I'm a CPA. My path: 4 years college to get accounting degree; worked 6 years in public accounting, primarily audit, some tax, moved cross country and worked 6 months public accounting. Didn't mesh with the firm, so got out. Little over a year now in internal audit for private company.
Pay is better in private. I got the biggest bonus of my life after working for 6 months here, and it'll be double this year. Hours vary. Public accounting is notorious for long hours and burn out, the Big 4 firms chew up and spit out entry level kids. Private accounting has a huge variation. Some places it's long hours, high stress, etc, but other places it's not. Even within the same company it can vary widely. Also depends on what you're doing.
CPA license tends to open doors. Plenty of places require it, even though it's not really needed.
You NEED a CPA license to do external audit. Literally can't get promoted past a certain point. It's almost mandatory if you're in public accounting.
However, most of the grunt work of accounting is done by people with associate or bachelors degrees, no license. You can get steady work doing payroll, AP, AR, general ledger, etc. It follows a pattern, and your hours and workload will as well. A license will help you get into the supervisory and management levels.