Annoyings:  That is what I said during the exit interview.  I told them it was a mismatch to my experience.  The senior there is supposed to cover three industries and I only have experience in one of them.  I tried so hard to catch on the other two parts.  I still failed.  It seemed to me that everybody can get a good coach except me.  Anyway, it is over.    

That is what I thought too.  But they tried to keep the client, that is why they did not like my hours. 

nycaccounting wrote: I think office politics is HUGE factor in big 4, more than industry. First it is very hierarchical, your senior or manager can definitely break you. It may not even have anything to do with your ability as an accountant, if somehow they don't like you, its over. You will get the toughest and most annoying assignments, bad reviews, its really difficult. The trick to succeed in any big 4 is to be liked by whoever is writing the review. You will see a lot of sucking up etc. Industry is different because your seniors and managers in industry don't have as much power. Unfortunately, its hard to fit in with your seniors or managers if you are much older than them. But being liked is the most important thing in any big 4 environment.

Thats also true of smaller firms as well. If you aren't well liked, you are screwed. And being well liked does not mean just being a fun nice person. You really need to be going to every function which will require you to spend a lot of time with co-workers. If you are somone who is married and would rather spend time with the wife and an addition is health conscious and dont want to do lunch and happy hours all the time, well your screwed. Find a different field.