Working in the big 4

damon pope

Hi all,

I'm heading into my final year and will be applying to the big 4 in October. Just wondering what kind of life trainees have there ? Would you be expected to be in there after 8 o clock every evening or would this only apply to the busy season ? While I would be willing to work late hours every so often I would also like to have some work/life balance. Also could anyone shed some light on the general type of work trainees carry out ? (I understand this will vary from department to department).

Any insights would be appreciated.

Dellboy2007

damon pope wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm heading into my final year and will be applying to the big 4 in October. Just wondering what kind of life trainees have there ? Would you be expected to be in there after 8 o clock every evening or would this only apply to the busy season ? While I would be willing to work late hours every so often I would also like to have some work/life balance. Also could anyone shed some light on the general type of work trainees carry out ? (I understand this will vary from department to department).

Any insights would be appreciated.

Search the forum/web you'll find plenty of information on what it's like to work in a big firm.

myshirt

This will pretty much what it will be like

Ok, on a serious note, there is typically a lot of late evenings yes, but I would say to you that to have the Big Four on your CV is very significant. There is a time to learn, and a time to earn. Invest quite heavily in your career in your 20's, and you can have your afternoons off when you get to 30.

Equally, Big Four is not the be all. Your focus should be more on where you will be a good cultural fit and where you will get good exposure. You will get that at a small practice, and you will get it at larger practices, so focus on the people you will be working for and if you think you'd fit in.

Bottom line, you have to work very, very hard in this game, there is no hiding.

Loughc

myshirt wrote: »

Equally, Big Four is not the be all. Your focus should be more on where you will be a good cultural fit and where you will get good exposure. You will get that at a small practice, and you will get it at larger practices, so focus on the people you will be working for and if you think you'd fit in.

I second this thinking. Always go where you feel is a good fit for yourself. Smaller practices will offer lots of hands on experience. Go with who you think you'll work better with.

damon pope

myshirt wrote: »

Ok, on a serious note, there is typically a lot of late evenings yes, but I would say to you that to have the Big Four on your CV is very significant. There is a time to learn, and a time to earn. Invest quite heavily in your career in your 20's, and you can have your afternoons off when you get to 30.

Equally, Big Four is not the be all. Your focus should be more on where you will be a good cultural fit and where you will get good exposure. You will get that at a small practice, and you will get it at larger practices, so focus on the people you will be working for and if you think you'd fit in.

Bottom line, you have to work very, very hard in this game, there is no hiding.

Would you be able to keep up your hobbies like playing hurling, meeting up with friends at the weekend, ect ?

The reason i'm asking is I have been working in a smaller firm over the summer months and things are very easy going, literally everyone out the door at half 5. While I can definitely see the benefits of pushing yourself and working hard, I personally, don't think it's worth sacrificing your entire life for the sake of your career.

Santi101

Big social scene in the big firms, especially in the first couple of years.

Does get pretty busy in the first few months of the year but overall, it's not that bad. Lot of doom-mongers give out constantly but we all signed up for it so just have to get on with it.

Far better support and study leave for exams aswell which is the reason many are doing it - get the qualification.

dbran

Hi

In the Big 4 you will be worked very hard. The work is usually always deadline driven and hence the need for the hours to be worked. Very busy in the early months of the year because most client year ends are December. Very strict adherence to delivery of assignments on time and most importantly on budget. It can be a very lonely place at times when you are being screamed at for a completed audit file and you are already overbudget. You can also sometimes find yourself getting stuck in a small niche area if you are not careful.

On the plus side, if you have big 4 experience then due to the environment that you trained in, you will have job opportunities that just will not be open to you if you trained elsewhere in a small firm. Also the calibre of people that you work with as well as the nature of the work will mean that the level of experience and knowledge you gain will be really top class.

Move to a small firm, much more relaxed, smaller clients and accounts prep work which is good for learning the whole mechanics of the thing. Generally tend to be able to leave at 5.30 every day most of the year.

So it really depends on what you want yourself and what your ambitions are in your career. if you want to have a good work life balance from the get go, less stress, less money etc then smaller practice is for you. If you are looking for a challenging career and want to get as far as you can go then big 4.

There is no correct path it depends on you.

dbran

damon pope

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. They have been really helpful, just wondering if I did train in a small/mid-sized practice and if I wanted to go for the big 4 after qualifying what kind of opportunities would be there ?