Has anyone left big 4 with nothing lined up because it was best for your mental health? Senior 1 not sure why it says I’m a staff.

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Yes. Decided to leave end of December because I couldn’t take another busy season. Had nothing lined up at the time but knew that I couldn’t do it for another 4 months. Made sure I had enough money to cover rent for the next few months before I did decide to quit

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Yes, I handed in my month-notice without another job lined up. Couldn’t have been happier. Literally the day I handed in my notice, I had multiple people saying how happy I sounded over calls (we were already in quarantine).

I was just lucky that a tax job at a company with people I know was open, they decided to give it to me (switched from fed to international to work at the new company), so I only had 3 weeks in between jobs and I didn’t even have time to stress about my next job.

I quit after busy season though and was just honest in my interviews saying I was willing to work hard and put in the hours, just not 8 months out of the year (averaging 60+/week including nonchargeable the year before I quit), and when I put in my notice I wanted to take care of my mental health so I can be more excited about new opportunities that’d come my way.

One thing I see in B4 is that they scare younger staff from leaving by saying it’ll stagnate your career. I had college classmates leave public as seniors and are now now tax directors, sr managers, or managers. The promotion path is the same or better than public if you find the right jobs. And at least in my area it’s shown by my classmates that they are out there.

I think as long as you have a plan on what you want to do in the future, or even just need a month off before you start thinking about that, and you can handle it financially, quitting without a job lined up is not as bad as the older generation makes it sound. Plus, not sounding negative or desperate in interviews is much easier when you’re not struggling with your mental health.

I promise changing jobs isn’t that bad if you find the right fit for you. My current job, other than salary being lower than I’d like and not getting public accounting annual raises, gives actual work-life balance, all the staff I work with would be rated 4 on the old 5-point scale, the managers and leadership are awesome (actually got lightly scolded for pulling an all-nighter and they told me to take “as much time as you need” to rest. During year-end financials preparation time), and I can actually take vacation without working 50+ hours the weeks before and after. It’s been really, really great and honestly quitting without another job lined up has been the best thing for me. Best wishes to you!

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Thank you for your essay

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Senior still counts as staff IMO but I digress.

Your mental health comes first. My first busy season at a Big4, my manager went missing after spending the night in his car. It triggered a firm-wide search. HR found him about to jump in front of a subway train.

Earlier that same year, another director at the firm suffered a public mental break that prompted paramedics and police to arrive.

And I also saw another, unnamed man, try to jump off a neighbouring highrise the following year. Took 3 hours for first responders to talk him down.

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This is important. I had a team lunch today where the seniors joked about others who made senior and left for “any regular job.” People should put themselves, their health and family before a career. Ultimately, how one prioritizes their professional career is different for everyone, but I couldn’t believe they were shaming people for leaving. Bunch of kool-aid drinkers. B4 hours can be unbearable and just because some choose to suffer through it doesn’t make them any better. There’s not one path to success, you can succeed in industry with WLB.

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Left a mid size firm after 10/15 and just started my new job this week. When I left my prior firm there wasn’t a day in the months leading up to me leaving I didn’t think about suicide. Your mental health is the most important thing. It took me four months to recover enough to even want to look for a job and I landed one two days after starting my search. There are plenty of jobs out there, do what is best for you!

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Seriously considering it right now, everyday is just so stressful. So stressful that I lose my appetite

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Yes I did it. One of the best decisions of my life. It gave me time to recover and now I'm in a job that's a much better fit with upward mobility.

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I think about doing this everyday and then look at my loans and desire to do things… *sigh*

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I wish I did this before last busy season and ended up getting sick (5 month busy season at regional firm)

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