Education · 1 of 4
The path
No license, no degree requirement. You get in with an entry-level office job and prove you are accurate.
- 1
High school
Grades 11 and 12
Finish with solid math and any accounting, business or computer classes your school offers. Spreadsheet skill matters more than anything else here.
- 2
Certificate, associate degree, or straight in
0 to 2 years
A one or two year accounting or business program at a community college is the usual route. Some people go straight into a clerk job and learn there.
- 3
Payroll clerk or assistant
1 to 3 years
Timekeeping, data entry, checking hours, answering the question of why a check looks wrong. This is where you learn the rules.
- 4
Certify
Exam plus study
PayrollOrg runs the Fundamental Payroll Certification for beginners and the Certified Payroll Professional for experienced practitioners. The second one is what employers look for.
- 5
Payroll administrator or manager
3 to 6 years in
You own the cycle: processing, tax deposits, quarterly and year-end filings, audits and the software itself.