[Ralphie Dos Nachos]

So I’m hoping once I finish these exams I will apply to some top 10 firms. I’m 25 right now and have been in industry for 2.5 years since I finished college. I always hear that public experience is a must in a lot of positions and I am worried that the longer I wait to go into public the slower my career will progress. If I join a big 4 firm at 26 or 27, I will be making the same $$ as someone who will be fresh out of college at 23 that is working there, correct? the years do not transfer over from industry to public from what I hear so those who did start at 23 and are same age as me at 26/27 are generally senior or managers at that point making $20-30K more. I know money isn’t the be all end all, but yea would you guys agree?

[Puppykoala]

So I will answer the $ part of your question. Not necessarily. Fresh out students will probly be less paid than you based on your experience. And of course you will go up faster than them. We all know what's the issues with students — think they know everything but actually know nothing. With your experience, its easier and logically more trusted by management. Especially when you pass your exam, you will certainly have your edge in public.

[Accounting_is_Taxing]

I actually disagree with the above poster. It's very difficult to move from industry to public regardless if you have a CPA license or not. If you move to public, you will probably have to start at entry level. In my opinion, most industry jobs don't prepare you for public. Unless you have a great industry job with regular raises, promotions, and relevant experience, you will find it easier to move up in public. Most people reach manager before 30, and those that don't reach manager eventually leave and find a really good industry job.

[vbmer]

I recommend (as I often do around here), to look for a Big 4 job in anything but audit/tax. Even Accenture is okay. Financial consulting experience is more valuable than audit experience if you want to return to industry, and the work is better. They all need to hire large numbers of experienced hires every year, and most are pretty average.

As far as age goes, it varies a lot by practice. Keep in mind that audit is less than half of what Big 4 firms do. In more specialized practices like mine, people typically make manager in their early 30s, and the equivalent of senior manager in their late 30s or early 40s. We are compensated commensurate to our experience, education, and skills, not years in rank.

[DDylan]

@Vbmer

My experiences are small no name firm audit 3 years, 2 years fund accounting at Tier 2 PE, 1 year FP&A senior analyst at large SaaS company as of now. Got my CPA and CFA L1. Know some SQL. What extra skills do I need in order to break in big 4 financial consulting? VBA, tableau, or Power BI?

[vbmer]

@DDylan, it looks to me like you're already a pretty good candidate. Tableau/Power BI would be helpful, yes. VBA is nice, but probably a non-factor for 95% of positions. The CPA probably won't mean much as the Big 4 aren't exactly short on good accountants, but your breadth of experience could be interesting for the right position. Further progress on the CFA could be helpful, too.

The difference with experienced hiring is that each job posting generally only applies to one position, and most have a large number of qualified applicants, so it requires a lot of effort and a bit of luck. You can increase your chances by casting as wide a net as possible. If it's really what you want, I'd go to the first office that took me anywhere in the country.

[DDylan]

@VBMER

Hi Vbmer, thanks for the reply. I've applied big 4 and 2nd tier firms (BDO, BKD, GT, Moss Adams) for many positions such as FDD, valuation, and some random advisory jobs, but all I got is rejections, not even a call from recruiter. The reason I want to break into big 4 financial consulting is (1) I want big 4 experience on my belt (2) I want to work for engagements/projects, not repetitive things (like monthly close, yearly budget etc) over and over again. I guess I just need to keep applying and try to learn some Tableau/Power BI?

I don't care location much but I am currently in the army reserve so moving to another state is a lot of paper work and kinda pain. I actually thought about moving to NYC before for more opps, but later I realized that there would be more competition in NYC as well. I am already in a big city in TX (dallas/houston) with many opps. If I cannot find an ideal job here, the likelihood of find an ideal job else where is kinda questionable..

[Pete]

Your best bet to landing any job is going to be trying to meet with those involved on the consulting side of things. Ask for advice, not a job.

The problem is, the people you need to meet with to get these jobs will likely not meet; they simply are too busy/don't care. I had one person refer me to 5+ partners. This individual mentioned he had a brother at E&Y (partner), but not even his brother would sit down with him. I was told to not even try going BIG 4, since they are unbelievably competitive, especially in this area.

Again though, you have to know the right people to land (ie. partners, etc.). The only other way to gain a position is through campus recruiting.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[vbmer]

FDD and Val are going to be filled with top internal performers from audit, so I wouldn't even bother. Neither are really consulting, anyway.

I agree that networking would help. It might be worth a shot to push the Army angle, and connecting with some veterans/reservists. A couple informational interviews could help you identify the right practice to apply for and the right content for your resume and cover letter.

A good master's degree would help, as most people in Advisory have one, especially experienced hires.

[Author]

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