Hey everyone,
I am a senior at the George Washington School of Business getting ready to apply to some jobs and maybe even graduate school early. I want to make sure I get myself situated into a firm that where I will not only make a good starting salary but will be realistically able to sustain myself and be happy. Right now I am looking at Deloitte and PwC…I have a few friends working at Deloitte and I was wondering what life at this big four is like? Is it very cut throat? Anyone here who would recommend Deloitte or PwC or vice versa? And anyone willing to give their input on a day of work at one of these companies?
I have a very close friend that works at Deloitte and speaks highly of it. I don’t have any first-hand info, but I trust him and his judgement. He’s also been able to climb the ranks quickly since he started there 5 years ago (this will vary with your field and skill level, of course).
You kind of give your life to them, and often have little control over where you travel or what you work on. It is a good starting ground in business, though. Few people remain for the long term – the job gets harder, not easier as you climb the ladder, and the lifestyle gets old after a while. I don’t think there are significant differences between the firms in that respect.
Hey, we’ve spoken a couple times!
Deloitte, a little more so than PwC, has better culture and opportunities for business school. Deloitte places heavily into M7 and top 15 MBA programs which is very valuable - I remember you plan to do an MBA at some point!
Deloitte’s culture is also very good - I have a few family members that work at Deloitte in the region, in both the tech & consulting - both have nothing bad to say and really enjoy their careers.
What do you plan to do? Accounting? Audit? Consulting? Analyst? That’s more important to know, because if you want to be an accountant/auditor you’re gonna be worked much harder at PwC but the experience there might be more valuable to you.
I would definitely recommend Deloitte over PWC. My best friend worked at PWC of Boston (she worked in the audit assurance department); those were the most miserable years of her life. Unenforced mentorship program (her assigned mentor decided that she did not like her and refused to help/train, and she was left trying to learn everything herself). Very poor work-life balance, especially during busy season. My friends who worked for Deloitte were much happier.
I think a lot depends on the office and who you work for in them, though.