You appear to be pretty interested in getting into the accounting field, I say go for it! Getting that accounting certificate is a great idea, but you may still be able to get an accounting job without it, so go ahead and apply anyway. Just let the employer know you are considering school as well.
Being an entry-level accounting clerk myself, here are the three personal characteristics that are a must:
1). Numerical Literacy: You should comfortable adding and subtracting three, four, and five digit numbers.
2). Independent and Disciplined Worker: Your first job is likely going to be either as an Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable Clerk. As such, you are going to have a huge stack of invoices / bill payment to record into the company's accounting system, possibly Quickbooks. If you slack off, those stacks only get bigger, so you need to be diligent throughout the entire day. Your performance reviews may even hinge how quickly you can process those transactions.
3). Enjoy Routine: Needless to say that you will be doing the same thing month to month. If you like the idea of making sense of a scattered mess only to have another mess pile up, then a job like this is for you :)
If you would like to take a look at some job descriptions to get a better sense of what kind of a job you might want, I have a website with accounting job descriptions...
http://www.learn-basic-accounting.com/accounting-job-description.html Enjoy your job search!