There’s a stereotype about accounting jobs being boring. But, the truth is that many people find a career in accounting to be an exciting (or at least interesting) and rewarding one.
If you are thinking about getting a degree in accounting, you probably have a lot of questions. And one common one that people ask is “how long does it take to get an accounting degree?”.
And that makes sense. If you’re going to commit to getting that degree, you want to know how long it’s going to take you. So, let’s find out!
How Long Does It Take To Get An Accounting Degree?
Most of the time, students study in college or university for about 4 years to get their bachelor’s degree. However, not all college degrees require 4 years of study. It can take more or less than that depending on the situation.
Especially these days with more and more people getting a college degree online as opposed to the traditional in person college degree route.
So the answer to the question on how long it takes is it depends.
In accounting, aside from a bachelor’s degree, there are also other degrees you can get. An Associate’s degree or a Master’s degree being two of the most common.
Not all college students start their career with a Bachelor’s. Some prefer to earn an Associate’s degree instead. This is a shorter way to get a degree in accounting before committing to longer studies. Having an Associate’s degree may help you land jobs such as junior accountant or bookkeeper.
Or, you can then go on to get a Bachelor’s degree after earning your Associate’s degree. Earning a Bachelor’s degree in accounting leads to many different career paths such as financial analysis, auditing, government finance, and many more.
But you don’t have to stop there. You can choose to go even further and pursue a Master’s degree after you earned your Bachelor’s degree. You do not have to have a Master’s degree to become a licensed CPA. However, many aspiring CPAs will choose to get their Master’s in Accounting degree.
How Long Do Each of These Degrees Take To Earn?
Now, how long will it take to earn at least one of these three degrees? Well, it will partially depend if you are enrolling in an accounting program online or in person. However, there is not much difference in the time it will take when comparing online to in-person studies.
Instead, what will make the difference is the situation of the student itself. Since online studies allow students to choose from part-time and full-time, the time it will take to get a degree will depend on that.
Earning an Associate’s degree in accounting in an in-person college or university usually takes up to two years. However, if you are enrolled in an online accounting program full-time, it may take you 18 months to 2 years to get that Associate’s degree. It will take longer to earn that Associate’s degree when you are studying part-time. Often that ranges from 36 to 60 months.
As for earning a Bachelor’s degree in accounting, usually, it will take 4 years when you are enrolled in an in-person university. The same could be said when you are enrolled in an online accounting program and you are studying on a full-time basis. But for people who are studying online on a part-time basis, it may take them 5-8 years to earn their Bachelor’s degree.
After earning a Bachelor’s degree, a student has a choice to study 1-2 more years to earn their Master’s degree in accounting when they are studying in an in-person college. For those studying online on a full-time basis, it may take them 2 years to earn their Master’s degree in accounting. For students studying part-time it will take longer than that.
