Salaries for Accountants have been on the rise due to competition amongst employers looking for anyone with an accounting degree. This has caused a lack of accountants returning to teaching or researching as the wages are significantly less. For example a 'Lecturer B' classification which requires a master's degree and work on a PhD starts from $62,500. In business, someone with more than a few years of experience without a masters or PhD degree could expect a salary of $120,000.

A lack of teaching staff in accounting in combination with the growing number of students signing up for accounting courses is leading to pressure being felt by Universities with some advertising for six accounting lecturers at a time.

A contributing factor to the lack of graduates returning to teaching roles is the job-focused nature of the course itself. However, there are rewards to be found in teaching that the big pay packets of the big firms can not match.

(Taken from The Age, 8 July, My Career, p2)