If you are applying to study accounting as an undergraduate student, you may be required to complete a summer or spring internship for a bachelor’s in accounting. A bachelor’s degree program majoring in accounting is designed to prepare you to start a successful accounting career, to advance to leadership positions, or even to move on to graduate programs. The content that is taught is well-rounded so that you become familiar with a wide variety of topics including taxation, auditing, financial reporting, managerial accounting, taxes, and information systems.
As a student completes the introductory curriculum, putting the curriculum to use is important to really prepare for the real professional world. Internships are great opportunities where you can get that real-world experience you cannot get while you are sitting in the classroom or taking academic tests. Read on about the most common internship requirements and why you should not consider the requirement a negative thing.
How Common Is It For an Internship to Be Required When Earning a BA or BS?
A Bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement to become an accountant. This is because associate’s degree programs simply are not long enough to cover all of the subjects you need to cover to prepare for the role. When you major in accounting to earn a 4-year degree, you will take between 30 and 36 credits in accounting courses and another 20 to 30 credits in business coursework. After completing the accounting, business, and applied sciences coursework, you will have about 120 credits completed and may be ready for graduation.
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All accounting programs have their credit requirements that must consist of business, accounting, and non-business courses. Not all programs have internship requirements for their undergrads, but a majority will have some type of requirement for those in advanced graduate programs. For the programs that do require you to spend a semester or a summer interning, it is only to benefit you so that you can put accounting work experience on your resume and land a job after you earn your diploma.
What Are the Advantages of Interning in Accounting?
Whether it is a requirement or a voluntary prospect, being an accounting intern could be the best thing for you. When you complete an accounting internship with a company or a firm, you will perform the duties that you are assigned and observe accountants so that you can earn hard skills. You gain knowledge and skills in class, but the practical skills that you earn while you complete your assignment are different.
Many students who intern with the larger firms will actually land a position after they graduate, which eliminates the need for a job search. Even if you are not hired, you will make invaluable professional connections that can help you down the line.
Aside from getting hands-on experience in a business setting or making connections, many times you can get academic credit towards your Bachelor’s degree for completing an internship. If the program that you decide to attend does not require that you intern, you can still apply on your own. If you believe that an internship for a Bachelor’s in Accounting will help you become a professional, ask the accounting department if they will help you coordinate one to add to your resume.
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