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Subject Topic: Overtime in big 4 accounting firm (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
  
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007CPA
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 17:59 | IP Logged  

lelik wrote:
007CPA, nobody is scared to work hard 8 hours a day. More than that can destroy any family relationships. For single people who don't have anything better to do, working days and night might be a good idea. For anybody who has the life outside of a work place, 8 hours of work are more than enough. 


There are millions of people in the US that work many more hours than 8 hours a day. What does anyone hear when they ask about work/life balance in the Big4? "Long hours!" The CPA career is one where people need to pay their dues to get ahead and working long hours is one of the dues. If you do not want to get ahead in this career, then be happy with your 30-40k a year and do not complain about the partners making all the money.

Not everyone wants to work from 9-5 mon-fri, some people want to get ahead in this world and are ready and willing to make the sacrifices to do that. If someone is looking into a position at a Big4 firm, then I assume they are looking forward to all the challenges and hard work that will be neccessary to thrive there.


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007CPA
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 18:10 | IP Logged  

heavydutysg135 wrote:

My father and grandfather always told me that working "only" 40 hours per week is a job not a career :)



This is good advice. I feel that people want to work for Big4 for all the perks but aren't willing to put in the work. They say, " I want to CFO!" and then they say, "I only want to work 40 hours a week!"


__________________
Enjoying Freshman life at the Big 4 University!
------------------------
REG -10/31/2009 (Passed!)
BEC - 11/28/09
AUD - 1/4/09
FAR - Tentative 05/10
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lelik
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 18:29 | IP Logged  

007CPA, sorry, but about what perks are you talking about? After 2-3 years with the government and 37.5 hour work week, I will be making more than any Big4 people after 3 years of being hired as an entry-level staff. 

heavydutysg135, your grandfather belonged to generation that had only Sundays off and didn't see their children. Is it something that is worth any "career"?

Guys, what is career for you? My boss makes 6 figures, and he can come and go whenever. He has never worked more than 40 hours a week in his life.


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007CPA
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 18:42 | IP Logged  

That's great for 3 years but what about 6, 8,10,12? This is the typical shortsighted argument for working in industry over public. You can make more initially but over the long term CAREER you will make far less and you will be hoping that your boss dies so that you can get a promotion. 

__________________
Enjoying Freshman life at the Big 4 University!
------------------------
REG -10/31/2009 (Passed!)
BEC - 11/28/09
AUD - 1/4/09
FAR - Tentative 05/10
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rrrrrpitch
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 20:15 | IP Logged  

Well I am no stranger to work. I just wondered if 60-70 hour work weeks are common when you just get hired or if that is a career long requirement in a CPA firm. Everyone around here says that all they do is work you like a dog at CPA firms and then treat you like crap through verbal abuse etc. If it is a career long requirement to work many hours and simultaneously get degraded by the managers then I would absolutely just get in to get the license and then bail. The turnover rate at the one big4firm here is well over 50% as people quit the day after they get their 2 years in.

I used to think that people that make a lot of money are happy but they pay for it with their life (by not having one and being unhappy by having to work all the time and never enjoy anything). Plus the long hours affect your bottom line when the average hourly rate comes out to being very low from being worked like a dog. 



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