Gen Z is reviving jobs millennials think are boring, and they’re earning a fortune in the process, according to a new report.
When you think of an accountant, you probably imagine someone clicking a calculator all day long in a lackluster office building. A 2022 study cited by the financial magazine Fortune found accounting to be the second-most-stereotypical job of boring people, following data analysis.
But Fortune says, “Gen Z is realizing the six-figure career opportunity” in an article published Thursday.
Millions of baby boomer accountants are about to retire, with roughly 340,000 accountants already out the door in the last five years, Fortune reported.
This leaves a gap for Gen Z to fill and it looks like young people are starting before they even graduate college. Gen Z is widely thought to be those born between 1997 and 2012.
Fortune highlighted the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, program, a service that helps low-to-moderate income taxpayers and others who may struggle to file their taxes.
The program started more than 50 years ago at California State University, Northridge, and in 2024, hundreds of students at the college helped more than 9,000 low-income Americans claim nearly $11 million in tax refunds and $3.6 million in tax credits, according to Fortune.
“While 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’s mind and views,” Rafael Efrat, the director of the school’s VITA program, told Fortune.
Besides the altruistic motivators, young people may be drawn to accounting for the big paycheck. According to job site Glassdoor, which Fortune cites, an accountant makes $93,000 per year on average. Depending on years of experience and the industry they work in, accountants can make up to $122,000 a year. A certified public accountant, or CPA, makes even more, with a nearly $200,000 salary, according to Fortune.
