What to Expect

General business courses are always good, but accounting technology students should also focus on learning good study habits and problem-solving skills. They'll come in handy when you're wading through two hours of homework each day, or working on a complete set of books for an imaginary small business.

Learning to discipline yourself now, while you're still in high school, will go a long way towards getting you through the long hours of homework ahead, says Stacy Bleigh. She studied accounting at Shepherd College in West Virginia.

But homework time really depends on the student, says Sylvia McLaughlin. She is a product of the accounting program at a career college. "[For] some people it takes a little longer than others, especially if you make a mistake in the bookkeeping," she says.

How to Prepare

If your high school offers any accounting courses, take them, says Charmel Sanchez. She is a graduate of Ivy Tech State College. She also recommends typing and any other business-related courses you can find.

Doing volunteer work while you're in high school can always help, not only because of what you learn, but by giving you experience to add to your resume. Sanchez suggests students wanting to increase their accounting skills look for "anything that requires serious thought and concentration."

McLaughlin says being familiar with computers is a big plus when it comes to learning accounting software. Keyboarding skills are also useful. "It seems most students never have enough keyboarding experience, " she says.