How To Become A Junior Accountant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a junior accountant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.,

Jodi Olson

Junior Accountants are financial experts who support businesses by managing daily accounting and financial tasks. This includes accounts receivable and accounts payable functions. They prepare, maintain, and reconcile financial statements and other financial documents. They assist with the preparation and submission of taxes and other financial reports. Also, they assist with financial and tax audits and reconciliation of general ledger. Furthermore, they ensure compliance with the company's guidelines and procedures and federal and state regulations. They also ensure adherence to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for financial statements.

Employers seek candidates with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a minimum of two years of related work. Candidates must have proficiency using a computer and advanced knowledge of Excel and other accounting software programs. You must also possess problem-solving, attention to detail, communication, organization, and analytical skills. Junior Accountants take an average of $47,627 home annually. Their salary falls between $35,000 and $64,000.

What general advice would you give to a junior accountant?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis

It was a great time to be entering the accounting industry, before the pandemic. Our students were serving in internships in huge numbers and our graduates were enjoying 100% placement, usually with multiple offers. The entry-level professionals were entering a profession marked by emerging and evolving technologies that made even the entry-level duties especially interesting. Further, our tech-comfortable young professionals were experiencing quick advancement because of their ability to employ the new technologies.

Most of the above remains true so the only open question is job availability. It would be unrealistic to say things are great. However, it seems that job prospects for accounting majors will be better than for those of virtually every other entry-level profession during difficult times. I have been speaking with firm leaders across the spectrum of firms and most do intend to be on campus in the fall recruiting season. Of course, they have a lot of time to learn more about the economy over the next few months, but we are cautiously optimistic. Again, I am confident that whatever the state of job availability for young CPAs-to-be, prospects will be better for accounting graduates than virtually any other profession.

They will be entering the profession at a fascinating moment in time. Of course, the technological advances assure this regardless of economic conditions. However, there are business disruption-related issues that will provide rich opportunities for making a difference. For example, audit staff will be working with clients to see them through these troubling times. Lamentably, I fear that these young professionals will learn more about the going concern determination than they desire to know. Tax staff will help clients to optimally use the tax loss carrybacks and carryforwards that are arising by the day. Entry level professionals in corporate accounting will get a day-to-day front row seat in business management through crisis. While lamentable times, these are times when young professionals can make a difference that saves jobs.

ScoreJunior AccountantUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,444

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.45%

Asian 16.59%

Black or African American 7.92%

Hispanic or Latino 10.23%

Unknown 3.93%

White 60.89%

Gender

female 60.39%

male 39.61%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a junior accountant

Explore junior accountant education requirements

Most common junior accountant degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Associate

16.3 %

Master's

8.4 %

Start to develop specific junior accountant skills

Skills	Percentages
Reconciliations	17.69%
General Ledger Accounts	7.89%
Account Reconciliations	5.40%
Data Entry	5.34%
QuickBooks	3.98%

Complete relevant junior accountant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New junior accountants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a junior accountant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real junior accountant resumes.

Gain additional junior accountant certifications

Junior accountant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific junior accountant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for junior accountants include Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

More About Certifications

Research junior accountant duties and responsibilities

Manage and monitor accounting procedures for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and coordinate and facilitate external audit requirements.
Perform and assist with month-end close procedures, including preparation of monthly balance sheet and income statement account reconciliations.
Identify hundreds of daily transactions from banking statements using QuickBooks and present monthly financial reports
Perform bank and credit card reconciliations and assist with month-end accruals in addition to inter-company reconciliations.

Prepare your junior accountant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your junior accountant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a junior accountant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable junior accountant resume templates

Build a professional junior accountant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your junior accountant resume.