Gen Z is reviving this boring job that millennials and boomers abandoned—and it’s helping them land six-figure careers straight out of college
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As millions of boomer accountants gear up for retirement, the industry is facing a talent shortage crisis. While it’s been lamented as one of America’s most boring jobs and headed down a path of extinction, Gen Z is realizing the six-figure career opportunity—and gaining experience by helping individuals file their taxes for free.
The IRS is on DOGE’s chopping block, the extension of tax cuts is up in the air, and Tax Day is approaching in just days—and accountants are so fed up with the stress that they’re leaving the industry in droves.
Some 340,000 accountants have already left their calculators behind and quit in the last five years, and some estimates suggest that 75% of those remaining are expected to retire in the next decade.
For a field that is often judged as less exciting than others (according to one study, it is the second-most-stereotyped job of boring people), the crisis couldn’t get much worse.
Now, Gen Z is coming to the rescue.
“Accounting is the science of the business world,” says Alana Kelley, a third-year accounting and biohealth science major at Oregon State University who has helped dozens of families file their taxes this season as part of her school’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
One was a goat farmer who only had a landline, but no access to the internet. Another was a young woman who was financially supporting her sister. Kelley was able to help them obtain a life-changing $6,000 back in refunds. One of Kelley’s peers, Tristan Klascius—a third-year studying accounting and finance—helped an elderly woman gain access to her much-needed Social Security income that she otherwise couldn’t figure out.
Kelley and Klascius are just two examples of the Gen Zers who are increasingly viewing accounting not as a monotonous chore but as a way to completely transform people’s lives.
Their actions are already helping save Americans millions of dollars through free tax help through a partnership with the IRS and close to two dozen universities.
The IRS’s VITA program began over 50 years ago at California State University, Northridge to aid low-income and underserved communities in navigating the increasingly complicated tax system.
Last year alone, an army of more than 280 CSUN students helped over 9,000 low-income taxpayers claim nearly $11 million in tax refunds and $3.6 million in tax credits—plus save them over $2 million in tax preparation fees.
In the weeks leading up to Tax Day, some students work from 10 in the morning until 10 at night, helping families understand how much money they could get refunded or owe back.
