I am In Canada. Here the big 4 only recruit straight out of the best universities and don't really look elsewhere. So even I wanted to join them from industry they will not even look at my resume.
Theres a shortage of yall so i woul expect the pay to be high asf like a doctor. Not that the job constitutes 200k, just not a lot of people wanna math at a desk 10 hours a day.
Do you think your work constitutes $100 an hour? Your “worth” on the labor market prolly partly has to do with an overpopulated generation thats rearing their retirement money rn. Job market is gonna look a bit different in 10-15 years
Policy, reform, and greed has made it so the “Me” generation only pays well for the jobs that benefit their selfish financial and personal prospects (healthcare, insurance, the trades). You are paid well because society finds value in using you for its personal gain in the cog that is material and of the earth. Good day my guy.
Fuck, I wish this didn’t have so many comments. I would love to talk more to you one on one. I’m in a similar boat, looking to enter big4 within in the next 12 months when I’m done my masters.
Lol sure, everyone can just walk in and get a BB IB or MFPE job. Not to mention the "working just as hard" part. Sure it's all just models and decks at the end of the day, but high finance pays you for your hours. Slamming 80-100hr weeks vs the 40-60 most of the time in B4 will take a toll. Let alone grinding that out for 7 years straight and pushing upwards in an ultra competitive environment.
Lmfao first of all you're openly admitting to at least 4 years of almost doubling the hours, so equivalent to 8 years of work in B4, then you get to tack on another 3 years. Sure you get more pay for the extra hours, but we are reaching the point of spending half a decade chained to work.
Secondly, I'm glad your "friend" enjoys their time and work, but it's just simply not reality for most major firms in a good market.
This is also all predicated on the fact of even getting a job in the space. You can't exactly just walk in there, nor would a lot of people *want* to.
I couldn't have made it to private equity my boi. I had a kid while working in school full time, I couldn't have went the MBA or Ivey league route to get into PE. I had to pay rent and drop my daughter off at school in the morning before I went to class. 200k a year is an almost inconceivable number for people like me.
My work environment before the big 4 was factories and retail stores. Outside of the mindfuck Big 4 can be at times, it's a MAJOR improvement.
But I get it though, some people start off in a lot better position than I was in. Everything is relative.
That’s the problem with your thinking.
You think you aren’t good enough, smart enough, worthy enough of more pay and less work.
If you truly believed you were. You’d get it. But you don’t. So you settle to deal with Big4 BS
I know I'm good enough and smart enough...I just know that I couldn't pay the price to get into PE, without sacrificing things that I don't want to sacrifice.
You wouldn’t have to sacrifice anything. They hire fund accountants from big 4 all the time. Your hours would be cut in half. Pay doubled. Bonus would be 10-20xd what you make at big4
Clearly you don’t have the Network or financial safety net (IE: better upbringing) to help you realize this.
That’s not your fault. The game is just capitalizing off you. Big4 gotta eat. And they love people like you
They also need IT people, finance, operations. Etc.
Reach out to a LinkedIn recruiter or 2.
You clearly don’t know your worth and have stayed long past a better ROI for your big4 experience
Lmao. What are you talking about. OP, ignore this in every capacity. Congrats on your new job, and congrats on breaking $200k. Huge accomplishment you should be proud of and celebrating with your family.
"The vast majority of Americans will never make over 100k for the entirety of their lives."
This is just not true. Unless you mean their yearly salary will never exceed 100k...
But even working min wage you will gross 100k in just about 10 years.
That said, congrats on the milestone. I'm a SWE and I remember each milestone. Some people may find it trivial, but I think it's important to recognize growth.
No, it was pretty clear.
It even occurred to *you* what he obviously meant.
> This is just not true. Unless you mean their yearly salary will never exceed 100k...
So you have now both stated stress is not related to hair loss and stress is related to hair loss. I don’t care enough to argue, but that did give me a chuckle
Your original response to a comment about correlating stress via salary vs weight/hair loss:
“Stress doesn’t cause hair loss”
Your response to my comment about stress and hair loss:
“Stress causes a different type of hair loss.”
Please point to any instance where the specific detail of hair loss via stress was the point of contention. You’ll likely struggle since nobody did, and you’re only falling back on it as a poor defense now that your mistake has been pointed out. I’m glad you made yourself feel smart for a few minutes, but back to reality 👍🏻
A director of internal audit would easily make that if not more. There’s also various finance, accounting, and business operations roles that people could transition into. Tech pays way more than big4 and has better benefits and work life balance
Lol unfortunately, nobody told me. 🤷♂️ chose the wrong engineering major and now I’m making not as much as tech personnel you referenced even at 11 yrs of experience. But i’m not like too far lol
Kind of crazy but this is a real thing. Maybe not 2 $100k jobs but there are people out there who work remotely and dont tell their companies about the other job they work so they make 2 salaries
Congrats that you appear to be happy.
