To all ex-big 4 tax people, how is your life now? Any regrets?

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I left as a manager at PwC and took a manager position in industry. I work 40 hours for the most part, no nights or weekends. When I leave work I truly stop working. I don’t worry about getting emails when I get home and having to jump back on my computer to work. Are the raises smaller? Yes. Is the progression slower? Yes. I got to a point where it wasn’t about the money for me, I wanted true work life balance and I wanted to take better care of myself which I wasn’t doing at PwC. Not to say you can’t do that in PA, just for me it wasn’t working out. Luckily I am at a company that still has a lot of interesting work and we do almost everything in house so it’s not boring either and I am still learning. It’s all about what matters to you and what your priorities are.

likesmart

I think my team is very flexible for the most part. I don’t have a specific time when I have to come in or stay until. As long as I get my work done no one says anything to me, although you are expected to work at least 40 hrs. I’ve never had an issue coming in later in the day or leaving early. There are team members that come in early and leave before 5 as their regular work hours because of their kids schedule and that’s been fine. I can work from home occasionally, but although is not forbidden it is also not encouraged. That’s probably one of the things where I had more flexibility at PwC. It’s one of those things where if you need to do it you can but it’s not gonna be a regular recurring thing. At PwC I felt like I could do that when I wanted and there were teams that had a specific wfh day during the week. I’m not a big wfh person so it hasn’t affected me. That was a trade off I was willing to take to be able to leave at or before 6pm everyday and no weekends.

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I got super specialized in tax at B4. Left as a senior manager for a local firm when I wanted to cut my hours and stop traveling. Took a pay cut and now covering a broader range of tax issues. No regrets

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Hard to have regrets when only working 40 hours per week and making a salary that provides a comfortable lifestyle for me and my family. Agree with points made by PwC 2. I will never make partner kind of money but I don’t need that money or the stress/workload that comes with it. Was hard to make the decision at the time, but one of the best I have made.

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Following this, a little scared of pigeonholing myself into tax roles

likefunny

Life is 110% better and couldn’t be any happier. Forget a higher raising salary I got my time and life back and that’s what I needed the most

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Not ex-big4 but I think the inverse of this question is more apt; people who stayed in PA,any regrets? Usually when people regret leaving big4 they "boomerang" back in a year or two.

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Bro u can’t just uno reverse op’s question like that make your own post lmao

likefunny

I left a little over a year ago for industry and can say I have no regrets doing so. I work 40 hours, if that much, and then I'm done. The only things I miss from PwC is the unlimited sick days for me and my family (have children with chronic issues) and the shutdowns.

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None. Prestige is waaaaay overrated

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