Education · 1 of 5

The path

The shortest route into a professional office job. You can be working in under a year.

1. 1

   High school diploma

   Grade 12

   Take accounting, business and any spreadsheet course offered. That is genuinely enough to get a first clerk job.

2. 2

   Certificate or associate degree

   1 to 2 years

   A community college bookkeeping certificate takes about a year; an associate degree in accounting takes two and transfers toward a four year degree later.

3. 3

   Learn the software

   Weeks

   Employers advertise for specific packages by name. Vendor certifications are short and cheap.

4. 4

   First job and real experience

   1 to 2 years

   Clerk work in accounts payable, receivable or payroll. Two years here is what certification bodies want to see.

5. 5

   Certification, if you want it

   A few months of study

   Optional, but it lets you charge more and is a selling point with your own clients.