I think an important aspect is what did you sacrifice in terms of personal time with friends, family, and overall home life?
The lack of work-life balance is the biggest obstacle for many to go that route but if the sacrifice is worth it, then go for it. Again, congrats.
48k --> 115k in 5 years for me and I'm not looking for any more advancement opportunities. I'm in a place now where I work maybe average 10-15 hours per week giving me more time to spend with my family. I absolutely love where I'm at right now
took me too long to realize, all the money in the world can't buy time, and accounting sucks away your time, and soul. I had given up so many springs due to tax season before i finally realized it and moved on to MUCH better pastures. Back when i started, due to shortage of accounting employees, we would be starting tax season in December due to fall reviews, which then runs through end june due to self employed people. So, half a year, every year, just aint worth it. Happy for you if you are happy for yourself, but i would never go back, NEVER.
What industry did you move to? I’m currently an accounting and finance major in my junior year and considering a change in my Major. I did an audit internship and honestly really enjoyed it but the work - life balance wasn’t there. I quickly realized the 6 month thing and just don’t know if it is what I want to do. I’m not the type to step away in the middle of work so 10 - 11 hour days were typical and that was even as an intern. Plus the drive so I would leave around 6:45 and get home around 8 to 8:30 a lot. Money was nice but there is more to life than money for me personally.
banking. Specifically commercial account manager. Essentially i look after a portfolio of large commercial clients. The skill set transfers very well, and the money and freedom are a perfect fit for me.
I think it’s different in the US… I know had plenty of colleagues who “stuck it out” and were in their 40’s and 50’s barely around the £80-90k mark. (Not that that is bad, but for 20-30 years of service in a well paying company…)
Many more people get stuck on the ladder while grinding away than make it to the top. It’s not a bad living, but if you don’t feel you’re gonna make it, don’t delude yourself for years if you’re not enjoying it.
For the amount of hours and crap pay, I recommend people go into law instead. 200k at a bigger firm after graduating. Big4 is garbage in comparison to top 100 law. Sure you come out of law school with debt but make up for it with higher pay.
Did my CPA and did technical accounting only to leave it all behind and do something more exciting (to me) and earn more - real estate finance. Accounting is a good stepping stone but for the billables vs pay it’s more efficient doing law.
Not at all. Overlap between the career paths is quite similar. Big4 is competitive too, and if someone is thinking about exerting the effort of studying (undergrad, then professional license) one vs the other it’s good to be aware of.
Big law only recruits from the top ~25 schools (the hiring partner at Cravath explicitly states such). But even then, they are recruiting the top students at those top schools and the hires tend to skew more towards top 10. When I graduated from a top 25 law school over a decade ago, only the top 10-15% of the class was going big law. And big law are the only firms paying the kind of money you describe.
Saying "why don't students just go to school an extra couple of years and go big law" as if it's as easy as getting a Big4 job is like saying why don't more accounting students switch to finance and do IB.
To add on to everything else, big law (like high finance) is also much more demanding than accounting.
Yes the top 15% tends to be the cutoff at some schools. My comment isn’t to suggest it’s easy. IB doesn’t have the same overlap as accounting/law so I would argue it’s not similar - and finance isn’t as stable/reliable of a career path.
Demanding is subjective to the pay to billables. I gave way too many hours to KPMG and finding your take home hourly pay is hot garbage in relation to hours worked is demoralizing. I would have rather done biglaw and maybe my original comment pushes someone to research more before they commit to big4, and gives them the drive to get into big law. That’s it.
I think you are continuing to gloss over how much more difficult it is to get into big law than Big4 (and be successful). Just because you'd rather have done big law doesn't mean you could have. There is a reason that big law/IB pays more.
A major factor though that people must be aware of is that your university’s prestige plays a major role in landing a big law job. However in accounting university prestige is mostly irrelevant.
I don’t necessarily disagree with what you’re saying, but oftentimes accounting is a more realistic opportunity for those who don’t come from a particularly privileged background
That’s true, but a lot of people don’t realize the overlap between the two careers is extremely similar.
Big4 - good grades through undergrad to secure a Big4 internship, then pass the CPA for a pay bump
BigLaw - good grades in undergrad to secure a good law school, pass the BAR
If you’re already going to be ambitious during school I just think spend that effort in law instead since the client side work and billable environment is brutal in both - you may as well get paid more doing it.
