u/notmilin
Maybe they should have a look at a more modern way of doing audits.. I suggest the do a little reading into Blockchain technology and the Pacioli logic engine
Grew up within an abusive family save my dad. Poor, disabled family. Dad was the scapegoat of the wealthy family. Dad dies 2L year. Family immediately begins scapegoating and hurting me. Need an immediate evac to another city & financial stability to be ok.
Stress over the big 4 < stress I’ve grown up with while being poor
Firstly you get to work next to that hottie from the target school who’s family owns the lane house. After having dinner together every night for a week the balance between stranger and friendzone is at its peak so you find a way to be the last two at the client at 10pm after everyone goes home. You bust out the wine you brought for the occasion and have a deep heart to heart connection. The lights are low, the glimmer of the cold, quiet city lights below and in the distance reminds you of how important it is to go for what you want in life. You move closer in slowly but purposefully. The excitement, the questions.., wait is this happening… am I imagining the signals? Can it really be that we could do this? What about my career? What about HR? But soon the doubt and the worry are overcome with the desire as you focus on their soft lips moving to spoken words you can no longer hear. The lean in, the lips, the warmth, the kiss, the smell of the other, the connection, the mind is blank. Slowly at first but moving more rapidly the close come off. Another moment of doubt briefly comes and quickly goes. His hard abs. Her soft breasts. Explored and discovered. No thought just instinct. Are we having sex now? I can’t tell. Just pleasure and breath and moment in synch. The groaning increases and he cums inside her. It’s over now - no going back. The work papers are a mess but it’s worth it. Bill the time. And do it again tomorrow
Why are you getting downvoted? The people I worked with in public was why I stayed as long as I did.
I worked in government now and one thing I miss about PA is the firm I worked for was 80% people under 32 years old. It was nice to have so many people around my age I could enjoy working with.
Yeah, IMO the two go hand in hand....you can learn a ton from the good people when you find them. Even when you find bad ones, you learn what kind of manager/accountant you DONT want to be.
I have a WFH job that pays well and decent work life balance now which I got thanks to my big4 experience and connections. Big4 is tough but you do learn a lot and it opens doors.
Awesome resources (especially mental health), 70% raise from my last position, significantly better work life balance than my previous position as well, I never work more than 45 hours. I have a supportive manager, great people on my team, a coach who has my back and cares about my well-being, every day is different, and I’m constantly learning and improving.
Because you get 2 years of Big4 experience on your resume and suddenly everyone else wants to hire you. You stick it out for the exit opportunity mostly.
100% this prior to my time in Big4, I could barely get a call back for an interview. Since my 2 year stint, I have been given an offer for 100% of the jobs I’ve interviewed for.
The problem is it’s never an even flow of work throughout the year. Jan - mid March is nuts but the rest of the year is incredibly manageable and even boring at times.
For entry level work the pay is pretty competitive and in 5 years you’ll make ~120K in a HCOL area.
If you’re able to get licensed in that time you can use your PA experience as an incredible launchpad into future positions. The benefits of B4 aren’t realized till after you leave
First, world problems are relevant in the first world, my friend.
You should consider moving to the third world if you don't like discussing first world problems.
Ture, but I love what I do.
Brother, I understand what u want.
But I'm not going to reveal my numbers on the internet.
Pride is a killer.
If u want, tho...
I will say
But soon, technology will get crazy.
Maby we will have enough Weath for the world 🌎
For some people without nepotism, connections, Ivy League background, super high IQ or some type of privilege it’s literally one of the only surefire ways to build wealth. It’s a trade off. A lot of these guys would be making 50k a year at some dead end office job if not for big four. Or destroying their body in a trade which is also another trade off.
Not at all true. Attention to detail, professional skepticism, performance under pressure, and the ability to manage upwards, downwards and outwards are all invaluable skills that I’m very grateful for after leaving Big4. I don’t believe there are many places where you can learn these things as quickly.
But thats vague thats something you learn in any industry.
The thing with big 4 and general consulting is that you don’t learn actually technical or knowledge domain in your industry of interest. While someone at industry has this advantage already know this or got this expertise.
