Enrolled agent (IRS tax professional) — 5 out of 5 stars

• What it is: A federally licensed tax practitioner: preparing returns and — the powerful part — representing taxpayers before the IRS in audits, appeals, and collections. Enrolled agents are the only federally licensed tax representatives; CPAs are state-licensed and lawyers are court-licensed.
• Certificate or training: The IRS Special Enrollment Examination — three exams covering individuals, businesses, and representation. No degree, no experience prerequisite: pass the exams, pass a background check, and the IRS licenses you.
• Cost to get qualified: $600–$1,500 for exam fees and a prep course
• Time to job-ready: 6–12 months of part-time study for all three parts
• Typical pay: $45,000–$75,000+ a year; experienced agents with their own practice earn well beyond that
• Why it works for a blind person: Tax work is documents, numbers, and phone calls with the IRS — all text and voice. Your license is federal, so your credentials travel anywhere, and clients buy judgment, not eyesight.

Job 23 of 100 · Money, numbers, and office

Start here, step by step

1. Learn the words first: an enrolled agent (EA) is licensed by the IRS to prepare taxes and represent clients before it. Representation means you can speak for a client in an audit — a right preparers without the license do not have.
2. Start with seasons: work one tax season as a preparer (see the tax preparer entry) while studying — income now, and the exams get easier with real returns under your hands.
3. Study the three exam parts with a reputable prep course; confirm its platform works with your screen reader before paying. The IRS grants testing accommodations — request them when scheduling.
4. Pass all three parts and the IRS suitability check, then register and get your preparer tax ID if you do not already have one.
5. Choose your arena: established firms hire EAs year-round for resolution work (audits and back taxes — the best-paid, least seasonal work), or build your own practice season by season.
6. Renew by continuing education each cycle and consider specializing — representation and tax resolution clients pay premium rates and rarely leave.

How AI can help

Use AI to research routine questions, draft client explanations of IRS notices in plain language, and keep up with annual changes. AI cannot sign a return as a licensed practitioner or sit across from the IRS for your client — the license and the liability are yours, and clients pay for exactly that.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A federal license with no degree gate, year-round demand, premium resolution work, and total portability — one of only two five-star entries in this section. The honest cost is real study: three hard exams. Nothing else stands between a beginner and this license but the work.

Pros and cons — the honest version

Pros

• Federal license — no degree, no state-by-state limits
• Representation rights make you scarce and well paid
• Year-round resolution work smooths the tax-season spike

Cons

• Three genuinely demanding exams
• Continuing education is mandatory to keep the license
• Clients bring you their worst financial news — composure required