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Anyone want to run Bain-style cases with me?
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Fellow degenerates will understand
What’s the work culture at New York life like?
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Get ready to sell your soul to the devil
Some ppl are so dramatic.
PwC was the best place I worked in public accounting. If you have the opportunity to join, you should do so. Work hard, be personable and build your network.
What office/group?
Right! This really makes a difference indeed.
Based on my experience and thoughts from others I know - It really depends on certain factors which may/may not be in your control that defines experience at big 4.
1. Your team - this is a big one for me and I think the major differentiator in defining your experience at a firm. If your team is understanding, values personal life but also is willing to put hours when needed, is more human than robotic - it makes you want to show up at work
2. Clients you engage with - Not so much in your control initially but you ultimately get to develop relationships, grow and sometimes even choose the clients you would wanna work on. There can be good/bad experiences with them but always helps learning and understanding what some of the key management people care about at large.
3. Your career - If you’re someone early in your career, I think its worth a shot atleast for two years. I have seen a lot of companies demand big4 experience for their career opportunities.
4. Politics - this is present everywhere in life. You do you and give your best.
5. Work life balance - Isn’t the best here, subject to above factors, depends what you want
6. Salary - Also not so great as compared to industry but you get to learn a lot early in your career.
Ultimately I think its what suits you. All the best!
I’m pretty sure staff billable goal is 2000. That’s a good enough reason to decline
Law firms have 2k goals. Big firms start staff at 1800 and work down as seniority is attained. It’s never been 2k and we don’t even know what level OP is.
If you go into a big firm 15-20 percent OT is expected and reasonable. Total hours is a more important figure in terms of QOL experience
I mean as long as you don’t mind super long hours and you can learn quickly you’ll be fine. Otherwise you may struggle.
PwC was a great firm and light years ahead of BDO. I would go for it. You will learn a lot and work for some of the best.
Trading your life away
So much politics and if your not a favorite then ur dogshit
This is everywhere
Paul Griggs is moving PwC in the right direction. It always depends on the specific group you work for but the current PwC firm leadership group is the best in class.
Wait, Paul Griggs? I have been gone from PwC for 14 years and I knew him as a Senior when I was in the Charlotte office.
I enjoyed the work while I was there and felt it was intellectually stimulating, but I got blindsided with a layoff back in September 2024. I had worked there for 13 months when I received a horrible performance snapshot (performance evaluation) from out of left field. The snapshot was suspiciously postponed until after PwC announced layoffs, so make of that what you will.
In all honesty, it boils down to your team. That can make or break you at the firm, from my understanding. A lot of politicking is involved, but then again, where is that not the case in public accounting? I was hoping to stay there for the long haul, but apparently they had other plans for me. Oh well! I don’t think you can do wrong with the experience you will cultivate while you work at the firm. Who knows, you may come to like working there.
Pwc is great, all big 4 are pretty much the same on a macro level, what impacts your experience more is the team you are working with.
As many other have called out, any public accounting, including big 4, usually has pretty long hours at certain points of the year, so just make sure the public accounting life is something you’re comfortable with for at least 2 years.
PwC used to be the best of the best and most prestigious…well known…and the top consulting firm in the world. Large firms have many more benefits than smaller firms. So many opportunities available. It is prestigious just to be offered a position there! You should be proud…however, that being said, you will need to work smart (not the same as hard) and a step ahead of your level (which took me a long time to understand). You need to demonstrate leadership’ technical and clear communication skills from the beginning. I recommend checking the competencies one level above of your current role to (almost) guarantee success. Lastly, as others said, it all depends on your team, the client(s) you are assigned to and engagement management. If you work for good seniors and staff..you will have the best coaches and you will learn and be successful. Times are very different too, not the same anymore, and layoffs happen a lot more often. But remember you still are at one of the top firms in the world. My 2 cents
What level
Do well and you will love it!
The homies need more context. Service line/practice/industry
Why wouldn’t you want to work for PWC?
Do it for the big 4 experience and the connections.
What are your other options, and what are the pros and cons of those other options? What financial area? What’s your general financial background? PwC would be a great learning opportunity and looks great on a resume! You will work very hard if you don’t mind long, hard hours.
Without knowing the city or which business or your level I wouldn’t turn the job down just because you haven’t been in a B4 before.
Way back when I was working with a small local firm but had seven years tax experience that a recruiter leveraged to get me three offers with the then B5. I chose the one I felt was the best fit and went in and quickly (relatively) proved myself. I was at that firm for two decades and it was a great move for both parties. Good luck