Job Experience?

[Clemens1989]

Hi, I am 21 years old, and I am in my second year of undergraduate studies. In the winter of 2012 I will be attending the Business school at Wayne State University to get my bachelors of science in accounting. I will have about 128 credit hours at graduation. However, I don't plan on going into public accounting right after graduation instead I would like to get a job in the private sector working as a staff accountant for a few years, but when I look for accounting jobs pretty much all of them require not only a BA/BS in accounting, but also 3-5 years of job experience in accounting. So my question is even though I still have about 2 years left before I graduate what can I do in order to get the job experience necessary to get a position as a staff accountant? I know interships, but where, and would a job as a bookkeeper, or accounting clerk count as experience towards a position as a staff accountant?

 

[danielk3066]

im in the same boat and you my freind , not sure how to answer it yet but its a good time to get expreince as you study , will put u out in front of other grad ; when you graduate yr self.
i would say anything you can do accounts related this could be working with a bookkeeping or as an admin/accounts officer part time.
for me im going down the working with a bookkeeper route.
not sure if its same in the US as uk but we also apply for grad jobs in accountting which is different than internshp as its a full time job after u grad, but the first 2 years are low pay. but great way of getting expreince and yr foot in the door with a good company.

 

[Clemens1989]

I have no problem with taking a low paying job as a bookkeeper, or accounting clerk for the first few years. My only concern is will the experience I gain working at ether of those jobs be relevant towards a staff accountant position, or some other accounting position which requires a bachelors degree in accounting + 3-5 years of related work experience?

 

[danielk3066]

to be honest im not in a posistion to answer -sorry
but any thing related to accountancy i.e bookkeeping will help you get into yr desired role over other graduates my friend.

 

[Ivy Mike]

I will be graduating next month. Good on you for getting on top of this early, the earlier the better.

Regarding experience, internships are always preferred over low-level clerical jobs. Sure, anything will help, but why not focus on the most desired form of experience? Getting experience in the industry itself (i.e. an accounting firm, if that is your area of interest) is invaluable and almost a given for any quality entry-level jobs at larger firms/companies.

I would try to contact a local CPA and ask for 10 minutes of their time (in-person) to learn about their profession. Chances are, you'll end up getting an hour of their time. I went this route and was advised three activities to strengthen my resume in addition to school:

(1.) Internship
(2.) QuickBooks certification
(3.) Any tax education/experience, even with HR Block

Apply for internships in the fall. This is when companies look to secure interns for tax season and the summer.

You now have a contact with whom you can network. I was actually thought of when there was an opening at that CPA's firm, and I got a great reference on my way in. Even if they did most of the talking when you met, they'll leave the meeting having a positive impression of you... you can't go wrong.

Good luck!