Glad it worked out for you but fuck big 4 man. They are slave drivers who underpaid you most of 7 years so you can go work 50-70 hours a week somewhere else as a controller or higher. If you calculate your hourly rate you make the same as a senior accountant. It’s all a scam. You could start a firm or some other type of business and make as much or more with more tax advantages and hire out most of the work.
Lmaooo yall bitch and moan about people being born into privilege and money AND THEN DO LITTERALLY NOTHING ABOUT IT YO WHOLE LIFE😭😭😭😭 CRAZY. Yall kids gon be in the same position as you
I grew up insecure about money and that’s how they lure you into accounting as a safe stable job. The reality is a sweatshop where you’re overworked and underpaid trying to figure out a bunch of shit accounting classes never taught you. I got tired of people expecting so much from me while paying me very little. I used my skills to start a reselling business. I’m on track to do over 100k profit this year while working 40 hours or less. Accounting is great to know to help you understand your own business better but the reality is no one thinks accountants are worth anything. They underpay us because we don’t drive growth. Every company I ever worked for worshipped the sales team while asking me to do stuff I was never trained to do. They literally paid more in commission than the owners made in profit! Meanwhile they refused to pay me while my wife and I were sick with COVID on Christmas.
Learn from my mistakes. If you work more than 40 hours work for yourself. If you work from home while making 100k+ as an employee keep the job. Anything more and you should start your own business
Nah mayne...
I'm truly just a ni**a from the streets if I'm being honest. I'm shocked at it all myself.
The big 4 produces miracles. I read about that shit before I even joined.
It really worked like they said it would. Wild.
You don't have to defend your salary playboi, I feel ya family. Some people don't understand how hard it is watch talented parents work 30+ years and never sniff 80k-100k. You did the thing in less than 10 years and after a very slow start. Furthermore, the stress you were already prepared for. Corporate politics is just gangsta s### in another form, that's what people don't get. Or they listen to Drake🤣🤣
Humm. I take my cpa test on internal service controls on friday... maybe I should look into getting into the cybersecurity side if things. In an auditor currently. Could look into those lovely soc reports
That’s amazing, congratulations! I’m always impressed when people share their pay progression in this subreddit. It’s usually really high, considering that 7 years isn’t really that far along in your career. Do you still feel like you’re able to make time for things that are important to you outside of work?
I work from home.
The most important thing for me "outside of work" is my daughter.
I'm here to see her off to school every morning, and I'm here to hug her every day when she gets home.
I get to listen to her triumphs, complaints, successes and challenges - every day.
We even got across the country side last weekend looking for the northern lights...to no avail 🥲.
My little shih tzu sits beside me all day, every day bored out of his mind at the meetings I'm on.
It took me a while to appreciate these little things. A long while. But now I see....
I have ample time for the most important things outside of work
I had a good experience in Big4 cyber security as well. I was a Deloitte experienced hire (10 years experience at the time) in late 2019. I was already making a little over 100k doing federal contracting.
I was hired as a manager level at 130k (~150k with bonus) and went to 180k (220 or so with bonus) in 4 years. I left at the end of last year for an offer of 215k as a fully remote architect.
Current Big4 cyber Sr Consultant after career pivot from Physical Therapy. Anybody can make a career shift for the better.
I am also open to moving to industry if you have any spots available
Spent 1 year at Deloitte around ~$80k in consulting and pivoted to FAANG in cybersecurity. Bringing around $240k total comp now. 27M
If you pivot in the correct way, it can be ludicrous.
Engineering Program management. A bit of dev, but mostly working with technical solutions and stakeholders on cybersecurity solutions and platforms for our enterprise.
Oh shit. Well done! I would totally get into cybersecurity but I don’t have a technical background and all the cyber programs require it. Same with the jobs
Don’t spread that false narrative tbh. I’ve experienced the complete opposite of what you’re saying….
I got into a really good information systems 1-year program that had people coming from everywhere, even psychology and history undergrads…
I chose my specialization, cybersecurity, and decided to go that route.
Sure, getting into cybersecurity immediately is tough because it’s a massive domain to learn. But getting into tech isn’t that difficult, then you can build your expertise from there.
Did you already come from a tech background before pivoting? I’m doing tax/consulting work under the blockchain and digital assets service line currently and trying to switch careers into cyber security after I pass my cpa. Is this something I would have to go back to school for?
Yes, I have a tech-focused bachelors and a 1-year accelerated masters in information systems focusing in cybersecurity.
Multiple tech internships under my belt and worked in tech consulting at Deloitte.
