Careers for financial and accounting professionals usually follow a step-by-step process of progression and advancement. Entry-level jobs can be good learning opportunities, but they aren’t necessarily the intellectually challenging work that you want to be doing.
For example, my colleague John Derrick is a CFA® charterholder who started in the investment world by working as a call center customer service representative while he was in college. He felt limited in his career path because he hadn’t gone to the “right” school. Earning his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA ®) charter helped him get an interview for his next, much more satisfying position. I had a similar experience: passing the certified public accountant (CPA ®) exam certainly helped me move ahead in my career.