The what does the job market look like for chartered accountants in the USA, and what is the salary range. I’ve googled it but I get vastly different results ranging from $20,000 to $160,000. What is the starting, and the average salary. What is better a chartered accountant career or software engineer?
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It would depend on the firm you are working for and which type of qualification you are working towards. I cant really speak for the USA. I would go for software engineering. As someone who is studying for his CA qualification i can tell you that the accounting market is saturated and really competitive now. Software engineering on the other hand is going through a boom unlike anything before with some firms offering really generous salaries, quick career progression and there is a massive skills shortage
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Hmmm, this is not for my consideration, I was just wondering actually my question is based for Canada now is it more popular there.
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Accounting field is mostly saturated everywhere, I am sure Canada won't be any different.
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I know a relative who is taking whooping pay of 3 Lakh rupees, he is 23 and topped ACCA exams, MashAllah.He has offers from around the globe.
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3 lakh in a month ? Hmmm, it's really unpredictable, and from what I notice it varies a lot.
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Wow if you are making 3 lakh in pakistan, you'd be an idiot to leave that for Amreeka or any other place. 3 lakh in pakistan is like $18 grand a month in U.S.A.
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Accounting field is mostly saturated everywhere, I am sure Canada won't be any different.
Who said?
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$20,000 to $160,000.
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that salary range is too wide for one job title. Maybe you want to narrow your search to specific job title to get a better idea of what the accurate salary range would be.
You should also look at the career path . Salaries vary by accounting clerks, accountant, to account managers , cpa to which sector you would be in.
aicpa would be a good resource
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The what does the job market look like for chartered accountants in the USA, and what is the salary range. I've googled it but I get vastly different results ranging from $20,000 to $160,000. What is the starting, and the average salary. What is better a chartered accountant career or software engineer?
It may be higher. Partners in a CA firm can make 250k + Bonus. I suspect people who are in business for themselves would likely report a low salary compared to the revenue their business makes (e.g. wife gets a 'salary', both get dividends, and other money stays in the business). In Canada, this is how doctor's do it, and I presume CAs can do something similar.
I am a Software Architect. My brother is a CA. From a Canadian perspective:
In terms of career prospects, ability to work for yourself, and yes, salary...CA is better. Don't think they have CA's in the USA (they have CPAs). There's also big changes in Canada (we no longer have CA's either, now we too have CPAs). I don't know what that means for the profession, but the classical CA was lucrative if you managed your career properly.
Software Engineering is not a service job. You can't simultaneously service many clients and charge them hundreds to thousands per sign off. Even if you are a consultant, you're typically doing one gig at a time. The closest are probably those in software consulting, on the business side. They take a cut out of the pay of the developers who work for them and they contracted out...but that's not at all a technical job. You constantly have to bid for contracts.
Doctor, lawyer, accountant...if they manage the business aspects of their career right, you're not going to match their earning potential as an SE. They all have the benefit of their clients being compelled to return for more service. For example, the independently practicing accountants can look forward to tax season...
If you intend to be a 9-5 worker and not a sole proprietor or get involved in a partnership, you're going to want to move from manager to partner within a certain period of time (say, a decade or 15 years...don't really know for sure). If you can't, you're career is pretty much done in a firm. I realize that the same could be said of SE's...i.e., if they put in enough effort and take the right risks, they could be the next Jobs, Gates, or Zuckerberg. But compared to accountants, it's perhaps very rare for SEs to go that route...in Canada, at least, CAs working out of big firms and for themselves is not uncommon.
IMHO, the unambitious - those who don't want to hustle, and maintain client relationships, they should be SEs. We get well compensated for sitting in a corner mulling interesting problems. We're smarter, but we don't make as much. :)
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The what does the job market look like for chartered accountants in the USA, and what is the salary range. I've googled it but I get vastly different results ranging from $20,000 to $160,000. What is the starting, and the average salary. What is better a chartered accountant career or software engineer?
Toronto, the center of Canadian business markets would have the highest salaries across the country, especially the cost of living being higher here.
The highest salaries for CAs would be paid by one of the Big 4 public accounting firms. Based on a not so old survey, it stated that intermediate accountants are paid between 50-56K per year. The bonuses are pretty modest. Average salary depends on how many years you've been working and who you're working for - so the numbers vary.
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Hmmm thanks for the detailed responses, I understand that's it's hard to know for sure. What is the difference between a chartered accountant and a regular accountant?...:p
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A chartered accountant will have gone through a government regulated body to get thier designation. They can do and sign large company accounts or audit checks and thier signature will be accepted by the government or banks. Regular accountants dont have that privilege and they wont have gone through a body to get their designation. More avenues are open to chartered accountants. The biggest difference that separates them is that while accountants have knowledge, its on a much more practical level (book keeping, B/S, P and L) where as chartered is that but also backed by theory. So they have to know different accounting standards and apply those accordingly. I think statistically 70% of CEOs come from a chartered accounting background.
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Thanks for the info!
The stats about 70% of CEOs being CPAs is not true. At least when we speak of Fortune 500. 30% finance, 20% marketing. Which leaves 50% for accountants, engineers, lawyers, ops, tech.
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we have CPAs in the US 
I was referring to CAs specifically operating within the city (central london financial district). ICAEW graduates.
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