To the OP,
I think the first step would be simply start reading the Wall Street Journal and the business section of the nearest large city from where you live. You should read them both for about 1/2 to an hour each day, on a variety of topics. Or Fortune, Forbes, or Bloomberg BusinessWeek. You don't have to read them cover to cover, but you should get used to reading business literature on a daily basis. The Online subscriptions are not that expensive and well worth it.
I find this is a good screening mechanism because successful accountants really like business and how businesses operate. If you find the WSJ too boring and can't do it, it is a very bad sign because to accountants, those periodicals are like People Magazine compared to the dry materials we read to stay current (i.e. CCH, Tax Analysts, BNA, etc.).
After that, go out to lunch with a few accountants (corporate, audit firm, sole practitioner) and ask them about what they do and if they like it. This will give you a sense of whether it is something that you'd like to do. That stuff you did is paraprofessional bookkeeping type work and, honestly, that's mostly glorified data entry. That's not what professional accountants do and an associates degree is not necessary to do professional level accounting work. If you can't find someone, call your local CPA society or the alumni office of your undergraduate college.
The next step would be to take Introductory Accounting I and II and Statistical Math (if you haven't done it, skip if you would be comfortable with statistical sampling) at your local community college. These courses are almost always offered at night because the professors are usually adjuncts that are local CPAs. Get to know your professors and ask them lots of advice. If you haven't taken Intro to Microeconomics or Macroeconomics, I'd take those as well, or do a self study on my own.
If after that, you still want to be an accountant, then you should apply for a 2 year full-time or 3 year part-time Master's of Accounting program. You have to take the GMAT, but these programs are not usually that difficult to get into, even at top schools like U. of Michigan. The part-time programs are going to be in big cities. The schools should be accredited by the AACSB. This is about the top 400 or so business schools and most major corporations concentrate their on-campus recruiting at these schools.
I'd be wary of pure on-line programs because as someone that is completely new to accounting, you'll really need to build your network. You do that through your classmates, professors, and alumni. It is much easier at a brick and mortar school. As a pure on-line student, you'll have very limited access to on campus recruiting programs, and that's where the best entry level positions are available.
As for part-time or full-time, that's something you'll have to balance. As for the quality of the school, it does matter. The best employers with the best jobs recruit the best students at the best schools. Yes, top students at mediocre or no-name schools can get work at the top accounting firms, but it is much harder than at the best schools. A big school like U. of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M will place 25% of their class at the top firms and 75-90% of their respective classes will get very good entry level accounting jobs that will lead to a career. A no-name school might only get 25% of its class with similar jobs. So you'll have to balance prestige, opportunity, convenience, family, cost, etc.
But if you really believe in yourself and think you'll work very hard, I'd go for the best school full-time, balancing cost and location. The public accounting report has the most accurate accounting school rankings:
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/news/docu...chRankings.pdf I have worked with accountants from just about all of these colleges in my Big 4 and Fortune 500 career, outside of Ball St. and Middle Tennessee State.
A 2 year accounting masters will make you eligible to sit for the CPA exam, but the focus should getting an entry level job first (usually through an internship). The employer than can later pay you for your CPA review course and exam fees.
The path above is what the people who I knew in big firms and corporations who had non-business related undergrads did to get into a good career path in accounting.
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