The most classic cookie-cutter route is to intern in B4 during college, get hired after college to start B4 the following fall, “do your time” there for 5 years or so, then jump-ship to a management position in industry (despite having NO work experience in industry) and bide out the rest of your time there trying to learn what you're supposed to do since you're in leadership with no experience of the work.
OK, so my description probably shows that I don't think that's the best route. 😉 But that's the classic cookie-cutter model. I don't think it's the best route, though.
I'd say the best route is to be a quick learner, have a strong work-ethic, and get a couple lucky breaks. I'm 24, have my Bachelor's and CPA, and am a Controller for a college with a scheduled 37.5 hour work week. We've been short-staffed for my 6 months here so I've been working longer hours, but still less than 60 hrs/wk. So, how'd I get here? Starting B4 at the age of 12? Nope. Went to a no-name school so that I could take classes online while working 2 jobs – enabled me to graduate debt-free, but I didn't even know B4 was common till I got on here, cause my classes were online and cheap so didn't have the accounting community around me. After graduating, I worked a year at a public tax accounting firm with 3 employees total, counting the owner. Then I worked for a year as an A/R clerk for an international company. Next thing I knew this Controller position opened up and I applied for it…and voila, I'm a Controller now, making a good wage (I'm in a very low COL area, so posting it wouldn't help since costs are so different here, and I don't generally post it anyway). Granted it's a very small college (about 1000 students, 300 employees), and we're in a rural community so it's not like a college in New York that would've had 10000 applicants with way more credentials than me. But, apparently the CFO and the Controller who was retiring saw potential in me, and now I'm here. I didn't take the conventional path, but I'm now living comfortably with a job that shouldn't usually be more than 40 hours/wk. Best part is, I've worked as a clerk, so I understand what our clerks are doing…unlike someone who does audits for 5 years then becomes a manager.
So that's my path. It's not something that can be cookie-cutter followed, but it's evidence that cookie-cutter isn't necessary. You can get where you want to get on your own path. Just figure out what it is you want to get to. Is your goal to have good work/life balance or to maximize income? To have puzzles and problems to address all day long, or to have a routine to follow? To get a job close to where you live now (may want to consider ideal employers, if they're limited, like they are in my area), or to move somewhere exotic? Etc. Figure out what “successful accountant” looks like in your dreams, then make it happen.
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