Do I need 150 credits to get hired?

Not to get hired, but you need them for CPA licensure in most states. Many firms hire at 120 credits with an agreement to complete the rest.

Public accounting or industry first?

Public accounting compresses experience and opens more doors later. Industry offers better hours immediately. Both are legitimate; public is the more common accelerant.

How to get a job with a accounting degree

Last updated August 16, 2026 · Career First Nexus

Short answer

Accounting has one of the most predictable graduate hiring markets in the United States, and demand currently outstrips supply. Public accounting firms recruit a year ahead for autumn start dates, while private industry hires year round and often faster. Entry offers typically land between $55,000 and $70,000, and the CPA eligibility path — 150 credit hours — is the single largest determinant of long-term pay.

Jobs a accounting degree actually gets

Staff accountant
Audit associate
Tax associate
Accounts payable/receivable specialist
Internal audit associate
Payroll accountant

Typical entry pay: $55,000–$70,000 base; public accounting pays similarly to industry at entry and diverges upward after CPA licensure.

How long the hiring cycle takes

Public accounting recruits roughly a year ahead with an autumn start. Private industry runs two to five weeks and hires whenever a seat opens, including January through March when firms lose staff to busy season.

What the resume has to prove

State CPA eligibility status plainly: credit hours completed, exam sections passed or scheduled.
Name the systems: QuickBooks, NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Excel to an advanced level.
Internship experience is heavily weighted; describe the close process you supported.
Accuracy is the product — a typo on an accounting resume does real damage.

The gap that stalls most accounting graduates

Graduates who missed campus recruiting assume public accounting is closed to them for a year.

How to close it

Apply to mid-sized and regional firms, which hire experienced-start candidates off-cycle constantly.
Take a private-industry staff accountant role and move to public later, which is a common and accepted path.
Start the CPA exams while working; passing sections is the strongest signal available.

Where these roles are actually posted

Regional and mid-sized public accounting firms, not only the Big Four
Corporate accounting departments at any employer of scale
Government and non-profit finance offices
Staffing firms specialising in accounting, which place graduates quickly

The system behind this answer

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