[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone,

Right now I have to make a decision about which direction I should go to: a small CPA firm that I am just started working now full time with 45k VS. PWC Winter seasonal job.

Here is little background about my self, I passed my CPA exam on 2011, then I went for my MS in order to fulfill 150crs. Right now I just finished all my finals for graduate school this year and I can apply for the cpa certificate right now. In addition, I got married this year and having baby in about few weeks, my wife will not be working for a while at least 2-3 months

Here are my concerns and hopefully can get some advice:

-I would definitely like to work for PWC because of the name. However it’s only seasonal job, it ends on 4/18/2014, is there a good chance I’ll get full time offer after the seasonal job? If not I’ll have to continue to look for job after 4/18.

-About my current position: the office is a bit old, but people seems to be nice, average age about 40 years old. I feel I can learn a lot of staff from this small firm. It’s more stable.

Which direction I should go? Appreciate any advice.

[Study Monk]

You risk not having a job from 4/15 to 12/31 if you take the PWC job-keep that in mind. Accounting firms in your area may not hire until later in the year to staff up for the next busy season. I also would be surprised if you got OT at either place. I recommend that you insist the small firm start you at $55,000 and if they don't up their offer to at east 50k take your chances with PWC.

To clarify I wasn't saying before that the Big 4 firms can't open doors that small ones don't. I think if you measure all of the benefits including life/work balance they are overrated. People on this site who work at Big 4's in general all have the same plan. Work at Big 4 and leave to private accounting. What a lot of people don't consider is that public accounting can be a great long term career if you find the right firm.

Big 4's mission and philosophy is just an American tragedy. Working at these kind of firms is the closest thing to working in a sweat shop that our society will allow. PWC is basically telling Erictax that they don't want to invest in him and would prefer to use him and then throw him out.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

You risk not having a job from 4/15 to 12/31 if you take the PWC job-keep that in mind. Accounting firms in your area may not hire until later in the year to staff up for the next busy season. I also would be surprised if you got OT at either place. I recommend that you insist the small firm start you at $55,000 and if they don't up their offer to at east 50k take your chances with PWC.

To clarify I wasn't saying before that the Big 4 firms can't open doors that small ones don't. I think if you measure all of the benefits including life/work balance they are overrated. People on this site who work at Big 4's in general all have the same plan. Work at Big 4 and leave to private accounting. What a lot of people don't consider is that public accounting can be a great long term career if you find the right firm.

Big 4's mission and philosophy is just an American tragedy. Working at these kind of firms is the closest thing to working in a sweat shop that our society will allow. PWC is basically telling Erictax that they don't want to invest in him and would prefer to use him and then throw him out.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Anonymous]

study monk, i appreciate your input, i felt the same way, 45k with ms and cpa is very low salary. Not to mention i have about 3 years working in small cpa firm. i'll ask my current boss to at least get me to 50k next week, otherwise i'll go for pwc

[Anonymous]

study monk, i appreciate your input, i felt the same way, 45k with ms and cpa is very low salary. Not to mention i have about 3 years working in small cpa firm. i'll ask my current boss to at least get me to 50k next week, otherwise i'll go for pwc

[hjc]

As a current PwC employee, I can attest that it is a great company to work for. I have seen us bring in seasonal employees that ended up getting full time positions but it's not guaranteed. There needs to be (1) business need and (2) your performance. What department are you working for?

[hjc]

As a current PwC employee, I can attest that it is a great company to work for. I have seen us bring in seasonal employees that ended up getting full time positions but it's not guaranteed. There needs to be (1) business need and (2) your performance. What department are you working for?

[Anonymous]

hjc, thank you for sharing some inside info with me, it's good to hear they do keep seasonal workers. I will be working for real estate tax department in nyc office in midtown. By the way, where do you work?

[Anonymous]

hjc, thank you for sharing some inside info with me, it's good to hear they do keep seasonal workers. I will be working for real estate tax department in nyc office in midtown. By the way, where do you work?

[hjc]

I had a friend that worked in that dept in NYC. She ended up going into the private sector. I hope that will not discourage you from considering. I would definitely consider all options and see what is best for you. I would take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt. You never really know what's best until you actually try it. Some people love the big 4 and some don't. Your decision should not be deter by other experiences or opinions. Personally, I think pwc opens up a lot of different avenues. I'm in risk assurance in the Florida market. I know we are always looking for people

[hjc]

I had a friend that worked in that dept in NYC. She ended up going into the private sector. I hope that will not discourage you from considering. I would definitely consider all options and see what is best for you. I would take everyone's opinion with a grain of salt. You never really know what's best until you actually try it. Some people love the big 4 and some don't. Your decision should not be deter by other experiences or opinions. Personally, I think pwc opens up a lot of different avenues. I'm in risk assurance in the Florida market. I know we are always looking for people

[Anonymous]

45k in nyc seems kinda low especially since you'll be working a minimum of 47.5 hours a week and more during busy season. Your hourly wage comes to less than 18 bucks an hr…

[Anonymous]

45k in nyc seems kinda low especially since you'll be working a minimum of 47.5 hours a week and more during busy season. Your hourly wage comes to less than 18 bucks an hr…

[hecubus330]

Since you will have family to help with the new baby, I say go for PwC. If it doesn't lead to a full time position, you will still always have PwC on your resume and you can leverage that into a position at a mid-tier/regional firm.

In this time, you could find out that Big Four isn't for you or it's totally for you, You won't know unless you try.

BEC -69, 69
REG -77 (expired), 79
FAR - ?
AUD - 65, 67

[hecubus330]

Since you will have family to help with the new baby, I say go for PwC. If it doesn't lead to a full time position, you will still always have PwC on your resume and you can leverage that into a position at a mid-tier/regional firm.

In this time, you could find out that Big Four isn't for you or it's totally for you, You won't know unless you try.

BEC -69, 69
REG -77 (expired), 79
FAR - ?
AUD - 65, 67

[Author]

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