Auditor
Auditors check that a company's financial records are accurate and follow the rules. Most of the job is methodically reviewing documents, testing samples, and asking accountants to explain numbers.
What Tuesday looks like
You log into your laptop at a client's office — or more likely, from your apartment — and open a spreadsheet of journal entries you need to test by Friday. You email the client's controller asking for supporting invoices on 30 transactions. He says he'll get them 'by end of week,' which means next Tuesday. You document your testing in your firm's audit software, which is slow and crashes twice. A senior reviewer leaves you 40 review notes on work you finished last week; some are nitpicks about formatting. You eat lunch at your desk. In the afternoon you sit in on an inventory count call and write up the procedures. During busy season (January through April) you're working 60–70 hour weeks. The rest of the year is calmer. The satisfying part: you actually understand how businesses run. The unsatisfying part: a lot of days feel like you're checking boxes nobody will ever read.
Career profile
Career shape
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In the landscape
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Salary range
$62K
Entry
$79K
Median
$105K
Senior
$50K floor
$140K ceiling
10-yr growth
+6%
8/10 exposure
Reward profile
3 quick questions to see how this career fits the way you work.
What school costs — and when it pays off
Bachelor's degree · Four years at a public university. Costs here use the cheaper in-state rate.
The chart shows your annual salary over time alongside the annual loan repayment. The shaded band at the bottom is what goes to the loan each year — when it disappears, your full salary is yours.
Takes about 12 working years to earn back the school investment — but you do come out ahead.
Entry-level salary
$62K
25th percentile — what most people start at
Experienced salary
$105K
75th percentile — after ~10 years in the field
School & training cost
$80K
+ $29K interest over 10 yrs
Loan paid off
Year 14
$910/mo for 10 years
First year of work
After loan's paid (yr 14)
Salary range reflects 25th–75th percentile nationally, growing from entry-level to experienced over 10 working years. School costs are national averages — yours will vary. Loan assumes you borrow the full amount at 6.54% interest, repaid over 10 years. Monthly figures are pre-tax.
The first years
Staff Auditor (Year 1–2)
You start at a Big Four or mid-size firm making around $60–70K. Your job is tick-and-tie work: matching numbers in spreadsheets to invoices, confirming bank balances, and testing samples of transactions. You don't really understand the big picture yet — you're just executing the steps a senior tells you to do, then getting review notes back telling you what you missed. Busy season hits in January and you find out what 65-hour weeks actually feel like. Most people also start studying for the CPA exam at night and on weekends, which is brutal on top of work.
Senior Auditor (Year 3–4)
You pass the CPA (or you don't, and you watch peers get promoted past you). Pay jumps to around $85–95K. Now you're running small audits or sections of bigger ones, which means you're the one writing review notes to the new staff and explaining to them why their work isn't done. You're in more client meetings, asking the controller pointed questions about weird journal entries. You understand the work now, but the hours haven't gotten better — they may be worse because you're responsible for the team finishing on time.
Decision point
Around year 3 or 4, almost everyone hits the same fork: stay in public accounting and grind toward manager (more money, more hours, more responsibility, real shot at partner in 10+ years), or take an 'industry' job at one of your clients as a senior accountant or financial analyst. Industry usually means a pay bump, 40–50 hour weeks, no busy season, and a much more predictable life — but slower career ceiling and less prestige. Most people leave. The ones who stay are either gunning for partner or genuinely like the variety of seeing different companies.
Path A: Audit Manager (Year 5–7)
If you stayed in public, you're now a manager making $110–140K. You're not really doing the testing anymore — you're reviewing other people's work, managing budgets, dealing with clients when they're late or angry, and selling additional work to existing clients. You're good at the technical stuff but a lot of the job is now project management and difficult conversations. Busy season is still bad, just in a different way: instead of doing the work, you're answering questions at 11pm from staff who are doing the work.
Path B: Industry Accountant (Year 5–7)
If you left for industry, you're a senior accountant or accounting manager at a company making $95–120K. Your day is closing the books each month, preparing reports for leadership, and — ironically — being the person who gets audited by your old firm. The work is more repetitive than public accounting (same company, same cycle, every month), but you're home for dinner, you take real vacations, and weekends are actually yours. A lot of people describe this as 'boring in a good way.' The AI exposure is real here too: a lot of the routine reconciliation work is getting automated, so you have to keep moving toward analysis and judgment work to stay valuable.
The path in
Accounting · Finance · Business Administration
The standard path: a bachelor's in accounting, then an entry-level auditor role at a public accounting firm or company. To become a CPA (which most auditors eventually need for promotion), you'll need 150 college credit hours — 30 more than a typical bachelor's — plus passing the four-part CPA exam and 1–2 years of supervised work experience.
Accounting · Taxation · Audit
Many students do a 1-year MAcc to hit the 150-credit CPA requirement while strengthening their resume for Big Four firms. It's not required, but it's a common and efficient route if you know you want public accounting.
Accounting · Business
Start at community college to knock out general ed and intro accounting cheaply, then transfer to a 4-year school. You'll still need the bachelor's (and likely 150 credits) to become a CPA-track auditor, but this can cut total cost significantly.
CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) · Data Analytics · CISA (IT Audit)
As audit gets more automated, employers increasingly want auditors who can work with data tools (SQL, Python, Alteryx) and understand IT systems. These certifications stack on top of a degree and are becoming a real differentiator, especially for internal audit roles.
Known for this field
Consistently ranked the #1 accounting program in the country. Direct pipeline to Big Four firms and a strong integrated MPA (Master in Professional Accounting) program.
Top-ranked accounting program with exceptional CPA exam pass rates and Big Four recruiting, at a fraction of the cost of private universities.
One of the oldest and most respected accounting programs in the US, with a 5-year integrated bachelor's/master's that hits the 150-credit CPA requirement.
Strong Big Four recruiting and a well-known direct-admit accounting major. Solid in-state tuition value.
One of the largest accounting programs in the country and a major feeder into California public accounting firms — affordable in-state option.
Affordable public university with direct access to NYC accounting firms. Strong CPA exam outcomes and a diverse, commuter-friendly student body.
Guaranteed-transfer agreements with George Mason and Virginia Tech. A cheap, low-risk way to start the accounting path.
Top community college for transfers to UCLA and other UC business programs. Strong accounting course sequence at community college prices.
Related paths
Management Consultant
Auditors build sharp eyes for how companies operate, which makes consulting a common next step for those who want broader advisory work.
Financial Analyst
Auditors get deep exposure to how companies actually work, which makes financial analysis a natural next step. The shift is from checking the past to forecasting the future.