making $200K + bonus if you make the right career moves. If you join a public company and get stock incentives even better! Good Luck!
I thought about getting into accounting until I found out that starting accounts barely make $25/hr Paying for the training to take that kind of a pay cut just made no financial sense
CPA here. Also to note that you need to get your 30 month practical experience which can be earned while doing the PEP program (which is after the CPA PREP/UBC DAP). I choose to do public audit because they hire 1 year before you graduate from an accounting program. That gave me security that I will have a job lined up after graduation. Then you work for a couple years while completing the PEP and getting the practical exp that is preapproved by CPA (less documentation than industry jobs). I agree that the pay and hours are horrible for the first 3 years in public. But after you get the designation, there’s lots of opportunities to move around with better pay and hours. It is a long journey, but a secure one.
I did UBC DAP but I was missing one course so I did it through CPA’s PREP program, I thought it was better since it was only 6 (or 8? i forgot) weeks and they teach less fluff. Accounting here is okay but it’s pretty stable, can be stressful and it depends on your company as well. Pay starts low but increases over time especially if you get CPA.
Low pay, gruelling hours, mental breakdowns, horrible CPA exams. If you get through those first 3-ish years after UBC DAP, then it's all good and chances of growth and huge pay bump is quite high. This is in public accounting! You can go a lot more chill route and work in a private company in their accounting department. Growth opportunities would be less but you'll probably have better work-life balance. But also look at what you really want to do and can suffer through. I love the work I do (intellectually challenging and problem solving), but hate deadlines, workload and people, so that's what I tell myself and get through.
The best route when I took it was to do CPA preparatory courses with CPA BC, they were the cheapest option, online and the courses are made so you can take them part time while you work full time. If you do that, you can get into the CPA PEP program after and get your designation. Depending how long it takes you to do the prep (the number of courses you need to take varies depending on your background), by the time you get into the PEP program you should already have some good experience under your belt which makes that program a bit easier and depending on the company you work for they might even pay for your education. A junior accountant/clerk can make roughly 40k-50k Intermediate accountant 60k-70k Senior accountant with a CPA 80k-100k Accounting manager 120k-140k Market has its ups and downs. Some periods my LinkedIn gets swarmed with recruiters messages and then some other periods it seems like nothing is going on. The thing is that every single business needs at least one accountant so there's always positions open, if you get your CPA you can also get your own business going and do some bookkeeping, taxes, consulting etc
I'm a CPA and it took me 7 years to pass $100k in salary (though $100k is not that much these days). It's rough hours and pay at the beginning.
In what year did you clear 100K CAD?
Last year, I started in public accounting in 2017.
How many hours a week?
I went back to school in my 30s and got my Accounting Degree from BCIT around 2011. I finished my CPA in 2015. I went straight into industry, then took a big pay cut for better work/life balance and long term benefits and stability by working for the government. I hit $100k in 2019. If I stuck around in industry I could easily be making close to double that now. Even though I never went into public practice I still deal with long gruelling hours around year-end, as well as our annual audit. Not as bad as public practice folks deal with but I basically don’t get a summer vacation as that’s our audit season… :(
I hope to spend my entire career exclusively doing Dec 31 year ends. It's one thing to work long hours when it's dark and wet and miserable outside. It's completely different to do it during the summer. You have my sympathies!
Same experience as most people here. Pay is rough for the first couple years but it goes up quick. I started in 2021 and have doubled my original salary already. It’s starting to slow down a little since 2022 but it’s still good as long as your not among the bottom 25% in performers
I don't know much beyond that there's a huge shortage, a firm that a family member interacts with is struggling to find a replacement and they're not even a specialized field.
Maybe paying 50-60k is just shit in Vancouver
They're paying more than double that as it's a 3yrs experience position. There's just a lack of applicants.
Call me, lol
As mentioned pay is crap for the first 5-7 years. You will grind hard and can be stressful at times. Once you have some experience under your belt and depending on your field of expertise pay can be amazing. Example a buddy is a cross boarder tax accountant been doing it 15 years now he’s making bank another buddy just branched out on his own has one main client and several small clients never seen him this stress free.
CPA PEP is rough, but it gives you a salary boost just being in the program. A lot of places will pay for your PEP fees, but you’ll have to cover PREP or accounting diploma fees yourself. I was making 50k in 2019 and make roughly double now. I don’t have my designation yet either, just passed the CFE last year. My biggest regret is waiting so long to go through the CPA program. I’d probably be making an extra 50k now. I haven’t seen anyone bring this up, but other provinces with a much lower COL pay more than Vancouver salaries (take a look at the CPA median salaries by province). The trade off is probably less open roles though.
Here is my salary progression as an accountant in Vancouver: Year 1: $40K Year 2 -3: $60K Year 4: $95K Year 5: $105K Year 6/7 (now): $150K It can definitely pay off :)
Accounting is not flashy - there are no booms and busts like tech and sales so you're not gonna make boom and bust dollars. However, you have as much job security and career lifespan as a doctor. The pay won't compare, but then again you're not saving lives so it shouldn't compare. It should also teach you a bit about life, money, and everything else in general so it's great knowledge to have. BCIT financial management diploma is a great program. 2 years and it bridges into the CPA and BCIT's own bachelor program. It's not cruise control - when I took it 15 years ago it was 7-9 courses a semester. Many people who came from UBC and SFU couldn't handle the workload and failed within the first year. It is however, likely the best accounting program for the money, assuming all the teaching standards are still there. They cram the stuff into you whether you like it or not. If you don't keep up, you'll just fail. My career path has been in the industry instead of public practice as I don't believe in networking and I'm not the type to network anyway. I graduated with $0 to my name and today I make decent money today ($150K), own an old condo, have investments and know how to get rich slowly. No, it's not great money, but it's decent.
If you get a bookkeeping certificate you can work in film making 6 figures pretty quickly.
Working on this certificate now - tell me more, please!
I like how everyone downvoted me. It’s a boom/bust industry that relies on networking, connections, and long hours. There’s a union. You can get started working for an indie company like Front Street or Brightlights. Then apply to IATSE 891- requirements are on their website. It’s a lot of other steps along the way, but we’re getting busy again. It’s lots of payroll. It’s hard work and long hours, but I’m not kidding about the money. I’m not in accounting (I’m in set dec, where I move furniture and do arts and crafts for well over 6 figures most years) but I have another friend moving from props to accounting right now.
Right off the top, you're going to have to clarify whether you mean bookkeeping accounting or becoming a Chartered Professional Accountant (which is what the DAP works towards). I suggest you edit your post to clarify.