Will You Regret Leaving Public Accounting | CAR CHAT

[@Raachel244]

I'm 2 years into my big 4 tax contract and have 1.5 years left. I have plummeted into depression and anxiety due to work and the paranoia of managers out to get me and constantly feeling stupid. I am counting down the days till I'm chartered and am able to leave

[@robreich6881]

From the US, we don’t have no contract. Can’t imagine being enslaved to the firm like that.

[@ALXSSA]

That is the mindset I have too, I'm young and I have the energy to take on these things but sometimes it is a battle in my mind on whether or not I can handle the public accounting stress. I shall see, I am not joining with the B4 (with a mid-tier firm) so I hope it's not horrible but I hear mid-tier is still rough. I'm still going to continue on my path and see where it takes me. Thanks Steph.

[@gonzalezmario2731]

Hey, how has it been?

[@stephandden]

Great video Stephie! We were recently talking about ‘signs it’s time to quit’ and we believe that it does come down to you as an individual and what you want. Steph and I both work for the BIG 4, and although we feel as if we’re currently growing, working for the BIG 4 is a give and take relationship. If that scale is really out of whack, you might need to pulse check!!

[@davida7773]

Hi Stephie! I was an intern in a mid tier firm and now im currently working in a Big 4. The environment and the pressure for me was higher in the mid tier so I guess It all depends on the Office/people you come across with. Hugs!!

[@vikatus]

Hey Stephie, thanks for the video! As always, I really appreciate you being brutally honest with work at the Big 4. I went through my internship and got a full-time offer for a Jan start! I'm a bit worried, but hopefully mentally prepared to start in busy season. I was told to try to stick it out till manager too, but its good to know that leaving earlier is not so bad. Any essential survival tips for busy season? And good luck on the move this week!!

[@TheMaximumFromMunich]

i always try to have enough snacks and have small "rituals" when i get really exhausted like walking around the building for a couple of minutes to get my second (or sometimes third lol) wind going. I think you need to find your own groove tbh and then you will see how easy or hard working long days is going to be for you. Wish you the best of luck with your career start!

[@vikatus]

@@TheMaximumFromMunich Thanks so much for the tips, I really appreciate it!!

[@melodybooboo]

Exactly what i undergo at the moment in my third year of big4 life

[@Chanelle208]

As a trainee, I'm still studying the ACCA's, I've been working since January, only work 2 days a week, however I see people who are associates or senior associates dealing with stress and I definitely don't envy it, the pay is a demotivator because I see 99% of other jobs that ask for little experience with double the pay. The reason I stay is the people and the experience, I had a previous job also as an intern for about a year and half, it was hell because they never had any tasks for me to learn and I was bored and lonely all the time because I didn't fit in the culture, I don't have this problem with the Big 4. The work is varied and interesting even as an intern.

[@smartyyoung7319]

Great video. Having my PwC Offer rescend because of my visa status, I have not yet given up. Wish me good luck with Deloitte and EY for the upcoming recruiting cycle!

[@WithStephie]

I'm so sorry to hear that but I'm sending all the positive vibes to you!! It's their loss!!!

[@pollypocket8263]

Thank you this really answered a lot of what I’m going through right now

[@ubong_]

Thanks a lot Stephie for this video. This speaks to how I have been feeling lately. Hopefully, I can make the right decision.

[@kazumaa7093]

I'm already regretting but it's too late to pull out now since I'm already far inside of accounting.

[@그린_에버]

Thank you so much for the video! Do you think we can really meet a career mentor in our career? I’ve been working at big four for the past 4 years and I feel like, I can never be honest with my career mentor as I feel that everyone has their own agenda and at the end, they only care about their own benefit. I am really struggling to find a true individual who can provide me a good career advice. Do you think you can make a video about this? Thank you!

[@toxbridge]

Evergreen Kim My experience is that You need to be frank and tell your coach of what your goals are. If nothing works, at least you can request for internal transfer, change of coach or look elsewhere. Never be quietly receptive of what’s given. Proactively ask for it. Big 4 is supposed to be a place for you to learn and grow exponentially. Not to complain about the cheap pay and long hours.

[@그린_에버]

Tao Liu thank you so much! I just feel like everyone has their own agenda in big 4 and politics are everywhere. So I am scared of being super honest about my goal/ asking for what I want because , in back of my mind, I know that I will never get what I want because of some bs or I am not the one that they like me....

[@stephandden]

Hi Evergreen Kim! Totally get where you’re coming from! With that being said, after 4 years you now know the inner workings/bs that no one tells you in the beginning. This also means that you know that no one is going jumpstart what you want to do, unless you make it known. What Steph and I have done over the past little bit are constant pulse checks and making sure that we’re doing things with intention. Ask yourself if you’re still growing at the firm and whether you intend to grow with firm! Good luck 😊

[@bradz.7164]

Don't you think your messages in this video are exactly what suits the Big Four firms' overall HR strategy?

[@MrLiridonf]

Hi, I believe in one of your videos you mentioned you worked for Cohn Reznick. What role did you do there and what was your overall impression of the culture, career progression and what are the hours like during busy season?

[@sandy23stories40]

I have a high interest in public accounting especially big 4. This is recruiting season and I have put myself out there going to all networking events and career fair. I would like to have the experience in public accounting and I will graduate this December. Your videos are very helpful to me. Hopefully I can stay in public accounting for as long as I can.

[@michellechungg]

I've been following your channel for a while and it's literally in the order of my quarter life crisis (ahhh). I love your content though and I love how driven you are! I have a couple of questions for you: 1) Have you ever had any experience with IT auditing? 2) Do you have any suggestions on books or videos that can help with learning about compliance and controls in auditing for someone who is completely new to the field? 3) since audits tend to be in quarterly period, did you wait until year end or did you quit during a quarter?

[@ACourtofHooksAndBooks]

Hi Stephie! Kind of a random question but I'm new to the accounting industry (at my first big girl job) and we have a performance review soon. Could you do a video about your experiences with performance reviews and how to prepare for one?

[@linuxqb5614]

Hi Kayla. Good luck for everything! How has the performance review been going? Nice to meet you. Ben

[@johnmartinez1899]

I had a jerk boss that drove me out of Big 4. I wanted to move up the ranks, but it just wasn't meant to be.

[@gambit3950]

I’m going through that now. Boss makes my life hell. Wish I could stay until partner. I’m making my one year in a month and then I’m out

[@zhenfeng166]

Thank you sooo much for sharing your experience and thoughts. it helps me a lot

[@nanaselai6985]

Hye stephie. I just went to my performance reviews and my job confirmation was extended due to my poor performance after 3months working in audit. They said my main problems are my understanding and time management. Could you help me better? I don't have internship and I work in big 4.

[@derdrmed]

u realize that big 4 auditing is low quality when you leave them and start to work at a smaller audit firm

[@ashtonfaith]

is there a big downside to working for a middle market public accounting firm? i'm fairly certain the one i'm going to intern at (cliftonlarsonallen) doesn't work its employees as many hours as big 4, and i just really cannot see myself working over 60 hours a week. that's ridiculous. life is too short for that. i want to be successful and i seem to be really good at accounting (i've gotten over a 100 in all my acctg classes including intermediate 1), but i can't see myself working for big 4. will that set my career back significantly?