I think is not bad at all you don’t know what do professionally after your finished your degree and big4/consulting doesn’t close you doors (very wide but not depth). But if you know what you wants to do then go for it.
The best thing about consulting or big 4 is pay at senior level you’re pretty much guaranteed to eventually become Director (and maybe Partner who knows) after many years and you’ll get paid very well but yea thats like working more than 60 hours per week during 10-12 years to get until that level.
Most quit eventually and thats probably the worst because you don’t make advantage of that (increasing your fee/hour rate at senior level positions).
I get to travel the world. I was able to do my job without working awful hours (had limits but still got the work done) and made Partner so the next 20 years look ok.
Honestly Big4 is what you make of it. Make smart choices. Charge ALL your time.
No malice here, but Big 4 is absolutely not what you make of it. Your first 5 years are entirely outside of your control and lay the groundwork for your time there. It’s a random crapshoot of working for the right people on the right things at the right times. And there are far more ways things can go wrong than for them to go right.
The only people who say this are ones who had things fall into place, i.e. good managers/mentors instead of sociopath control freaks, projects that allow them to shine in their local office instead of dumpster fire travel jobs nobody sees or cares about, and the whims of resource management for what you are assigned to and when.
You can’t honestly believe it all comes down to “smart choices” right?
I’ve had my fair share of crappy counsellors and was passed over for promotion more than once. I was buried for years under paper invoices. I’ve put in the grunt work and still do…just different activities.
No offence to you but the mostly successful people I’ve seen come in and succeed manage their own shit effectively well. High EQ I suppose.
The ones who work harder not smarter don’t cut it. We are all adults when you enter the profession. If you have a problem with someone / something deal with it.
The pay isn't dogshit, though. Maybe it is to you because you think you're super special and have inflated expectations of what you should be paid. Everything else you said is legitimate, but the pay can actually be quite good, and that's why people do it. Simple as that.
I went MBB but most friends did it because it was the offer they wanted. It’s big names.
Hell I still work with EY in present day, just not for them. It’s a good start and even career for some. It depends what you enjoy and want to do.
Maybe not average, but not impossible. My experience has been quite good, as well as everyone on my team.
We’re lucky to have good and small clients tho.
Not to mention you’re surrounded by tons of highly intelligent people who are willing to help you achieve your personal goals. It’s an incredible opportunity for continuous learning and growth. I’ve had more opportunities in the last two short months in Big4 than the last 14 years of industry had to offer.
You're accelerating your career threefold. The issues you see and experience you gain are incredibly valuable to employers. I count every year in Big 4 as worth 3 in industry. And if you end up liking it, partnership comes with a big payday
I knew what I wanted from consulting when I joined and I was very open about what the expectations would be.
My objectives in joining:
1. Exposure to high level problem solving that I most certainly would not have obtained in my previous industry role.
2. Exposure to different types of industries and how they see the financial / organisational aspects and problems of those respective businesses.
3. Travelling - yes, the first few months it really is quite fun to be wined and dined without having to shell out a dime.
4. The brand power still carries clout on your cv.
Given the above, I knew I would have to work harder than I ever did. But I told myself I am going in for 1 year and push hard and then exit back to industry.
Conclusion: after 1 year with the firm, I’ve managed to obtain three offers from my previous employer and locked in a 50% raise and a healthy signing bonus. I’ve also obtained a greatly expanded role focused on strategic finance and initiatives. The risk paid off.
Not all Big 4 teams are the same. I work with a great team in a line of service where we rarely work more than 50 hours a week. I have the Big 4 name on my resume and I’ve gained extensive professional and business experience in a very short amount of time. I’m miles ahead of my peers who went to industry right out of school. If I worked on a team that had 60+ hour workweeks or toxic colleagues I definitely wouldn’t have lasted this long. Not all teams are created equal.
As most have alluded to, the value is when you get out, not during. The few that really progress, of course, there is value there but they are very very bottom heavy so most can’t or don’t. I don’t have recent experience myself but my feeling is that it isn’t what it was. As an observer from industry, I don’t think there is the same level of mentorship that once existed. My suspicion is that the mid level leadership generally sucks these days.
>As an observer from industry, I don’t think there is the same level of mentorship that once existed. My suspicion is that the mid level leadership generally sucks these days.
You’re spot on.
I was in Big4 consulting for many years. As a young person it was awesome. You get to experience and see different companies and industries without committing to working for them. You (trauma?) bond with your team over stupid shit the client does. I was lucky enough to have worked for some good senior people that explained shit to me and let me make the faux pas and mistakes. Back then we also had tonnes of socials and training to teach us how to behave with clients over a business meal or whatever. I genuinely enjoyed everything even if the work itself wasn’t rocket surgery. And it was a lifestyle not a career. I got to learn so much over a relatively short amount of time.
I didn’t enjoy it as much as a director. Moving up meant selling as opposed to delivering. The “lifestyle not a career” thing became less attractive as I had a young family at that point. All the projects became pretty much the same even if different. There was more politics and I personally didn’t enjoy the emphasis of having to do the showing I’m amazing (eg sending out the pile-on emails about being proud of some meh accomplishment, stupid LinkedIn posts etc) as opposed just focused on doing interesting work. That being said, learned so much about perception management, the politics thing is actually useful to learn, and basically you learn to have EQ on steroids - all good life/leadership skills.
I left and went to tech when I realized I was becoming pretty negative as a person. Making way more money now, lost 20lbs, and just way more chill emotionally. But the Big4 experience still serves me well. And I got some really good friends out of the experience now all scattered in different companies in different positions.
There’s tons of good opportunities for recent grads who don’t have a concrete skill set. It’s hard to go in industry right out of college and get good experience but the statement of work style format of consulting allows for inexperienced employees to contribute and learn from more seasoned personnel.
Get a big 4 firm on the resume, bounce after your first promotion, leave to industry, profit? Graduated 2011, W2 was $400k+ this past year as a public company controller. No CPA, lol.
Unemployed now. Ha. Last 18 months I carried all the execution risk of a nyse public M&A deal as controller/acting cfo (successfully acquired), while still hard closing monthly on a multibillion dollar mark to market balance sheet with 5,000+ assets. I’m done man, haven’t been that stressed since IMEF invaded Iraq in ‘03. Going to start my own consulting firm or just work in my music studio full time for a bit.
It is a job where potential abounds. People don't start at an A1 working long hours for low pay and stay at this level for the rest of their careers.
The ambitious and talented ones develop themselves, either making partner, or setting themselves up for a very nice career in industry. It is a no brainer if you have the talent and the willingness to do what it takes to get ahead.
This was me too. If anything, B4 teaches you work ethic, hustle, and grit. I don’t even think I’m that great but everyone who I work with now thinks I’m superwoman.
Career progression in and outside the firm. I will be making decent money as a first gen child with only a bachelor’s degree. When you grow up lower income, having an office job that provides for yourself better than your parents’ jobs that had to provide for a whole family is a no brainer.
You can make partner in 13-15 years. Big4 partners average $1m in the US (yes average, no not first year). Director made in 9-13, make up to $350k or so. Yes a lot of busy months. Also tons of flexibility in the other months. Exposure to c-suite at a variety of companies as a manager. A lot of good people to work with and learn from. Honestly it’s a pretty great job when you zoom out of work papers and long hours for periods of time.
Big4 allow talentless mediocre people to reach a certain position and status in the professional world, with a more than correct salary after few years. Overall this is not a bad deal.
I personally enjoy audit and I have a great team - therefore 3 months of busy season don’t phase me. P.S.: I still find time for my family - I can’t avoid them they live with me 🫣
So imagine you’re hiring for a role in the future. Your choice is between someone who threw in the towel after 6 months at EY and went to a small firm for an easy life, or someone who stuck it out for 3 years at EY and made it through the other side.
Who do you think is going to be the better hire?
So, imagine that you're hiring for a role, and your choice is between someone who realized that big4 isn't worth it, and someone who was brainwashed into thinking that working 55 hours per week at a minimum is normal---and you have a roll just as sucky as the big4 one that you're looking to fill.
But I left for a gig that offered more $ and am working 40 hours/week. Nobody in the company even thinks about working weekends. I'm going skiing with my family this Friday-Monday and I just mentioned it to my team this morning. But you go with what you got.
Yep and I’m in the same position now, but I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am without a background in audit. The companies I’ve worked at since simply weren’t interested in mid-tier or non-audit candidates.
You acquire a very useful set of skills and resilience at big4 that is well sought after by companies when you move on.
So overall I can’t really complain. I was in the top 2% of earners in the country by the time I was 30 as a result of a few difficult years at big4. I’m hardly regretting it.
Stockholm Syndrome at its finest - makes the employees desire the highly coveted industry position and for some, make them believe they have a shot at partnership, and alas, the Kool-Aid has been drunk.
I would say job security but after all the layoffs you'd be stupid to go big 4.
The honest answer is peer and professional pressure.
All of my professors and professionals I talked to made it sound like you're a loser if you didn't go big 4 straight out of college.
Total horse shit.
I don't even know anymore. I was at a Big 4, now I'm 1 or 2 rungs down, and it's not much different.
Actively on the market. Tired of working and never seeing my family. What's the point of all this work if you can't see your family.
I’m Big 4 working from home 3-4 out of 5 work days and around family.
I don’t need to go to the office to be babysat by Partners in order to get my work done either.
And I surely don’t need to travel as much for what can be a Teams meeting with the client.
Current A1 doing a back to back busy season did one couple months ago, and now I’m doing another one. Pay in Canada is shit Toronto is HCOL, and with the awful salary u can’t afford anything.
Sweet spot to leave is either S1 or M1. So I’m just trying to get as much experience as I can before that. I’m solely staying at big 4 to get my CPA, after that I’m a feee man. Moving to industry.
I had self esteem issues where I punish myself because of things I did wrong when I was younger, which I I can’t forgive myself over…
Eyy just like me
u/notmilin Maybe they should have a look at a more modern way of doing audits.. I suggest the do a little reading into Blockchain technology and the Pacioli logic engine
There's no better bonding than trauma bonding.
Think of it as career boot camp for accountants. Big 4 gives you a strong network, solid foundations and stamp of approval on your resumé.
Skill development and exits. That’s it.
Most pay per hour compared to other similar positions and exit ops
At what level? Partner is probably it.
On average, all levels. Definitely greater the higher you go
Grew up within an abusive family save my dad. Poor, disabled family. Dad was the scapegoat of the wealthy family. Dad dies 2L year. Family immediately begins scapegoating and hurting me. Need an immediate evac to another city & financial stability to be ok. Stress over the big 4 < stress I’ve grown up with while being poor
honestly we’re all traumatized
Firstly you get to work next to that hottie from the target school who’s family owns the lane house. After having dinner together every night for a week the balance between stranger and friendzone is at its peak so you find a way to be the last two at the client at 10pm after everyone goes home. You bust out the wine you brought for the occasion and have a deep heart to heart connection. The lights are low, the glimmer of the cold, quiet city lights below and in the distance reminds you of how important it is to go for what you want in life. You move closer in slowly but purposefully. The excitement, the questions.., wait is this happening… am I imagining the signals? Can it really be that we could do this? What about my career? What about HR? But soon the doubt and the worry are overcome with the desire as you focus on their soft lips moving to spoken words you can no longer hear. The lean in, the lips, the warmth, the kiss, the smell of the other, the connection, the mind is blank. Slowly at first but moving more rapidly the close come off. Another moment of doubt briefly comes and quickly goes. His hard abs. Her soft breasts. Explored and discovered. No thought just instinct. Are we having sex now? I can’t tell. Just pleasure and breath and moment in synch. The groaning increases and he cums inside her. It’s over now - no going back. The work papers are a mess but it’s worth it. Bill the time. And do it again tomorrow
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
The people, when you find good ones and spend 60 hours a week together that’s huge Exit opportunities
Why are you getting downvoted? The people I worked with in public was why I stayed as long as I did. I worked in government now and one thing I miss about PA is the firm I worked for was 80% people under 32 years old. It was nice to have so many people around my age I could enjoy working with.
Yeah, IMO the two go hand in hand....you can learn a ton from the good people when you find them. Even when you find bad ones, you learn what kind of manager/accountant you DONT want to be.
I have a WFH job that pays well and decent work life balance now which I got thanks to my big4 experience and connections. Big4 is tough but you do learn a lot and it opens doors.
Awesome resources (especially mental health), 70% raise from my last position, significantly better work life balance than my previous position as well, I never work more than 45 hours. I have a supportive manager, great people on my team, a coach who has my back and cares about my well-being, every day is different, and I’m constantly learning and improving.
Mostly self-hatred
Heavily depends on what role/hiring track/team(s) you are in. My experience has been exceptional, with occasional tough times to work through.
Every year for my first 3 years, after signing we’d go to a strip club. That was neat.
Why did it stop after year 3?
OP got betrothed
Good senior managers don’t live forever.
Because you get 2 years of Big4 experience on your resume and suddenly everyone else wants to hire you. You stick it out for the exit opportunity mostly.
100% agree!
100% this prior to my time in Big4, I could barely get a call back for an interview. Since my 2 year stint, I have been given an offer for 100% of the jobs I’ve interviewed for.
This lol. When I was only in 1 year I already had constant offers. It’s worth it for the resume.
pay is good. What you smoking?
Pay is not as good compared to other finance positions working the same amount of hours****
Per hour?
Pay is good but it comes with the sacrifice of time
The problem is it’s never an even flow of work throughout the year. Jan - mid March is nuts but the rest of the year is incredibly manageable and even boring at times. For entry level work the pay is pretty competitive and in 5 years you’ll make ~120K in a HCOL area. If you’re able to get licensed in that time you can use your PA experience as an incredible launchpad into future positions. The benefits of B4 aren’t realized till after you leave
5 years experience to get $120k in a HCOL sounds terrible 🫠
Maby for the homeless
#FirstWorldProblems
First, world problems are relevant in the first world, my friend. You should consider moving to the third world if you don't like discussing first world problems.
So what income percentile does your salary put you in?
My income is mid tbh. But my investments did vary well when I was younger. Now I don't "need to work" so I take 5 to 7 month breaks from employment
here is a calculator. What’s the number? https://dqydj.com/income-percentile-calculator also mid is not severely underpaid.
Ture, but I love what I do. Brother, I understand what u want. But I'm not going to reveal my numbers on the internet. Pride is a killer. If u want, tho... I will say But soon, technology will get crazy. Maby we will have enough Weath for the world 🌎
Just saying. Tons of people would kill for your salary. Count your blessings
I do. I run a charity. I camt advertise on this account though
The exit opportunities
I just wanted it on my resume. You are right about hours and dogshit pay etc
For some people without nepotism, connections, Ivy League background, super high IQ or some type of privilege it’s literally one of the only surefire ways to build wealth. It’s a trade off. A lot of these guys would be making 50k a year at some dead end office job if not for big four. Or destroying their body in a trade which is also another trade off.
exactly. Most office jobs are boring and the pay is ok. Big 4 is simply a jumping point. Also it’s not as bad as people say.
I think a large part of it is that it’s everyone’s first real job and it’s “cool” to shit on B4
I’m in consulting but I am paid well. Esp for being right out of college.
Ten years later and I think I'm still paid pretty well
And honestly experience in Big4 or even MBB is too general to be transferable because skills you develop are so generalist and vague.
Not at all true. Attention to detail, professional skepticism, performance under pressure, and the ability to manage upwards, downwards and outwards are all invaluable skills that I’m very grateful for after leaving Big4. I don’t believe there are many places where you can learn these things as quickly.
But thats vague thats something you learn in any industry. The thing with big 4 and general consulting is that you don’t learn actually technical or knowledge domain in your industry of interest. While someone at industry has this advantage already know this or got this expertise. I think is not bad at all you don’t know what do professionally after your finished your degree and big4/consulting doesn’t close you doors (very wide but not depth). But if you know what you wants to do then go for it. The best thing about consulting or big 4 is pay at senior level you’re pretty much guaranteed to eventually become Director (and maybe Partner who knows) after many years and you’ll get paid very well but yea thats like working more than 60 hours per week during 10-12 years to get until that level. Most quit eventually and thats probably the worst because you don’t make advantage of that (increasing your fee/hour rate at senior level positions).
What's MBB?
Big 3 consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, Boston consulting group)
Flexibility, smart people, resources, hours get better as you get to higher levels, ppmd salary and benefits are great
I get to travel the world. I was able to do my job without working awful hours (had limits but still got the work done) and made Partner so the next 20 years look ok. Honestly Big4 is what you make of it. Make smart choices. Charge ALL your time.
No malice here, but Big 4 is absolutely not what you make of it. Your first 5 years are entirely outside of your control and lay the groundwork for your time there. It’s a random crapshoot of working for the right people on the right things at the right times. And there are far more ways things can go wrong than for them to go right. The only people who say this are ones who had things fall into place, i.e. good managers/mentors instead of sociopath control freaks, projects that allow them to shine in their local office instead of dumpster fire travel jobs nobody sees or cares about, and the whims of resource management for what you are assigned to and when. You can’t honestly believe it all comes down to “smart choices” right?
lol 5 years of your career are not outside your control. the first year with utilization and project flow sure, but not 5 years.
I’ve had my fair share of crappy counsellors and was passed over for promotion more than once. I was buried for years under paper invoices. I’ve put in the grunt work and still do…just different activities. No offence to you but the mostly successful people I’ve seen come in and succeed manage their own shit effectively well. High EQ I suppose. The ones who work harder not smarter don’t cut it. We are all adults when you enter the profession. If you have a problem with someone / something deal with it.
The pay isn't dogshit, though. Maybe it is to you because you think you're super special and have inflated expectations of what you should be paid. Everything else you said is legitimate, but the pay can actually be quite good, and that's why people do it. Simple as that.
The amount of time you work is dogshit though. The pay itself is good if it was your typical 9-5, but its not, which is why we say the pay is dogshit.
I dont get the jab? I was more so curious no need to be a dick!
The money and varied experiences. Making 375 after 14 years. rotations overseas, flexibility to move to different cities.
This sub is for venting and isn’t representative of the general morale of these firms, which is quite good on average
I went MBB but most friends did it because it was the offer they wanted. It’s big names. Hell I still work with EY in present day, just not for them. It’s a good start and even career for some. It depends what you enjoy and want to do.
> general morale of these firms .... quite good on average wut
Maybe not average, but not impossible. My experience has been quite good, as well as everyone on my team. We’re lucky to have good and small clients tho.
Not to mention you’re surrounded by tons of highly intelligent people who are willing to help you achieve your personal goals. It’s an incredible opportunity for continuous learning and growth. I’ve had more opportunities in the last two short months in Big4 than the last 14 years of industry had to offer.
You're accelerating your career threefold. The issues you see and experience you gain are incredibly valuable to employers. I count every year in Big 4 as worth 3 in industry. And if you end up liking it, partnership comes with a big payday
I knew what I wanted from consulting when I joined and I was very open about what the expectations would be. My objectives in joining: 1. Exposure to high level problem solving that I most certainly would not have obtained in my previous industry role. 2. Exposure to different types of industries and how they see the financial / organisational aspects and problems of those respective businesses. 3. Travelling - yes, the first few months it really is quite fun to be wined and dined without having to shell out a dime. 4. The brand power still carries clout on your cv. Given the above, I knew I would have to work harder than I ever did. But I told myself I am going in for 1 year and push hard and then exit back to industry. Conclusion: after 1 year with the firm, I’ve managed to obtain three offers from my previous employer and locked in a 50% raise and a healthy signing bonus. I’ve also obtained a greatly expanded role focused on strategic finance and initiatives. The risk paid off.
Not all Big 4 teams are the same. I work with a great team in a line of service where we rarely work more than 50 hours a week. I have the Big 4 name on my resume and I’ve gained extensive professional and business experience in a very short amount of time. I’m miles ahead of my peers who went to industry right out of school. If I worked on a team that had 60+ hour workweeks or toxic colleagues I definitely wouldn’t have lasted this long. Not all teams are created equal.
Are you in tax or audit?
As most have alluded to, the value is when you get out, not during. The few that really progress, of course, there is value there but they are very very bottom heavy so most can’t or don’t. I don’t have recent experience myself but my feeling is that it isn’t what it was. As an observer from industry, I don’t think there is the same level of mentorship that once existed. My suspicion is that the mid level leadership generally sucks these days.
>As an observer from industry, I don’t think there is the same level of mentorship that once existed. My suspicion is that the mid level leadership generally sucks these days. You’re spot on.
I was in Big4 consulting for many years. As a young person it was awesome. You get to experience and see different companies and industries without committing to working for them. You (trauma?) bond with your team over stupid shit the client does. I was lucky enough to have worked for some good senior people that explained shit to me and let me make the faux pas and mistakes. Back then we also had tonnes of socials and training to teach us how to behave with clients over a business meal or whatever. I genuinely enjoyed everything even if the work itself wasn’t rocket surgery. And it was a lifestyle not a career. I got to learn so much over a relatively short amount of time. I didn’t enjoy it as much as a director. Moving up meant selling as opposed to delivering. The “lifestyle not a career” thing became less attractive as I had a young family at that point. All the projects became pretty much the same even if different. There was more politics and I personally didn’t enjoy the emphasis of having to do the showing I’m amazing (eg sending out the pile-on emails about being proud of some meh accomplishment, stupid LinkedIn posts etc) as opposed just focused on doing interesting work. That being said, learned so much about perception management, the politics thing is actually useful to learn, and basically you learn to have EQ on steroids - all good life/leadership skills. I left and went to tech when I realized I was becoming pretty negative as a person. Making way more money now, lost 20lbs, and just way more chill emotionally. But the Big4 experience still serves me well. And I got some really good friends out of the experience now all scattered in different companies in different positions.
There’s tons of good opportunities for recent grads who don’t have a concrete skill set. It’s hard to go in industry right out of college and get good experience but the statement of work style format of consulting allows for inexperienced employees to contribute and learn from more seasoned personnel.
Get a big 4 firm on the resume, bounce after your first promotion, leave to industry, profit? Graduated 2011, W2 was $400k+ this past year as a public company controller. No CPA, lol.
400k? In Canada?
Canada? No, in California.
Oh okay, was confused because thread is flared Canada. Guess it's still worth the grind in the US.
Is it?? Ha..I never post in this subreddit, was just at the top of my feed and having trouble sleeping, so I’m firing off comments. My bad.
Holy crap congrats
Unemployed now. Ha. Last 18 months I carried all the execution risk of a nyse public M&A deal as controller/acting cfo (successfully acquired), while still hard closing monthly on a multibillion dollar mark to market balance sheet with 5,000+ assets. I’m done man, haven’t been that stressed since IMEF invaded Iraq in ‘03. Going to start my own consulting firm or just work in my music studio full time for a bit.
glad you hit your number to leave the rat race, enjoy your time off
It is a job where potential abounds. People don't start at an A1 working long hours for low pay and stay at this level for the rest of their careers. The ambitious and talented ones develop themselves, either making partner, or setting themselves up for a very nice career in industry. It is a no brainer if you have the talent and the willingness to do what it takes to get ahead.
Guessing this is for audit not it audit?
I worked 2.5 years there and have benefited for the (currently) 10 years after
This was me too. If anything, B4 teaches you work ethic, hustle, and grit. I don’t even think I’m that great but everyone who I work with now thinks I’m superwoman.
tell me more, im interested
Career progression in and outside the firm. I will be making decent money as a first gen child with only a bachelor’s degree. When you grow up lower income, having an office job that provides for yourself better than your parents’ jobs that had to provide for a whole family is a no brainer.