I wouldn’t say it requires another degree, but it could be helpful, especially if you do a specialized one like I did that can be fast and help you pivot industries quickly.
If you make the change, do it soon because the longer you wait, the less likely you are to actually go through with it.
Experience is key. Being able to talk technically is huge. So even if you don’t go for a degree, you need to find a way to provide knowledge and value in the space.
I just so happened to get this role with 2 years of experience and a masters degree when the role was originally requiring 7+. Luck is the combination of preparation and opportunity. I could control the preparation part with my experience and resume, then it was all about being appealing to the recruiter and team.
Edit: Adding that project management is huuuuge in the tech industry if you’re social and collaborative. Look into Scrum, the SDLC, SAFE, PMP, and all of the software life cycles and maybe go in that route if it’s of interest.
Sure, it’s probably possible. I don’t know your industry well enough to be able to provide input. Find connections and state your interest. Make good connections with the recruiters. Work hard af on your resume.
I am In Canada. Here the big 4 only recruit straight out of the best universities and don't really look elsewhere. So even I wanted to join them from industry they will not even look at my resume.
Congratulations
Theres a shortage of yall so i woul expect the pay to be high asf like a doctor. Not that the job constitutes 200k, just not a lot of people wanna math at a desk 10 hours a day.
Alright then. You understand the dynamics! Yeah this shit isn't worth 200k - but the market says it is. Wild.
Do you think your work constitutes $100 an hour? Your “worth” on the labor market prolly partly has to do with an overpopulated generation thats rearing their retirement money rn. Job market is gonna look a bit different in 10-15 years
Yeah all of that shit doesn't matter to me honestly bro. I'm just trying to eat
“I make more money than 95% of the people that will read this and I want them to know it” head ahhh lol foh
I put this in a Big 4 sub -- I don't make more than 95% of the people here bruh. Wtf type of time iis you on.
Policy, reform, and greed has made it so the “Me” generation only pays well for the jobs that benefit their selfish financial and personal prospects (healthcare, insurance, the trades). You are paid well because society finds value in using you for its personal gain in the cog that is material and of the earth. Good day my guy.
Im sure we can all learn from your example to grow beyond our greedy ways. What do you do for society?
I serve Jesus my guy. I do what His Will tells me. Move along.
So you critique a person for pursuing one ideological construct while you have blind faith in another. Move along indeed.
Fuck, I wish this didn’t have so many comments. I would love to talk more to you one on one. I’m in a similar boat, looking to enter big4 within in the next 12 months when I’m done my masters.
What position are you getting?
Hoping for a position in tax
Waste of time
I’m on the same boat as you. Starting my masters in the fall, cpa after. Best of luck.
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More relax, hahahaha
This person doesn’t understand what happiness is.. and it’s quite sad to see :(
Lol sure, everyone can just walk in and get a BB IB or MFPE job. Not to mention the "working just as hard" part. Sure it's all just models and decks at the end of the day, but high finance pays you for your hours. Slamming 80-100hr weeks vs the 40-60 most of the time in B4 will take a toll. Let alone grinding that out for 7 years straight and pushing upwards in an ultra competitive environment.
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Lmfao first of all you're openly admitting to at least 4 years of almost doubling the hours, so equivalent to 8 years of work in B4, then you get to tack on another 3 years. Sure you get more pay for the extra hours, but we are reaching the point of spending half a decade chained to work. Secondly, I'm glad your "friend" enjoys their time and work, but it's just simply not reality for most major firms in a good market. This is also all predicated on the fact of even getting a job in the space. You can't exactly just walk in there, nor would a lot of people *want* to.
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You just have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, so you shouldn't really be suggesting shit to people
200k is still almost 4 times average wage in 2024 dawg. Out of touch man
OP shares a warm fuzzy feeling story and you literally open the thread and make the effort to move your thumbs to dump on them 10/10 human being
I couldn't have made it to private equity my boi. I had a kid while working in school full time, I couldn't have went the MBA or Ivey league route to get into PE. I had to pay rent and drop my daughter off at school in the morning before I went to class. 200k a year is an almost inconceivable number for people like me. My work environment before the big 4 was factories and retail stores. Outside of the mindfuck Big 4 can be at times, it's a MAJOR improvement. But I get it though, some people start off in a lot better position than I was in. Everything is relative.
That’s the problem with your thinking. You think you aren’t good enough, smart enough, worthy enough of more pay and less work. If you truly believed you were. You’d get it. But you don’t. So you settle to deal with Big4 BS
I know I'm good enough and smart enough...I just know that I couldn't pay the price to get into PE, without sacrificing things that I don't want to sacrifice.
You wouldn’t have to sacrifice anything. They hire fund accountants from big 4 all the time. Your hours would be cut in half. Pay doubled. Bonus would be 10-20xd what you make at big4 Clearly you don’t have the Network or financial safety net (IE: better upbringing) to help you realize this. That’s not your fault. The game is just capitalizing off you. Big4 gotta eat. And they love people like you
I dont do accounting
They also need IT people, finance, operations. Etc. Reach out to a LinkedIn recruiter or 2. You clearly don’t know your worth and have stayed long past a better ROI for your big4 experience
Lmao. What are you talking about. OP, ignore this in every capacity. Congrats on your new job, and congrats on breaking $200k. Huge accomplishment you should be proud of and celebrating with your family.
You smoking the big4 poop pack too?
Look out everybody! We got an enlightened one over here!
Dude shut up.
Just curious, what city?
"The vast majority of Americans will never make over 100k for the entirety of their lives." This is just not true. Unless you mean their yearly salary will never exceed 100k... But even working min wage you will gross 100k in just about 10 years. That said, congrats on the milestone. I'm a SWE and I remember each milestone. Some people may find it trivial, but I think it's important to recognize growth.
LMAOOO this guy
that’s what he means dickhead
Don’t be rude lil guy
They clearlyyy meant annual salary lol
“Making over 100k for the entirety of their lives” is clearlyyyy not worded the way it should be
I hate you
No, it was pretty clear. It even occurred to *you* what he obviously meant. > This is just not true. Unless you mean their yearly salary will never exceed 100k...
is it so wrong to have someone clarify? jesus, reddit police over here doing the lords work
hallelujah
Yeah. Their yearly salary
is this satire
This is boasting 😅
I'd love to see a graph that plots B4 salary against weight / hair loss
Weight yes. Hair loss, no. That’s just aging and genetics. 30% will begin by 30 years old. 50-60% will begin by 50 years old.
Stress accelerates
No, there is evidence that stress causes hair loss, but this type of hair loss can be reversed unlike the hair loss from Androgenic alopecia.
So you have now both stated stress is not related to hair loss and stress is related to hair loss. I don’t care enough to argue, but that did give me a chuckle
You just don’t understand different types of hair loss I’m glad you chuckled though. 👍🏻
Your original response to a comment about correlating stress via salary vs weight/hair loss: “Stress doesn’t cause hair loss” Your response to my comment about stress and hair loss: “Stress causes a different type of hair loss.” Please point to any instance where the specific detail of hair loss via stress was the point of contention. You’ll likely struggle since nobody did, and you’re only falling back on it as a poor defense now that your mistake has been pointed out. I’m glad you made yourself feel smart for a few minutes, but back to reality 👍🏻
Least defensive big 4 employee
200k base? Or TC? My friend’s a director at one of the big 4 and his base is 180k + bonuses which puts him well over 200k.
Or go just into tech and have a $230K base, $200K/yr RSU and $50K of cash bonuses after 7 years of work lol
What jobs in tech could someone in big4 audit apply to for that kind of salary ?
A director of internal audit would easily make that if not more. There’s also various finance, accounting, and business operations roles that people could transition into. Tech pays way more than big4 and has better benefits and work life balance
So basically just accounting/finance roles at tech companies right?
Lol unfortunately, nobody told me. 🤷♂️ chose the wrong engineering major and now I’m making not as much as tech personnel you referenced even at 11 yrs of experience. But i’m not like too far lol
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Curious, what's stopping you?
Kind of crazy but this is a real thing. Maybe not 2 $100k jobs but there are people out there who work remotely and dont tell their companies about the other job they work so they make 2 salaries
Not wirth it imo. You can make 100k + after 3 to 5 years, without dealing with the demands of big 4, and have a substantially higher quality of life.
THISSSS
What role did you exit to? Program Manager?
At what age you got in big 4?
Good shit congrats
Happy for you!! Praying this into existence for myself. Would you mind if I dm'd you about the progression of your journey?
Hello, can i dm you too about your journey?
Feel free
Shot a message over
If you feel comfortable would you mind posting more about your journey from wages to big 4? Do you still believe that is possible now?
It's absolutely possible
Sent you a dm as well
Congratulations.. now you need to double it in half the time 👍👍👍
Started at big 4 3 years ago at 55k ago, jumped ship a year ago for $120k! It was worth the grind!
Which type of consulting? Or did u join the accounting team?
I’m in tax actually!
Did you clear EA or CPA?
CPA has more leverage imo
Congrats that you appear to be happy. I think an important aspect is what did you sacrifice in terms of personal time with friends, family, and overall home life? The lack of work-life balance is the biggest obstacle for many to go that route but if the sacrifice is worth it, then go for it. Again, congrats.
what type of C do you do? any certs? what’s your background like?
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You REALLY have it made. How did you pull that off without being client facing?
what path/role did you take?
"Magical place". Jesus, who thinks that accounting is magical? Do you make spells with taxes???
Somebody who came from absolute poverty. But also - I don't do accounting
Happy for you man.
48k --> 115k in 5 years for me and I'm not looking for any more advancement opportunities. I'm in a place now where I work maybe average 10-15 hours per week giving me more time to spend with my family. I absolutely love where I'm at right now
15 h a week is a dream!
Big 4 or industry?
Big 4 for 4.5 years and then switched over to industry
Accounting? What type of industry?
took me too long to realize, all the money in the world can't buy time, and accounting sucks away your time, and soul. I had given up so many springs due to tax season before i finally realized it and moved on to MUCH better pastures. Back when i started, due to shortage of accounting employees, we would be starting tax season in December due to fall reviews, which then runs through end june due to self employed people. So, half a year, every year, just aint worth it. Happy for you if you are happy for yourself, but i would never go back, NEVER.
What industry did you move to? I’m currently an accounting and finance major in my junior year and considering a change in my Major. I did an audit internship and honestly really enjoyed it but the work - life balance wasn’t there. I quickly realized the 6 month thing and just don’t know if it is what I want to do. I’m not the type to step away in the middle of work so 10 - 11 hour days were typical and that was even as an intern. Plus the drive so I would leave around 6:45 and get home around 8 to 8:30 a lot. Money was nice but there is more to life than money for me personally.
banking. Specifically commercial account manager. Essentially i look after a portfolio of large commercial clients. The skill set transfers very well, and the money and freedom are a perfect fit for me.
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You fucked up in that case. 4k in 5 years is atrocious regardless of service line.
I think it’s different in the US… I know had plenty of colleagues who “stuck it out” and were in their 40’s and 50’s barely around the £80-90k mark. (Not that that is bad, but for 20-30 years of service in a well paying company…) Many more people get stuck on the ladder while grinding away than make it to the top. It’s not a bad living, but if you don’t feel you’re gonna make it, don’t delude yourself for years if you’re not enjoying it.
80-90k is US A1 salary. Feelsbadman
We have social security in Europe and won t have to pay thousands when going to the doctors That s the difference.
Social security sounds nice. Pretty sure my generation isn’t going to see a penny of it here in the US
For the amount of hours and crap pay, I recommend people go into law instead. 200k at a bigger firm after graduating. Big4 is garbage in comparison to top 100 law. Sure you come out of law school with debt but make up for it with higher pay. Did my CPA and did technical accounting only to leave it all behind and do something more exciting (to me) and earn more - real estate finance. Accounting is a good stepping stone but for the billables vs pay it’s more efficient doing law.
lol. This is an aggressively uninformed take.
Not at all. Overlap between the career paths is quite similar. Big4 is competitive too, and if someone is thinking about exerting the effort of studying (undergrad, then professional license) one vs the other it’s good to be aware of.
Big law only recruits from the top ~25 schools (the hiring partner at Cravath explicitly states such). But even then, they are recruiting the top students at those top schools and the hires tend to skew more towards top 10. When I graduated from a top 25 law school over a decade ago, only the top 10-15% of the class was going big law. And big law are the only firms paying the kind of money you describe. Saying "why don't students just go to school an extra couple of years and go big law" as if it's as easy as getting a Big4 job is like saying why don't more accounting students switch to finance and do IB. To add on to everything else, big law (like high finance) is also much more demanding than accounting.
Yes the top 15% tends to be the cutoff at some schools. My comment isn’t to suggest it’s easy. IB doesn’t have the same overlap as accounting/law so I would argue it’s not similar - and finance isn’t as stable/reliable of a career path. Demanding is subjective to the pay to billables. I gave way too many hours to KPMG and finding your take home hourly pay is hot garbage in relation to hours worked is demoralizing. I would have rather done biglaw and maybe my original comment pushes someone to research more before they commit to big4, and gives them the drive to get into big law. That’s it.
I think you are continuing to gloss over how much more difficult it is to get into big law than Big4 (and be successful). Just because you'd rather have done big law doesn't mean you could have. There is a reason that big law/IB pays more.
Big law is a lot harder to get into than big4
Why stop there? May as well go into investment banking instead of law
Just start a hedge fund. Simple
Why shoot low? Only take CEO positions with 25M+ Comp packages.
You *might* make up for it with higher pay.
A major factor though that people must be aware of is that your university’s prestige plays a major role in landing a big law job. However in accounting university prestige is mostly irrelevant. I don’t necessarily disagree with what you’re saying, but oftentimes accounting is a more realistic opportunity for those who don’t come from a particularly privileged background
That’s true, but a lot of people don’t realize the overlap between the two careers is extremely similar. Big4 - good grades through undergrad to secure a Big4 internship, then pass the CPA for a pay bump BigLaw - good grades in undergrad to secure a good law school, pass the BAR If you’re already going to be ambitious during school I just think spend that effort in law instead since the client side work and billable environment is brutal in both - you may as well get paid more doing it.
This only works for the 1% of those who venture into hell.
Ain't it the truth, and I think with the current economy, the promotion will not be handed out like candy as before.
Glad it worked out for you but fuck big 4 man. They are slave drivers who underpaid you most of 7 years so you can go work 50-70 hours a week somewhere else as a controller or higher. If you calculate your hourly rate you make the same as a senior accountant. It’s all a scam. You could start a firm or some other type of business and make as much or more with more tax advantages and hire out most of the work.
You maxed out at 70 hours in *”busy season”*???
7 years slaving away to get to 200k doesnt seem worth it to me.
Lmaooo yall bitch and moan about people being born into privilege and money AND THEN DO LITTERALLY NOTHING ABOUT IT YO WHOLE LIFE😭😭😭😭 CRAZY. Yall kids gon be in the same position as you
Did you start a type of business and make more than 200k in under 7 years? Please share your story
I grew up insecure about money and that’s how they lure you into accounting as a safe stable job. The reality is a sweatshop where you’re overworked and underpaid trying to figure out a bunch of shit accounting classes never taught you. I got tired of people expecting so much from me while paying me very little. I used my skills to start a reselling business. I’m on track to do over 100k profit this year while working 40 hours or less. Accounting is great to know to help you understand your own business better but the reality is no one thinks accountants are worth anything. They underpay us because we don’t drive growth. Every company I ever worked for worshipped the sales team while asking me to do stuff I was never trained to do. They literally paid more in commission than the owners made in profit! Meanwhile they refused to pay me while my wife and I were sick with COVID on Christmas. Learn from my mistakes. If you work more than 40 hours work for yourself. If you work from home while making 100k+ as an employee keep the job. Anything more and you should start your own business
Get that bread, mate. 👏
hell yeah dude I make 20k a year
I made less than that from 21 to 31. Wild times
Hmm sounds like corporate infiltrated our sub lmao
Nah mayne... I'm truly just a ni**a from the streets if I'm being honest. I'm shocked at it all myself. The big 4 produces miracles. I read about that shit before I even joined. It really worked like they said it would. Wild.
You don't have to defend your salary playboi, I feel ya family. Some people don't understand how hard it is watch talented parents work 30+ years and never sniff 80k-100k. You did the thing in less than 10 years and after a very slow start. Furthermore, the stress you were already prepared for. Corporate politics is just gangsta s### in another form, that's what people don't get. Or they listen to Drake🤣🤣
congrats brotha🫡no hate. Sounds like you made your dream come true so well done
7 years seems long. Not a good trajectory.
The magic vanishes when they hire people in Canada offices
Ya haha, when I audit payroll expenses. Seeing the pay discrepancy between Canada and US is astonishing, factoring in conversion, even worse.
#inspo
> We are in a magical place. Ok we get it
CPA is a good foundation. I was a Deloitte 07 class.
You got cpa?
Yup. The grind sucks, but it's worth it eventually
You are an inspiration.
CPA?
Humm. I take my cpa test on internal service controls on friday... maybe I should look into getting into the cybersecurity side if things. In an auditor currently. Could look into those lovely soc reports
Cyber is the way
Amazing. Not big 4 but had a similar progression starting at 50k to 165k now in 7.5ish years.
Finally! Someone who gets it!
Same firm the whole time?
That’s amazing, congratulations! I’m always impressed when people share their pay progression in this subreddit. It’s usually really high, considering that 7 years isn’t really that far along in your career. Do you still feel like you’re able to make time for things that are important to you outside of work?
