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Dawgie
Major Contributor

Joined: 11 Aug 2009
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Posts: 451

Posted: 02 Dec 2009 at 18:35 \| IP Logged

You get used to it.

vtcheeks
Newbie
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Joined: 21 Jul 2009
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Posts: 22

Posted: 03 Dec 2009 at 08:47 \| IP Logged

I do have a wife. The reason I cont. to work like this is because I did not know I would be working this hard before I started. I guess I am nieve because I assumed there was one busy season Jan-April in which you would gradually increase hours to somewhere around 80 hours by the end of the season. I did not know there would be a equally busy - busy season from June to Oct. Now with the economy I feel somewhat stuck. We bought a house. They moved the office from a 10 min drive to a 50 min drive (one way). There are not that many jobs available in my area right now. I wanted to leave after making Senior but then the enconomy tanked and I did not feel like it was a good time to leave. I am a bit risk adverse, I know. Now I am 1.5 years from making manager and feel like I should just stick it out. I really like public accounting just not working this hard. I hope to jump to a smaller firm after making manager. Unless I can jump ship this year and make manager at a smaller firm (after
April), I am going to stay and get the manager stamp on my resume. I disagree with Dawgie...working these kind of hours I will never get used to it. I hate it but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I keep telling myself this is a temporary situation, it will get better. After I leave I hope to start a family. I do no know how you can have children while working Big 4. At least not at my office.

G8trJasonB
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Joined: 23 Aug 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 28

Posted: 03 Dec 2009 at 12:34 \| IP Logged

malky wrote:

G8trJasonB
I just got an offer from KPMG for $55,000 (in NY). It seems like it will be hard to live in NYC on that. The position is as an economic evaluation associate in the tax division. Do you know if the hours for that division are similar to the rest of the tax division. Are there any bonuses given in addition to the salary? Also, how much of a yearly salary increase can be expected. Thanks for any help!

I really can't answer your questions as I'm not involved with this group. As for raises and bonuses, in this economy, you may not see a raise after your first year and I can almost guarantee you won't see a bonus. It hasn't always been this way and things will get better, but I would guess that your raise will be anywhere from 0-8%, depending on individual and firm performance.

G8trJasonB
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Joined: 23 Aug 2008
Location: United States
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Posts: 28

Posted: 03 Dec 2009 at 12:41 \| IP Logged

MST_CPA2009 wrote:

G8trJasonB wrote:

daliacpa wrote:

$45-50k? Jason, are you kidding me. I'm making $55k+ at internal audit. What location are you at?< id="gwProxy" ="">< ="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" ="">

I work for KPMG. No one said you were gonna get rich in your first 5-10 years of Big 4. Before this year though, when virtually everyone at each of the Big 4 firms didn't receive a raise, you could expect an annual increase of 8-20%, depending on your performance. I never saw less than 11% (again, before this year) and got as much as a 17% increase a few years ago. So it does increase pretty quickly and that also doesn't include incentive comp. I received $6,700 for two straight years before, of course, this year when I got zippo. Besides, people aren't joining Big 4 to make money. You do it for the experience and to build your resume.

It's awesome to hear someone actually appreciate the Big Four for a exchange, especially KPMG! I think I read the most horror stories being posted by KPMG people.

May I ask, what office or region you work in?

I'm starting at KPMG NYC next month as a tax associate. I'm excited, but anxious at the same time with the added pressure of a bad economy. I want to stay there long-term, but nothing is really certain during times like these ... I hope things start looking up!

Congratulations on your start in public accounting! You should be proud that you've finally made it this far. Just go into it with the understanding that its not all glamorous and fun, but maintain a positive attitude, and you'll be fine. There is a lot of stuff going around right now about KPMG, and I'm sure a lot of it is true, but the bottom line is KPMG is still a very good place to work and is a real competitor in the marketplace. Besides, these problems aren't limited to just KPMG. The other Big 4 are experiencing the same exact issues. Its just that it seems as though KPMG has taken more of a hit recently. But this business is cyclical and it seems as though we've bottomed out now and are on the way back up to seeing some growth. Time will tell.

hatchd
Contributor

Joined: 02 Dec 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 62

Posted: 03 Dec 2009 at 12:54 \| IP Logged

Dawgie wrote:

You get used to it.

That sounds like a defeated person to me. There should be no "getting used to it" when talking about those conditions. There's plenty of places out there that will pay you the same, or maybe even slightly less, and your quality of life will be greatly improved. This may not be the best time to just up and quit but you can at least be looking. It seems like a lot of people are undervaluing themselves at these firms. If you're averaging 65 hours a week (sounds about average on the tax side almost), which is a ludicrous 3380 a year, here's your hourly breakdown:

$50k - $14.79/hr
$55k - $16.27/hr
$60k - $17.75/hr

Considering they are probably billing out your time on an average of $100 an hour i think you are severely selling yourself short.

There's just more to life than working but it doesn't sound like that in a big 4. That's also probably why I'm not there and never wanted to be lol.

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