{"id":298265,"date":"2025-10-12T21:35:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T21:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/298265\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T21:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T21:35:47","slug":"gen-z-is-reviving-this-boring-job-that-millennials-and-boomers-abandoned-and-its-helping-them-land-six-figure-careers-straight-out-of-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/298265\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z is reviving this boring job that millennials and boomers abandoned\u2014and it\u2019s helping them land six-figure careers straight out of college"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul class=\"yf-1woyvo2\">\n<li class=\"yf-1woyvo2\">\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\"><strong>As millions of boomer accountants gear up for retirement, <\/strong>the industry is facing a talent shortage crisis. While it\u2019s been lamented as one of America\u2019s most boring jobs and headed down a path of extinction, Gen Z is realizing the six-figure career opportunity\u2014and gaining experience by helping individuals file their taxes for free.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">America\u2019s tax system is more complex than ever, but accountants are in short supply. Between IRS leadership turnover, tax policy fights, and burnout, more professionals are leaving the industry just when taxpayers need them most.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Some <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/03\/01\/accounting-shortage-earnings-report-mistakes\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:340,000 accountants have already left;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">340,000 accountants have already left<\/a> their calculators behind and quit in the past five years, and some estimates suggest that 75% of those remaining are expected to retire in the next decade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">For a field that is often judged as less exciting than others (according to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/01461672221079104\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:one study;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">one study<\/a>, it is the second-most-stereotyped job of boring people), the crisis couldn\u2019t get much worse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Now Gen Z is coming to the rescue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">\u201cAccounting is the science of the business world,\u201d says Alana Kelley, an accounting and biohealth science major at Oregon State University who has helped dozens of families file their taxes this past season as part of her school\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/individuals\/irs-vita-grant-program\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">One was a goat farmer who had only a landline and no access to the internet. Another was a young woman who was financially supporting her sister. Kelley was able to help them obtain a life-changing $6,000 back in refunds. One of Kelley\u2019s peers, Tristan Klascius\u2014a student studying accounting and finance\u2014helped an older woman gain access to her much-needed Social Security income that she otherwise couldn\u2019t figure out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Kelley and Klascius are just two examples of the Gen Zers who are increasingly viewing accounting not as a monotonous chore but as a way to transform people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Their actions are already helping save Americans millions of dollars through free tax help through a partnership with the IRS and close to two dozen universities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">The IRS\u2019s VITA program began over 50 years ago at California State University, Northridge to aid low-income and underserved communities in navigating the increasingly complicated tax system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">In 2024 alone, an army of more than 280 CSUN students helped over 9,000 low-income taxpayers claim nearly $11 million in tax refunds and $3.6 million in tax credits\u2014plus save them over $2 million in tax preparation fees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">In the weeks leading up to tax day, some students work from 10 in the morning until 10 at night, helping families understand how much money they could get refunded or owe.<\/p>\n<p> Story Continues  <\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">And while the impact may seem minimal, especially considering that $8.2 billion in Earned Income Tax Credits were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/pub\/irs-soi\/24rpeitcunderclaimsty2021census.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:left on the table by Americans;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">left on the table by Americans<\/a> in the 2021 tax year, every return and refund dollar can matter for struggling families. Some 66% of Americans <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/06\/12\/six-figure-salary-broke-paycheck-to-paycheck\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:feel like they are now living paycheck to paycheck;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">feel like they are now living paycheck to paycheck<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">The CSUN program\u2019s director, Rafael Efrat, tells Fortune VITA at universities is an embodiment of the good that can come out of the accounting profession and reshape the views of hundreds of young people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Even Gen Zers outside of the business school\u2014studying subjects like computer science, public health, and psychology\u2014have been eager to join the tax assistance program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">\u201cWhile accounting may have a certain image in the background among young people of being not as intriguing and exciting, once they actually engage in the practice and see how it plays out in a real world, it changes people\u2019s mind and views,\u201d Efrat says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">It\u2019s not just low-income Americans getting their taxes filed for free who are set to gain from VITA programs. The student volunteers, too, are obtaining unique hands-on skills by working with clients with sometimes complicated tax situations and gaining the confidence needed to excel on day one when they graduate and land a six-figure-paying job.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">\u201cWe throw the students into the water, essentially, and let them swim, and then students actually live up to the challenge,\u201d Efrat says.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/Salaries\/accountant-salary-SRCH_KO0,10.htm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:median total pay of an accountant;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">median total pay of an accountant<\/a> being $93,000 (or nearing $200,000 for <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/education\/careers\/how-to-become-a-cpa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:certified public accountants;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">certified public accountants<\/a> (CPAs), getting students excited about taxes remains the ultimate challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">The number of bachelor\u2019s degrees awarded in accounting peaked in 2015\u201316, and the years following each saw decreases by about 1%\u20133%, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aicpa-cima.com\/professional-insights\/download\/2023-trends-report\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:American Institute of CPAs;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">American Institute of CPAs<\/a>. The pandemic brought an even greater punch, with accounting degrees slipping by as much as 7% between 2021\u201322 and 2022\u201323.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">According to Logan Steele, an accounting professor at OSU, many young people have an outdated view of what an accountant actually does. No longer do practitioners spend their time performing manual calculations on paper spreadsheets. Accountants have outsourced much of the mundane tasks to technology like AI, and they\u2019re now more focused on strategic decision-making.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">However, the tide is beginning to turn, he says. Nearly all accounting graduates at OSU\u201498%\u2014secure jobs in the field, he says, and their salaries are the highest in recorded history of any major program in the business school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">With <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2024\/04\/30\/gen-z-class-of-2024-wants-job-stability-positive-employer-reputation\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Gen Zers increasingly preferring job security;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Gen Zers increasingly preferring job security<\/a> over job flexibility, the shift to accepting accounting as a promising career path may grow, especially with <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/2025\/03\/14\/becoming-accountant-easier-in-these-3-states\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:calls to decrease the barriers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">calls to decrease the barriers<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/education\/careers\/how-to-become-a-cpa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:becoming a certified public accountant;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">becoming a certified public accountant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">A version of this story originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Fortune.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Fortune.com<\/a> on April 13, 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\"><strong>More on taxes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">This story was originally featured on <a href=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/article\/gen-z-reviving-accounting-profession-six-figure-salaries-irs-volunteer-income-tax-assistance-program-vita\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Fortune.com;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Fortune.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As millions of boomer accountants gear up for retirement, the industry is facing a talent shortage crisis. While&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":298266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[152018,64,152019,3991,420,95686,152021,3172,152020,46802,67,132,68,152022],"class_list":{"0":"post-298265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jobs","8":"tag-alana-kelley","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-cpas","11":"tag-gen-z","12":"tag-jobs","13":"tag-oregon-state-university","14":"tag-rafael-efrat","15":"tag-tax-credits","16":"tag-tax-preparation","17":"tag-tax-refunds","18":"tag-united-states","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-vita-program"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115363350063034655","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}