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The differences between public accountants and junior accountants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a public accountant and a junior accountant. Additionally, a public accountant has an average salary of $58,843, which is higher than the $50,444 average annual salary of a junior accountant.
The top three skills for a public accountant include CPA, real estate and audit procedures. The most important skills for a junior accountant are reconciliations, general ledger accounts, and account reconciliations.
| Public Accountant | Junior Accountant | |
| Yearly salary | $58,843 | $50,444 |
| Hourly rate | $28.29 | $24.25 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 46,295 | 57,892 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A public accountant handles duties relating to financial planning, bookkeeping, and preparing government taxes and audits. Besides overseeing financial management and budget management, a public accountant also maintains and audits an organization's financial records. Other duties performed by public accountants include creating and analyzing budgets and recommending fiscally practical techniques to save the company's money. A public accountant reports financial information to the organization management and audits its accounts for overspending, fraud, errors, and misinformation.
Junior accountants maintain the financial records of companies through the analysis of their general ledger accounts and balance sheets. The accountant's post journal entries, maintain accounts receivable and payable, and update financial statements. They pay payroll every month, reconcile ledgers, and submit payroll taxes. The skills necessary for this job include analytical skills, problem-solving, information confidentiality, and proficiency in accounting software and technology. They are also expected to be detail-oriented.
Public accountants and junior accountants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Accountant | Junior Accountant | |
| Average salary | $58,843 | $50,444 |
| Salary range | Between $43,000 And $80,000 | Between $38,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New York |
| Best paying company | Citi | Fuhu |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Construction |
There are a few differences between a public accountant and a junior accountant in terms of educational background:
| Public Accountant | Junior Accountant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Accounting |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between public accountants' and junior accountants' demographics:
| Public Accountant | Junior Accountant | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% | Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 12.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 16.6% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |