Big 4 experience reddit I’m not sure if two years of Big 4 is enough though to jump to the juicy jobs. I made partner at 35, I make slightly closer to $2M than $1M. It also epends on what you want for your life. Some companies will only consider candidates with Big 4 experience. Soon after I joined a different tax manager left. Like you I came from Big 4 in tax, and went to a manager position in industry. If you come from smaller firms, it’s less known how you will function as an employee; could be great, could be bad. During this time, I encountered both incredible and terrible experiences, but ultimately, I ended up in what I consider a really lucky situation. PwC, Deloitte, EY, & KPMG . I had 7 years experience in industry and got into consulting last year. Moved from public sector to Big 4. I’d say the longer you work Big 4 audit the better it looks for an accounting role but the harder it is to move to a non accounting role of similar level. My coworker worked big 4 for 2 years, everything she learned that was valuable in accounting was from that experience. Big 4, will pay for your cpa materials, license, and offer a bonus - that alone is like 7k big 4, gives more vacation, more training, more name on the resume. Get ready for another data point: I’ve worked at three different companies in corp tax roles, and in all three cases, there have been people from Big 4 and national firms with two years experience, and they all start started off as seniors. If you’re a new senior, the opportunity cost may be worth it for a specific group. Don’t ever believe anybody who says big 4 experience doesn’t matter. The big 4 experience can really vary like everyone here has else said. Big 4 experience is not overrated, it’s valuable. Subscribe and be part of the Big 4 community . 0 with some extracurricular activities or part-time work experience, then it's not very hard at all. Aug 30, 2024 · Welcome to r/Big4, a place to discuss everything related to the Big 4 accounting firms: . Absolutely crazy turnaround rate, consultants paid well below national average (started at 43k a year ago few years ago, as a consultant, major pay decrease but considered it a "get paid in experience, and Big 4 name on CSV" deal). Actually due to the timing I got a raise at big 4 in September and then in December and other big raise when I jumped ship. Enjoy your life while still working hard and you’ll find yourself at one of the big 4. In general: Being able to have a much easier job search in the future because of the name on the resume, jumping over candidates that didn’t work in the big 4 in terms of both years and experience. Working outside of consulting will give you low tolerance towards a lot of consulting bs, the (often) atrocious management, and will make drinking the Kool aid a lot harder. In my experience, as long as you’re B4 trained, you will be preferred over non-B4 candidates. Big 4 pays for your study materials (Becker is like $4,000 out-of-pocket…), they give you a bonus ($5,000 at EY) if you pass, and you automatically qualify for the work experience requirement (all you need to do is wait one year). Non Big 4 and Big 4 candidates are equally capable at senior accounting and manager accounting level jobs in industry. Once you are licensed, big 4 or big mid size firms, won’t care about your gpa. My 2 cents. Here are my thoughts about Consulting at Big 4: Pros: - The learning is great. Anyone who says otherwise is still drinking koolaid. Simply put. You can take as much learning as you want, in almost any field you like (Technology, Marketing, Strategy and so on) I don’t consider myself a genius and I didn’t go anywhere close to NYU or Duke. If you want exposure to mid-sized firm or a smaller firm experience, try Big 4 Private accounting. Edit: join an accounting club if your university has one because they are riddled with big four recruiters trying to get people drink the cool aid. outside public accounting so you would be better off by continuing gaining experience outside big 4, get your CPA, if possible a masters degree or certification and trying to get a job at a finance or accounting department of a non-accounting company. General rule of thumb, bigger offices tend to be busier (so more 60/70 hour weeks and multiple busy seasons throughout the year) as opposed to smaller/mid tier offices. I’ve personally experienced it, and I’m pretty damn sure other people did too. The last folks we got who were hired and promoted during the pandemic in B4 don’t have half the experience or knowledge as pre-pandemic seniors. I personally have not been impressed with the recent ex Big 4 people coming to industry. Future employers view big 4 employees as hardworking (due to brutal working hours), reputable, sociable to an extent, and professional. The only people that keep the facade of Big 4 prestige going are ex Big 4. All big 4 have offices in my city. I’m sure you’ve experienced or you heard from fellow friends that recruiters/head hunters definitely go after big 4 staff first. big 4, people are more professional, they wonte be able to get away with mistreating people as much as smaller firms. They have non-listed clients as well. The dream of many big 4 dudes is to find a job in "industry" i. Very valued tbh, it just doesn’t always mean you can easily move to other competitive fields because either everyone has Big 4 experience or you don’t have the right type of experience. Don’t waste your time now and miss out on fun opportunities because you think you aren’t good enough for big 4. Submissions can range from Big 4 news, pros & cons of working in any of the firms, how to get into Big 4, layoffs, and any other stories or questions related to the firms. 1. It was very sink or swim atmosphere. The friendships I built in my Big 4 days remain strong, long after moving to industry. they also usually pay the most starting out. This isn’t saying it’s impossible to get a job without big, reality is big 4 There are Big 4 people that are busts and people without public at all that are awesome, it really depends on the person. You don’t even necessarily need to have all the exams passed, unless your gpa is horrible. 5 year of big 4 experience on my resume before I got laid off this year (advisory) Found an industry job at a private company that pays about the same I was getting at big 4 Is 1. e. I started at a Big 4 (Big 6 at time) and chose to use that experience to come to this firm and start something new about 21 years ago. I have updated my resume and LinkedIn, but before I start to apply to firms, is there any advice you all have? Should I try to network before applying, get a reference, use LinkedIn more in my job search, etc Any advice at all would be helpful, thank you! EDIT: past intern experience: Don’t ever believe anybody who says big 4 experience doesn’t matter. Update your LinkedIn and something will come. Oct 17, 2024 · Another IMPORTANT thing. If you don’t go big 4 you will eliminate yourself from many job opportunity which specifically look for big 4 experience. Cons. Personally, having worked for both B4 and top 10 firms, the main advantage of training with B4 is the perception that you will have been exposed to larger clients and able to put the firm’s needs before your own (read: work 100 hour weeks on the regular). The big 4’s do not always work on large clients. You have many learning resources (which are much more limited in industry). I’ve had two jobs my whole life. My companies salary range was not in line with the current market for people leaving Big 4, especially with the experience my boss desired. Long Hours. This story is about my experience at one of the Big Four firms, where I lasted only one year before deciding to leave. Did big 4 for 5 years and then went back to old firm for a decent raise. For people who are starting in the industry, Big 4 is a safer bet to learning than a small firm imo. Ah yes, the dreaded busy season. You will get to work on all kinds of clients. Once you get a year of a experience at a smaller midsize firm, start applying for experienced hire positions at the big 4. Feb 16, 2021 · Experience at a Big 4 is a seal of approval and will garner a high level of respect over the course of your career. Usually, they have two main areas, Public and Private. It’s no exaggeration to Aug 5, 2024 · I’m in Audit. This goes for most jobs in finance. It is still true overall, but I will say in some areas my industry employer is starting to pull away from B4 as place to recruit from. If that’s a company you want to work for, it might be hard to get in, especially some public filers. If you have big 4 experience you essentially in the running for any job listing and advantage over those that don’t have big 4. Time spent in the big 4 counts double towards years of experience required for a lot of companies in industry. If you go to a big name state university and have a GPA above a 3. 5 years at big 4 good enough for my resume or should I plan on going back later on when the job market gets better? It's how you interpret it. They Yes. Big 4 is stable but currently in the lower paid end of EY (SDC). Sell to employer is: You’re willing to work hard (big4) and able to learn (cpa) Elevate all your options choose what’s best for you As someone who racked up quite a few years of experience before becoming a consultant, I kind of agree, but there is a big catch in this reasoning. I only have 1. However, regardless big 4 provides many more opportunities than mid-tier firms (regardless if you stay or not). Big 4 hours were indeed more. Here is my experience. Had 18 months big 4 exp here Got cpa Got industry (homebuilder) gig good pay great flexibility I had recruiters set up all my interviews. The experience you get, which is a part of the long hours, and skills you hone (client relations, problem solving, working in a team), in Big 4 public accounting would take you twice as long in industry. But the office had a nice camaraderie. This is what I am currently in. Partner track at big 4 or exiting to C-Suite/senior management at a fortune 500 for instance is phenomenally better than your current trajectory. It took us almost a year to fill for a couple of reasons. llj leawr gupn kyyhh efsgt njga mui yygbqk ihcekg lcajm hctp soouc ywchkzyh wzj mqio