Becoming an accountant doesn’t mean that you have to work in public accounting at a CPA firm or prepare taxes for clients every April. Increasingly, accounting graduates are turning to governmental accounting careers to escape the stress of the public accounting industry.

Let’s look at the seven most rewarding careers in governmental accounting that you should consider pursuing.

State & Local Level Financial Analyst

State and local governments employ financial analysts to track and monitor the performance of financial and managerial operations of the government. In other words, analysts examine the debt structure of the government along with the budgets and other necessary financial data to evaluate how efficiently the government is using its resources to fulfill its goals.

Financial analysts help monitor performance in all areas of government from infrastructure to school services.

Being a governmental financial analyst can be much more exciting that an investment analyst because you are able to oversee the strategic vision of the government across many departments and collaborate with asset managers and community leaders to make a difference.

Project Accountant

Project accountants manage the cost accounting and billing activities for governmental projects. This can include monitoring billings, overseeing budgets, and disbursing funding for various projects.

States employ these managerial accountants for road and public infrastructure projects while local governments often hire project accountants for school building projects. Project accountants work closely with state and federal governments to collect the funds for certain projects and ensure they are spent appropriately.

Project accounting is a growing field for new accounting graduates with new openings in almost all levels of government and locations around the country. You aren’t limited to state positions since local, county, and state governments have numerous building projects underway at all times.

Certified Public Accountant

CPAs are employed in all levels of government. From local governments to the federal government, certified public accountants manage governmental finances, hold positions at the SEC, and even audit state and federal budgets.

In fact, many of the career paths on this list require candidates to have their CPA license in order to apply. For example both auditors and analysts are typically certified public accountants.

With so many different opportunities, it’s no wonder why so many accounting graduates want to become a CPA and work in governmental accounting. If this sounds like an exciting career for you, you will need to complete at least 150-credit hours of college courses, and pass the CPA exam. Most students aiming to become a CPA use a guide for CPA courses to help them complete the necessary educational requirements.

Becoming a CPA will help get your foot in the door to just about any governmental accounting job no matter which you are thinking of pursuing.

IRS Auditor

With the new IRS budget that President Biden signed into law, the IRS will be hiring more than 80,000 new IRS agents. This is a great career opportunity for any accounting student.

As an IRS agent, you inspect taxpayers’ documents, tax returns, and other governmental forms. This might not sound adventurous until you find out that IRS agents often have a travel budget and are on the road quite often to perform audits.

To qualify as an IRS auditor, you will need to complete a bachelor’s degree in a related field like accounting, business, or finance. No initial tax experience is required, but it is beneficial to have some before you apply for the position.

If traveling is your thing, this might be a great career.