[fuzyfro89]

I currently work in a big 4 audit as a 2nd yr staff. I just wanted to get an idea of what people are thinking their exit opportunities will offer if/when you decide to make the leap. I’m not specifically planning my exit just yet, but when an opportunity presents itself I just want to have an idea of what the broader community expects.

What are you expecting and after what level of experience? Is there a minimum you would expect to make the jump? Are you in audit/tax/advisory? What other factors besides the $$ do you think will be important to you?

[mena je twa]

You have asked so many questions, but anyways…. you can always land a decent position in private once you are done with public.

I dont know if you want to do financial reporting or tax, or some else, but it just depends on what is out there and what the economy is like.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[mena je twa]

You have asked so many questions, but anyways…. you can always land a decent position in private once you are done with public.

I dont know if you want to do financial reporting or tax, or some else, but it just depends on what is out there and what the economy is like.

Licensed CPA, Texas - 2012

[Anonymous]

Like mena said, it varies I lot. I would recommend looking at some salary guides (like Robert Half) to get an idea of what the options are.

For myself, I took a very low-paying public accounting (tax) job right out of school. A year later (aka 3 weeks ago), I switched to private in an accounting clerk job and am getting paid 50% more than I was before (like, to the penny!). Private accounting has always been of more interest to me, so even when I thought the position might pay less than my public position (which as I've already indicated paid very little), I was still interested in it, because to me there were a few factors that were more important than the money: 1. Having a more regular schedule (reasonable hours 52 weeks a year appeals ot me more than ridiculous ones 15 weeks a year and easy ones the other 37 weeks); 2. Being able to work for the same company instead of jumping between several; 3. Getting away from the public (I've worked retail, banking, and public accounting, and am happy to *not* deal with the public on a daily basis now!); and 4. Working for a larger, more professional organization (I worked for a mom-and-pop type accounting gig – having things like benefits is a great perk with the new job…and things like HR departments if you have issues, instead of the boss being the “judge and the jury” as well as the offender).

The non-compete agreement of my former employer pretty much precluded me from going to a public accounting job, and because I live in a small town, there's not a whole lot of private accounting opportunities. So, I probably could've made more in another public accounting position than I make now in my clerk position, and I have no clue what I could've made in a non-clerk private position, but this was the position that was available and that I could legally (aka not breaking the non-compete) accept, so this is the experience that I can share. 🙂

[Anonymous]

Like mena said, it varies I lot. I would recommend looking at some salary guides (like Robert Half) to get an idea of what the options are.

For myself, I took a very low-paying public accounting (tax) job right out of school. A year later (aka 3 weeks ago), I switched to private in an accounting clerk job and am getting paid 50% more than I was before (like, to the penny!). Private accounting has always been of more interest to me, so even when I thought the position might pay less than my public position (which as I've already indicated paid very little), I was still interested in it, because to me there were a few factors that were more important than the money: 1. Having a more regular schedule (reasonable hours 52 weeks a year appeals ot me more than ridiculous ones 15 weeks a year and easy ones the other 37 weeks); 2. Being able to work for the same company instead of jumping between several; 3. Getting away from the public (I've worked retail, banking, and public accounting, and am happy to *not* deal with the public on a daily basis now!); and 4. Working for a larger, more professional organization (I worked for a mom-and-pop type accounting gig – having things like benefits is a great perk with the new job…and things like HR departments if you have issues, instead of the boss being the “judge and the jury” as well as the offender).

The non-compete agreement of my former employer pretty much precluded me from going to a public accounting job, and because I live in a small town, there's not a whole lot of private accounting opportunities. So, I probably could've made more in another public accounting position than I make now in my clerk position, and I have no clue what I could've made in a non-clerk private position, but this was the position that was available and that I could legally (aka not breaking the non-compete) accept, so this is the experience that I can share. 🙂

[Author]

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