<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I am considering accounting and was wondering on some questions.
I understand big 4 gives starting salaries as $58,000 or so for the top students. I was wondering how long it would take to make it to the 100K range with hard work?</p>
<p>[Careers-in-Accounting.com:</a> Your Guide to Salaries](<a href=“Web Page Under Construction”>Web Page Under Construction)</p>
<p>Big 4 definitely don’t give starting salaries that high, even in expensive markets like NYC, LA and SF. You can expect about 50-55K in those markets, lower in others where cost of living is lower. You usually get to 100K by the time you make manager, around 5-6 years in.</p>
<p>rusoboy23, you’re wrong. I work for the Big 4 on the east coast and starting salaries are 57-58K base (not including CPA and 150 credit bonus which adds up to 7K) in NYC.</p>
<p>As Nick said, ruso…you’re wrong. The lowest cost of living areas were offering 50k this year.</p>
<p>^no, hes not wrong. the range is generally 50-58k depending on company, location and grades.</p>
<p>^^What are you talking about? How can you say he wasn’t wrong by saying “they don’t give 58k” salaries and then say “they pay 50-58K”?</p>
<p>MightyNick, “I work for the Big 4 on the east coast and starting salaries are 57-58K base…”</p>
<p>Still, the pay varies by a few thousands depending on a company. Not each company of the big 4 pays 57-58k starting. There are plenty of people who start at 55k-56k on the East Coast. Don’t believe me? Then go and check payscale, glassdoor, or CPAnet, where people post their starting salaries, and you will notice that their pay differs.</p>
<p>collegebound41, “the range is generally 50-58k depending on company, location and grades.”</p>
<p>Grades do not affect your pay directly, but they can help you to get a job at a company which pays higher. That would be awkward if you and your friend got hired by the big 4, and you got paid less because you had a 3.4 GPA, while you friend had a 3.7. lol</p>
<p>I don’t need to check payscale or glassdoor. One of my friends is at E&Y NYC and made 56K starting. Another is at PWC in Chicago making 57K base (though this is advisory). Someone else is at Deloitte making 57.5K starting in NYC. But yes, you are right that the range can be 50-58K depending on location. Big 4 in the South will usually pay in the lower end of that range. </p>
<p>The only difference in starting salaries might be because one person has a MACC and the other just has a bachelors. Even then the pay difference should be more than 2-3K a year, which is peanuts if you look at what it comes out to after-tax.</p>
<p>The problem with your post was that you used a dash and set the limit, which wasn’t correct.</p>
<p>“The only difference in starting salaries might be because one person has a MACC and the other just has a bachelors. Even then the pay difference should be more than 2-3K a year, which is peanuts if you look at what it comes out to after-tax.” </p>
<p>It is not the only difference, but in general this statement is most probably true. It is sad to see that a masters in accounting does not boost your salary by much, unlike other masters degrees like a MS in finance.</p>
<p>It’s probably because passing the CPA exam is more relevant to the profession than having a masters in accounting. Having a MACC is not useful (at least in public accounting) if you can’t pass the CPA. I guess its only usefulness is for those people that want another shot at campus recruiting (apart from getting the 150 credits of course)</p>
<p>As mentioned, 50-58 is the norm but that cost of living allowance does not make up for the difference in COL in the expensive regions of the country. In short, one has a great standard of living in cheaper areas of the country making 50-52k, much more so than someone in NYC making 58k. <60k in NYC makes you live practically paycheck to paycheck. </p>
<p>I compared offers I got across cities and considered COL adjustments…I would have needed about 75k starting in Wash DC to have a similar lifestyle as low 50s in a cheaper region.</p>
<p>I am able to save ~$2000 a month in after-tax money and I do not even try to live tightly.</p>
<p><a href=“UPDATE”>url=http://goingconcern.com/2011/08/fulltime-offer-watch-11-interns-lets-talk-about-offers/</a> Fulltime Offer Watch ’11: Interns, Let’s Talk About Offers Going Concern: An Online Tabloid for Modern Accounting & Finance Professionals</p>
<p>I know I saw at least one NYC offer. 57k (1k sign bonus, 5k CPA bonus) for audit, but advisory was ~65k.</p>
<p>As for the masters not “meaning more”…that’s because it is utterly useless outside of the fact that it gets you your 150 hours. The classes are redundant and don’t provide any additional expertise. The people who get a double major in MIS (not what I did - I got a double in finance) have the most tangible benefits of the paths to get 150 hours, IMO.</p>
<p>Preach it WAB4–completely agree.</p>
<p>Well then I guess they’ve gone down. I know someone at PwC in SF that got 52K, KPMG in San Jose that also got 52K, and tax at KPMG in LA that got 51K. I do know someone in Risk Assurance that got 58K in SF, though. I’m not including the CPA bonus, though, since that’s just a one time thing.</p>
<p>But I’m talking about after 5-6 years down the road, not at entry level job.</p>
<p>Well you said for “top students” so I assumed it meant right out of college. 5-6 years down the road, you should be a manager and making about 100K.</p>
<p>What about the average students who barely pass the CPA? Do they make a good salary as well?</p>
<p>What is your definition as “good” salary?</p>
<p>Like average. 100K would be nice or something close to that after some years of experience?</p>