Accountants and auditors are continuing to leave their jobs in droves and efforts to fill the gaps are falling short, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Three hundred thousand U.S. accountants and auditors have left their jobs in the past two years, a 17 percent decline, the Journal reported. That situation is exacerbated by a number of factors, such as a large number of departures or retirements by those in the millennial and baby boomer age cohorts, experienced accountants moving into finance and technology jobs, accounting graduates choosing not to go into the field. There are also fewer numbers of accounting graduates, according to the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)’s latest Trends Report.

In response, employers have resorted to offering higher salaries and using temporary workers. But the shortage will persist for some time, employers and recruiters told the Journal.

A Clemson University accounting grad told the Journal that, as much as he enjoyed his data analysis class, he chose not to go into public accounting after attending a Big Four recruiting event. “I was a little scared of it, not going to lie,” he said, referring to the 70- and 80-hour weeks that are common during busy seasons. “I don’t know if I want to do all that.” Instead, he is considering opportunities with the military.

The firm’s CEO, Paul Knopp, has been recruiting on college campuses. “The accounting degree is an incredible, powerful tool to help you succeed longer term in the business world,” he told the Journal. 

One of the problems with attracting people to the profession, according to professors interviewed by the Journal, is that accounting graduates are attracted to industries that pay more up front, such as consulting and banking.

“[W]hen you’re 19 years old, you don’t think about 10 years from now or even five years from now,” Accounting Professor Steven Kachelmeier of the University of Texas at Austin told the Journal. “You think about right now.”

Other potential obstacles are the extra credit hours and additional costs needed to earn CPA licensure. One Big Four firm has partnered with a university to address that.

PwC and St. Peter’s University in Jersey City, N.J. have a pilot project in which some students can get the 30 extra college credits needed beyond the typical 120-credit undergraduate degree by working at the firm. The company pays the tuition and the students during that time.

One recruiter told the Journal that the profession has an image problem.

Accounting “suffers from a stigma that it is uncool, with tedious work and daunting hours,” said Keith Wolf of recruiting firm Murray Resources. He added that, with so many options for talented students, “Why pursue a much more difficult path?”