Peer Review

How to Become an Accountant: Jobs, Salaries, and Degree Requirements

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 7, 2022 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This is an online article, a sub-page of the University of North Dakota’s online master of accountancy program, that provides an overview of the accounting profession. The information includes overviews of jobs in the field (duties and salary ranges plus educational requirements), certifications versus degrees, and a short list of scholarships (9 items) available to students studying accounting. Article includes links to additional sources of information such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Securities Exchange Commission, but also several links that go back to the UND degree program information.

Type of Material:

Reference Material

Recommended Uses:

The materials can be used by career services departments at any college or university. They can also be used in undergradute accounting degree programs to assist students in choosing a sub-specialty master's degree program. Finally, the material can be used by individuals interested in pursuing a master's degree in accounting.

Technical Requirements:

Browser required

Identify Major Learning Goals:

This site provides an overview of entry-level careers in accounting with basic education and certification requirements that can help a student begin to evaluate accounting as a potential career field.

Target Student Population:

High School, College General Ed, Professional

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

A basic understanding of the accounting profession is required to read the document.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

Concise overview of main accounting career fields and requirements;
Useful links to salary information such as U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and PayScale.com;
Useful links to additional information on certifications such as CPA and CMA.

Concerns:

Linking back to UND’s own degree programs in several places makes this resource less applicable to others who may not wish to promote a specific institution. The only concern is that much of the information is hyperlinked and those may become stale over time. Also, there is a specific mention of salary ranges which depending on the date accessed can become stale.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The webpage introduces the topic by stating the purpose: to provide information on what types of jobs are available, the associated values, and finally, the education requirements. The page then goes on to provide that precise information.

The writing is clear, concise and well organized to promote the reader's understanding of the account sub-specialties.

Concerns:

Usefulness is limited as a teaching tool to students at introductory levels (or those evaluating degree programs such as high school students).

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: The material is written to a specific audience (those interested in an accounting specialty). It uses language appropriate to those readers and refrains from using jargon. No instructions are necessarThere are no skills, technical or intellectual to comprehend the material presented. There are no skills, technical or intellectual to comprehend the material presented.
Concerns:: Article is interactive in the sense that it links to many additional sources of information, however, it is not interactive in that the only options for more information on degrees are the UND programs. The material contains a number of hyperlinks that might become broken or stale and users will not be able to access that information.

Other Issues and Comments:: The material presenting is of great value to those investigating the accounting field and its sub-specialties. The page is well organized in that it uses the same format to discuss each point and sub-point. There are hyperlinks to additional and more detailed information.
Creative Commons: