Enroll in a community college continuing education course. Continuing education classes are short-term single classes, as compared to a long college program, and usually don't require a degree or specialized education prerequisites. For example, Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina, offers accounting and bookkeeping topics such as "Quickbooks Pro: Introduction" and "The Basics of Bookkeeping."
Select a beginner's text book, such as "Schaum's Outline of Bookkeeping and Accounting" by Joel Lerner and Rajul Gokarn, "Bookkeeping for Dummies" by Lita Epstein, "Alpha Teach Yourself Bookkeeping in 24 Hours" by Carol Costa or "Accounting Made Simple" by Mike Piper. Books may be read at your own pace and are available from online retailers such as Borders, Amazon or Book Closeouts or standard book stores.
Earn a bachelor's degree in accounting, usually through a traditional four-year college program (some degrees are available online). This is usually the minimum requirement for a business looking to hire an accountant; students in a program like the one at Saint Peter's College take courses such as accounting, auditing, business finance, cost accounting, statistics, corporate finance and financial management. Each school has a variety of requirements, such as a high school diploma or GED.
Join an industry organization, such as the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB). These groups offer membership databases, conferences and seminars, job databases, tips and continuing education, such as the AIPB's offerings on "Mastering Inventory," "Mastering the Statement of Cash Flows" and "Mastering Double-Entry Bookkeeping." You may be able to contact someone within the group close to you to serve as a mentor or search the group's job openings to find one paying the salary you're interested in.