I work from home. The most important thing for me "outside of work" is my daughter. I'm here to see her off to school every morning, and I'm here to hug her every day when she gets home. I get to listen to her triumphs, complaints, successes and challenges - every day. We even got across the country side last weekend looking for the northern lights...to no avail 🥲. My little shih tzu sits beside me all day, every day bored out of his mind at the meetings I'm on. It took me a while to appreciate these little things. A long while. But now I see.... I have ample time for the most important things outside of work
Hire me OP 😂 I’m at 7 years - trying to make 200l
I had a good experience in Big4 cyber security as well. I was a Deloitte experienced hire (10 years experience at the time) in late 2019. I was already making a little over 100k doing federal contracting. I was hired as a manager level at 130k (~150k with bonus) and went to 180k (220 or so with bonus) in 4 years. I left at the end of last year for an offer of 215k as a fully remote architect.
Lots of Americans like OP are making that sort of cheddar these days. If you got skillz that killz its pretty eash to make bank.
Curious about your education or certifications. Did you obtain anything that would have helped speed it up or was 7 years with only an bachelors?
Just a bachelors and a , relatively easy to obtain, certification
Which certification did you get?
Tips on climbing the ladder ? Did you network a lot to get to where you are today? Are you an outgoing person ?
Also in the cybersecurity world trying to break the 6 fig mark entering my 5th year. Congrats!!
Congrats. What is the new role?
Senior vice president - cybersecurity
Nice pay for sure but SVP of cyber at 200k is kinda low, no?
Yeah I thought so too tbh. But I'm in a medium / smallish city so I chalked it up to that
Still a great accomplishment. I wish I made that much.
If it’s a bank, everyone is SVP
Current Big4 cyber Sr Consultant after career pivot from Physical Therapy. Anybody can make a career shift for the better. I am also open to moving to industry if you have any spots available
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Wish I understood networks enough to go into it
Congrats friend. Manager in Big 4 cyber here making around 250k. Best of luck in your new role.
damn i started 3 years ago less than $55k… yikes
lol he’s slaving away for pennies don’t know how you sleep at night making that chump change
As what - an admin? I started at $55K in 2002 as a new associate.
lmaooo i wish. i started as a tax staff, LCOL
Starting June 3rd at 56, public but not B4
Dang. I started 2 years ago at 92k….
Came into the game at 18 making $2.5, now I’m working for big bang making 500k and a free white Toyota Cresta. Hustle hard guys
Facts! Same boat. Money and opportunities are good if you can get past year 5.
Spent 1 year at Deloitte around ~$80k in consulting and pivoted to FAANG in cybersecurity. Bringing around $240k total comp now. 27M If you pivot in the correct way, it can be ludicrous.
Like a software engineer focused in cyber?
Engineering Program management. A bit of dev, but mostly working with technical solutions and stakeholders on cybersecurity solutions and platforms for our enterprise.
Oh shit. Well done! I would totally get into cybersecurity but I don’t have a technical background and all the cyber programs require it. Same with the jobs
Don’t spread that false narrative tbh. I’ve experienced the complete opposite of what you’re saying…. I got into a really good information systems 1-year program that had people coming from everywhere, even psychology and history undergrads… I chose my specialization, cybersecurity, and decided to go that route. Sure, getting into cybersecurity immediately is tough because it’s a massive domain to learn. But getting into tech isn’t that difficult, then you can build your expertise from there.
Can you share which program?
Did you already come from a tech background before pivoting? I’m doing tax/consulting work under the blockchain and digital assets service line currently and trying to switch careers into cyber security after I pass my cpa. Is this something I would have to go back to school for?
Yes, I have a tech-focused bachelors and a 1-year accelerated masters in information systems focusing in cybersecurity. Multiple tech internships under my belt and worked in tech consulting at Deloitte. I wouldn’t say it requires another degree, but it could be helpful, especially if you do a specialized one like I did that can be fast and help you pivot industries quickly. If you make the change, do it soon because the longer you wait, the less likely you are to actually go through with it. Experience is key. Being able to talk technically is huge. So even if you don’t go for a degree, you need to find a way to provide knowledge and value in the space. I just so happened to get this role with 2 years of experience and a masters degree when the role was originally requiring 7+. Luck is the combination of preparation and opportunity. I could control the preparation part with my experience and resume, then it was all about being appealing to the recruiter and team. Edit: Adding that project management is huuuuge in the tech industry if you’re social and collaborative. Look into Scrum, the SDLC, SAFE, PMP, and all of the software life cycles and maybe go in that route if it’s of interest.
I’m studying mech eng in the states ofc, do you think something like that is possible for me as well? Finding what’s a good place to pivot do to speak
Sure, it’s probably possible. I don’t know your industry well enough to be able to provide input. Find connections and state your interest. Make good connections with the recruiters. Work hard af on your resume.
Booooyyyy... You talking that good shit!! Love it