Business & finance
Accountants and auditors
Accountants and auditors prepare, examine and explain financial records. Most enter with a bachelor's degree, and the work spans public accounting firms, in-house finance teams and government; with a strong premium on being able to explain numbers to non-specialists.
- May 2025 U.S. median annual pay
- $83,680
- Projected employment growth, 2025–2035
- 5%
Education and licensing
Typically a bachelor's degree.
Licensure is not universal, though some roles require additional credentials.
Where people work
- Accounting services
- Finance and insurance
- Government
- Company management
Skills that matter day to day
- Analysis
- Organisation
- Explaining financial records
Caveats on these figures
- The median covers a wide range of specialisms and seniority levels.
- Additional credentials can materially change pay but are not reflected in the national median.
- Projected growth is not a count of current vacancies.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/accountants-and-auditors.htm. Pay figures are May 2025 national medians; growth projections cover 2025–2035. Retrieved September 27, 2026 and refreshed manually.