When I was in college and didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, my father gave me this career advice: Become a Certified Public Accountant. Why?
“Because,” he said. “People will always need their taxes. They’ll always need financial advice. With a CPA license, you can always hang a shingle and put food on the table.”
This was good advice and it is still relevant today. Very relevant, this is the same advice I gave my own children when they reached the same age and were equally uncertain about their future. They do not need to become a CPA (become one). But they must become professionals licensed by the state. This is the best job security ever.
State licensing boards have come under scrutiny this year. A Cato Institute report These boards are accused of excessively expanding their powers. Initiative To cut down their power this year. Some of these arguments are not unfounded. And I’m sure the system can be refined in various ways. In the meantime, my advice remains the same: get licensed. Despite arguments to the contrary, state licensing is a powerful job protector.
Become a licensed beautician, pharmacist, engineer, cosmetologist, nurse or landscaper. Take advantage of the data-building boom and get licensed in construction trades like electrical, plumbing, home improvement, fire inspection.
These jobs are never going to be replaced by technology. AI-based tools and robotics will help improve productivity and will certainly enable more dangerous tasks to be performed. But they will need to be operated by humans who are licensed professionals.
And it is important that the license is issued by the government and not a certificate issued by a podunk college or company that was originally earned by paying a fee. Having a state license means that you have worked through an educational program and possibly sat for an examination that validated your qualifications. For many professions like mine, you are required to complete ongoing educational requirements annually. All of these professions are represented by countless associations, groups, and organizations that support their members with education, resources, advice, job connections, and even health care.
Obtaining a professional license will lead to a higher paying job, certainly more than another applicant without a license. It brings credibility. This shows commitment. This does not guarantee you a job, but it serves as a reference that you are competent at what you do and are disciplined enough to get licensed.
In earlier times, professionals had to pay someone to serve as an apprentice to learn a trade. Now the state provides that service. And in many cases their requirements are even more stringent. For example, to get my CPA license in Pennsylvania, I not only had to have a college degree, but also pass an exam and work in public accounting for two years. This is why some trade schools are reporting Enrollment increase of more than 35% since 2020. That’s why state licensing have increased More than 30% over the past few decades, driven not only by fee revenue but also by consumers’ demand to work with someone who has gone through the vetting process.
Having a state license not only gives you more opportunities to get a job, but it also better enables you to start your own business if you choose to do so. That’s why the Wall Street Journal reports Private-equity companies are turning lowly contractors into millionaires, as they take over home services like HVAC — that is, heating, ventilation and air conditioning — as well as plumbing and electrical companies.
I pity those who work at companies and are not licensed professionals, the customer service agents and software developers and marketing and accounting staff members, many of whom will be replaced by AI in the next few years.
Over the next few years, most of the tasks currently performed by many CPAs will be replaced by AI. The software will efficiently research, prepare tax returns, analyze financial statements and make financial planning recommendations. But these are the things that will make smart people in my profession even smarter. Like any other business, we do a lot of things that a bot will never be able to do. we advise. We console. We evaluate. We communicate. And the best will become experts in many AI tools that our customers will never have the time or inclination to master.
These clients will assume that their professionals and consultants are taking advantage of technology to do their job, just as we will assume that our contractors are using the latest tools to do their job faster and better. And they would be right. The coming technological boom is going to bring a boom in people who work with their hands and brains. And being licensed by a state will become increasingly valuable.
My dad didn’t always get it right. But his opinion on this remains more relevant than ever.