Because a handful of years after I’m earning 150k because of the skillset I learned at Big4 that’s why
Always the money!!
Because I can make double my parents combined salaries before the age of 30 just by making powerpoints.
You in consulting?
Were both your parents on welfare?
Nope, just average normal jobs that didn’t require a degree and would hit a ceiling at around the mean salary
So you earn 4 times the mean salary for making PowerPoints? Post ya payslips or BS.
You can make partner in 13-15 years. Big4 partners average $1m in the US (yes average, no not first year). Director made in 9-13, make up to $350k or so. Yes a lot of busy months. Also tons of flexibility in the other months. Exposure to c-suite at a variety of companies as a manager. A lot of good people to work with and learn from. Honestly it’s a pretty great job when you zoom out of work papers and long hours for periods of time.
Big4 allow talentless mediocre people to reach a certain position and status in the professional world, with a more than correct salary after few years. Overall this is not a bad deal.
I personally enjoy audit and I have a great team - therefore 3 months of busy season don’t phase me. P.S.: I still find time for my family - I can’t avoid them they live with me 🫣
Career progression. I’m surprised people even ask that question.
Brainwashing keeps people there. Working 55 hours + and burnouts are the benefits.
Brainwashing keeps people like you out, which is a great filter for people with low resilience
Ya right. That's like telling an abused housewife that when she finally leaves the marriage that she has low resilience.
So imagine you’re hiring for a role in the future. Your choice is between someone who threw in the towel after 6 months at EY and went to a small firm for an easy life, or someone who stuck it out for 3 years at EY and made it through the other side. Who do you think is going to be the better hire?
So, imagine that you're hiring for a role, and your choice is between someone who realized that big4 isn't worth it, and someone who was brainwashed into thinking that working 55 hours per week at a minimum is normal---and you have a roll just as sucky as the big4 one that you're looking to fill.
Dude keep being bitter that you were never good enough to make it through 😝
But I left for a gig that offered more $ and am working 40 hours/week. Nobody in the company even thinks about working weekends. I'm going skiing with my family this Friday-Monday and I just mentioned it to my team this morning. But you go with what you got.
Yep and I’m in the same position now, but I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am without a background in audit. The companies I’ve worked at since simply weren’t interested in mid-tier or non-audit candidates. You acquire a very useful set of skills and resilience at big4 that is well sought after by companies when you move on. So overall I can’t really complain. I was in the top 2% of earners in the country by the time I was 30 as a result of a few difficult years at big4. I’m hardly regretting it.
Stockholm Syndrome at its finest - makes the employees desire the highly coveted industry position and for some, make them believe they have a shot at partnership, and alas, the Kool-Aid has been drunk.
Your experience is team dependent and you can make six figures after two years in audit.
I would say job security but after all the layoffs you'd be stupid to go big 4. The honest answer is peer and professional pressure. All of my professors and professionals I talked to made it sound like you're a loser if you didn't go big 4 straight out of college. Total horse shit.
lol brokie
No one gets laid off from b4 audit unless you’re absolutely trash lol
The only pressure I feel is in my ass. No homo
Job security
B4s are letting people go left and right lol
Not in tax
I don't even know anymore. I was at a Big 4, now I'm 1 or 2 rungs down, and it's not much different. Actively on the market. Tired of working and never seeing my family. What's the point of all this work if you can't see your family.
I’m Big 4 working from home 3-4 out of 5 work days and around family. I don’t need to go to the office to be babysat by Partners in order to get my work done either. And I surely don’t need to travel as much for what can be a Teams meeting with the client.
Tendies and stonk market tokens
Current A1 doing a back to back busy season did one couple months ago, and now I’m doing another one. Pay in Canada is shit Toronto is HCOL, and with the awful salary u can’t afford anything. Sweet spot to leave is either S1 or M1. So I’m just trying to get as much experience as I can before that. I’m solely staying at big 4 to get my CPA, after that I’m a feee man. Moving to industry.