Accounting Schools in Illinois

Guide to Illinois Accounting Degree Programs

Illinois offers a surprising number of universities with programs that deal with accounting. You can find programs throughout the state, and all of them are designed to help your future career. For traditional degree programs, you might choose to go to Rasmussen College, Fox College, Robert Morris College, Kendall College, Argosy University, Sanford-Brown College, and many others. You also have the chance to go to school online now where you pick up a full degree right from your computer. Such programs are offered through DeVry University, the University of Phoenix, American InterContinental University and many more.

There are a lot of courses that you may come across during your time as an accounting major. Though some of them may seem obscure at first, they are all there to help you get a better understanding of the career. You may engage in courses like managerial accounting, business law, federal taxation, cost accounting, and communication for accountants, among others. You will also have the chance to pick out electives to take and potentially develop a minor through said electives. You may just use them for intrigue as well. Beyond that, you can expect to encounter the basics like English and math along the way to earning a degree.

Illinois Accounting Job Outlook and Salary

The job outlook for accounting is a positive one for sure as positions are opening left and right nowadays. The fact is that businesses have been scared into needing accountants for proper reporting based on recent legislations that have been passed. The punishments for financial reporting fraud are stricter now than they ever have been, and it has led to a great rise in the availability of certain jobs. You should have no trouble finding employment, especially with a growing economy there to fuel the fire.

You might see starting pay in the field anywhere between $33,000 and $45,000 a year. The reason for this broad range is because different places of work pay for different tasks. The government will have the more stringent employment requirements, but it will also offer the highest pay. Nonprofit organizations will not be as strict, but they will not be able to afford high salaries either. Thus where you choose to work will greatly impact your earnings as an accountant, so apply wisely. Maintaining a master’s degree will help your applications along as many employers seek that level of education nowadays. There will be competition present for those high paying jobs, so any leg up you can get will be greatly beneficial to your financial success.