“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” – Albert Einstein

We apologize in advance for reminding you that your least favorite day of the year almost upon us—tax day! On April 15th, we take time to reflect on how the government is spending our money and investing in the security of the public. Well, most of us are more likely preoccupied with silently cursing our procrastination and expediting our returns in the mail once April 14th rolls around.

Many of us don’t want to associate April and the prospect of warmer weather with taxes, but the unfortunate fact of the matter is that April 15th is, in fact, tax day. But for many employees and business-savvy college students, tax day is really not so bad! They say that the only things that are guaranteed in life are death and taxes. Since everybody has to pay taxes each year, it’s no wonder that careers in accounting and business are so popular!

There are many career options for people who are interested in taxation and accounting. You could help individuals file their personal income taxes or work with the tax department in a given company. You can also advise a corporation about tax law or even help citizens overseas learn about their tax responsibilities.

In order to be eligible for the most popular and well-paying tax jobs, a college education is a must-have. Businesses like to see that their employees are properly trained in tax law and process. Companies prefer that their candidates have at least a 4-year degree before they start hiring because it shows that you have the know-how and skills that are necessary to get the job done accurately.

Sure, “taxes” aren’t the most popular word in the English dictionary, but if you think that a job in taxes is boring, you’re making a big mistake! First of all, there is a HUGE amount of variety in a tax career. Taxes are a combination of law, administration, and accounting, not to mention the huge amount of brain-power and skill that it requires. If you love numbers, that’s great, but keep in mind that a career in taxes involves much more than crunching numbers!

In order to excel at this type of job, you should enjoy working with people. After all, much of the job involves explaining taxes and tax legislation to potential clients, so you really have to be good with words and breaking things down into simpler terms. Since you ARE dealing with people’s money, it’s also important to keep in mind that your actions have financial consequences. Those tax people have a lot of responsibility!

The best part is that a career in taxes is one of the more stable jobs out there! Benjamin Franklin once said, “nothing is certain but death and taxes”. Since taxes aren’t going to disappear any time soon, there will always be a challenging and rewarding career out there for you!

So, if you have a technical and inventive mind and love working with people, you might want to consider the popular misconception that taxes are boring…

…just make sure you get your own tax returns filed by the 15th!