<p>For an undergrad econ/accounting major, is a job at a Big 4 company THAT much better than any of the other job options that are available after graduation? I mean - is it common for accountants to start off at smaller firms and either move their way up there or use them as stepping stones to more reputed firms (like the Big 4)?</p>
<p>On a related note, I'm a senior (graduating in May) who recently decided against grad school (for econ), but now I'm in a crappy situation. I haven't had any internships (a couple of jobs on campus, though, and one them involves accounting), and the recruiting season is over anyway. Is it even possible for me to get a job at a Big 4 after graduation, or are smaller accounting firms my only option? Also, would it be a good idea to get an internship this summer first or is it too late for that? Thanks for any help, in advance.</p>
<p>(Btw, my accounting GPA is very close to a 4.0, if that even makes a difference.)</p>
<p>Big 4 is certainly a nice place to start, as it gives you a lot of experience in the accounting field, which then you can move on to the smaller firms. I’d recommend you read taxguy’s “Everything You Need to Know About Accounting”, because it covers a lot of questions that you’ve answered. In a nutcase, yes, the Big 4 is a nice place to work out of after you’ve graduated. It’s not very prestigious, but that experience will be golden for you. Smaller firms aren’t the end of the world, and in fact, you might advance more quickly in smaller firms than in the Big 4.</p>
<p>Since you’re graduating, you might as well start looking for jobs, instead of internships.</p>
<p>The big 4 is very prestigious as far as accounting goes. Not sure why you say it isn’t Gambino. Maybe for investment bankers it may be looked down upon but for accountants it is a great place to start.</p>
<p>You should reconsider grad school. There are a lot of one-year professional programs that will prepare you for much better careers than accounting.</p>
<p>If you truly enjoy Accounting then go for it. Accounting jobs will give you a nice base salary but little chance at much upward mobility. However, I feel like too many people settle for accounting because they don’t believe in themselves enough to pursue more prestigious careers in business or law</p>
<p>I really fail to understand people who automatically assume one path is the only way for everyone. Look, if you like accounting and corporate finance and want to be a financial executive, honestly, Big 4 accounting or elite corporate finance rotation programs are the best way to go. If you want to do corp development, PE or HFs, then banking is the way to go. If you want to be a CEO/product manager, consulting is the way to go, etc. Go with what you like and screw what others say. Fine, a partner at KKR makes more money than a CFO of a F500 company, but if you hate your job, is it really worth it for a few extra million? Also, all those other jobs come with a price and very few people become BSDs at KKR and Blackstone despite many HYPS wetting themselves over Goldman TMT jobs may think</p>
<p>Big 4 is fine. Well known and nice benefits. </p>
<p>– Anyone that passes on investment banking to be an accountant is laughable. I am sure the poster that made reference to this was passing JPM Ops or something less interesting.</p>
<p>There are many small ibanks serving small companies well outside of the F500 which are less prestigious than the Big Four probably. </p>
<p>Skipping Ibanking for work/life reasons makes sense…in this economy you aren’t getting paid that much on a per hour basis in ibanking and most people don’t end up as managing directors or higher.</p>
<p>lol did you not read anything I just wrote? I-banking is more prestigious among lay people because they make more money and the profession as a whole is perceived as being glamorous. If you want corporate development/PE, which are all “prestigious” industries, then IB is great, but I would definitely hire a top Big 4 guy for a CFO/controller position over an IB guy, and this is coming from someone who loves investment banking and has more views on WSO than Facebook according to google chrome. It all depends on what you want to do and what you’re good at, there’s no universal “right” path for everyone. Hell, I bet there’s dudes who work for mid-cap, non-F1000 companies who work their ass off, are good at their work and become CFOs/J-execs at their companies despite going to non-targets that do better than a Harvard guy that fizzled out at Morgan Stanley M&A after 1 year because he sucked at his job. If you define “better career” as being something where on average people make more and a greater pay potential, then yeah i-banking > accounting, but maybe PE isn’t where you actually belong. In that case, is investment banking really “better” than accounting?</p>
<p>B4 have opportunities outside only audit and tax. I have no interest in doing PE or HFs and see myself enjoying the CFO/CEO/VP role much more so in the future. Just because I could have landed an ibanking job doesn’t mean I should do it just for the sake of saying I am an ‘investment banker.’ I didn’t want to hate my life and I thought another area of business better suited my needs coming out of college. Ibanking may be more glamorous, but I am hard pressed to believe that one discipline is far superior to another. </p>
<p>I am beginning to feel that the only people that post of this board are individuals with a monkey on their back that believe you must graduate summa cum laude from an Ivy with 3 internships at a HF, PE, and GS and have multiple ibanking offers in NYC at the premier firms before attending HWS for an MBA. Nonsense.</p>
<p>I have no interest in ibanking or big4 so I do speak from the lay person point of view. I do see now what your reasoning was and it makes sense.</p>
<p>All right, perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. For accounting, yes, Big 4 is prestigious, but less so than Investment Banking, like others mentioned. 1 good thing about accountants in B4 firms are that there’s basically a set time line for you and as long as you don’t screw up anything big, you’re basically guaranteed to become a partner in around 13-15 years.</p>
<p>If you’re going to compare IB with Accounting, then you have to compare the cream of the crop. Obviously, the Big 4 is going to be more prestigious than small investment banks, but that’s unfair because you’re not comparing companies of similar tier. If you compare BBs such as MS and GS with Big 4 firms, then the BBs will most likely pay more and also hold more prestige in public opinion. Of course, there’s a lot more spots at Big 4 firms and the competition is less harsh, but that’s basically the gist of it.</p>
<p>I don’t think comparing B4 and BB IB’s is a fair comparison when you are considering the vast differences in the amount of bodies each different field requires. The number of accountants required to run the B4 at the staff level is so much greater than a BB that I think it is an unfair comparison regarding pay. Maybe this is why B4 is “less prestigious” because so many more bodies are needed. </p>
<p>Much of this comes back to what a person wants to do with their career. However, for someone to think that prestige is basically an end-all then they are pulling a veil over their eyes. It is very feasible for someone in the B4 to be admitted into top MBA programs or move into HF/PE/IBanking after their time in the B4.</p>
<p>Of course, it’s all up to personal fit in the end, seeing what you like to do. Prestige, of course, is not an end-all (it shouldn’t be at least), but it’s a factor when considering profession. B4 employees can of course be admitted to top MBA programs, likewise to any other strong candidates to those schools.</p>