[Anonymous]

Hello All,

I had a few questions/concerns regarding the Big Four…i am pretty mentally head strong when it comes to studying/school work and i believe i can stick it out eventually and pass the CPA…and I was a pretty decent/hardworker student in college….but i had a few concerns regarding the my job…….I have a few friends in public Accounting that cannot stand there jobs for whatever reason and absolutely hate their jobs…. and they were decent students…i am a bit worried that i eventually will fall into this mindset and “hate my job”…i am anxious to learn and if this will be my career i do not want to fall into a weak mindset and feel like giving up….are there any ways i can prevent this from happening….and what is a normal day like for a first year during busy/what to expect….

[Anonymous]

I don't work in a Big 4 and I love my job! I've been there almost 5 years and I wouldn't trade it for any amount of money.

[Getting a CPA]

Big 4s are used to get the experience and then move onto smaller and better things! There are many people that survive within Big 4 environments, but they are aggressive go-getters. I am a middle of the road kind of person, and would enjoy a smaller company environment better.

So a roundabout way of answering your question is to stick with Big 4 no matter how much you hate it because it will look amazing on your resume. Put in the time while earning your CPA, get through the busy seasons, and then in 2-3 years you will be a CPA with Big 4 on your resume 🙂

[Whatdidyou]

Yeah.. I work in public accounting and sometimes I hate it and sometimes I love it. Hard to know if I should switch paths and try something else while I am still in the early stages of my career. Thats what gets me most, curiosity – not hate of my job. I think it'd be interesting to enter a “rotational program” at a fortune 500 company to work in various departments over an 18-24 month period (GL accounting, cost accounting, finance, internal audit, m&a…etc) but don't want to ruin the good think I have going on now – ya know, the grass is always greener type of thing can be dangerous.

And to the OP – that is a risk no matter where you go. Plenty of accounting students get their first jobs and hate it whether they end up in public accounting or not.

REG - Passed!!
BEC - Passed
FAR - Passed
AUD - Passed

Study Materials: Becker basic course

[SammyJ]

Big 4s love to recruit promising accounting students. Like I graduated less than a year ago, they are always there for everying job fair. They offer internships only to students who are juniors though. I think they seek out younger professionals, because they know they are going to ask 60-70 hours/weel from you and they want to make sure you aren't tied down with a family already. And also students are prone to listen more and take orders without arguments and considering they typically dont have much experience, they won't have an attitude about anything.

For me, I desperately wanted to get an internship with a Big 4, but that didnt materialize because I was turned off by the Big 4 recruiters at the event and didn't network as much as I should have. I ended up interning for a non for profit during my senior year and I loved it. I worked inside a small finance department and there was no ego there or any pushy bosses. In fact Im interning at a different non for profit now. And its great there too. The people there are super chill.

So I guess all in all, its about what you want to do. Big 4s will push you like a drill sargeant and thats great. People complain about how hard it is, but it'll make you so tough at the end and its not like they are forcing you to stay forever. You can stay there 3-4 years and that will be your golden ticket. You can think of it like a grad school program. Then afterwards, you can work for anyone you want(almost).

FAR-81!!
AUD-69, Retake: 84!!
REG-86!!
BEC-81!!
Education- Done
Ethics- August 2013
Experience- 7 Months of CPA Experience and counting!

[Getting a CPA]

Sammy J – Big egos is the biggest problem with Big 4s. I hate working in an environment where people (on your team!) don't even acknowledge you when running into each other in the hallway! It is all about me, me, me. Watch my back while cutting you in the process. Be glad you are in non-profit. My days are numbered at Big 4…

Golden ticket it definitely is though…

[Author]

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