Would you leave a Top 10 firm to work at a big 4 but take a demotion? I.e senior to experienced associate position. Is it worth it?

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No dont take the demotion, trust in what you bring to table. You could argue that they could evaluate your path to manager instead.

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I've seen people come from smaller firms and truth is they are not as good as a good homegrown people. Its natural. There is a lot to learn. Coming in as a senior might just be too hard if you not excellent.

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Agree with this, but would also say it depends whether you want to be there long term. If long term, would say go for experienced associate. If not, push for senior.

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Maybe, maybe not. You’ll get a strong technical background, but the quality of life is pretty much guaranteed to be bad.

There are plenty of folks who do quite well in life without Big 4 experience.

If you do make the jump, I would not take a pay cut. That’s a tough pill to swallow. Pay isn’t that great at Big 4. It’s a lot worse once you consider the hours you’ll work.

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KPMG3 - you hit the nail on the head. I worked at a regional for four years. Hours were fantastic, but pay sucked. Did PwC for four years. It was typical B4 experience. Now work at a Goldilocks regional- it’s absolutely fantastic and I may stay here here forever.

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Coming from a top 10 firm? Don’t let them do that to you. No way it’s worth it if you’re already at top 10. I’ve seen seniors come in from even smaller firms and keep their rank (though maybe they had to accept a reduction from S2 to S1 or whatever, not sure).

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I mean obviously it’s just fun to make fun of KPMG at every opportunity

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Hell no. You learn just as much (maybe more) at a smaller firm and they value you more. Especially in tax (my expertise).

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I agree with this 100%!!

PwC almost always demotes and I think it makes sense. There is a lot of firm specific stuff that I see experienced hires struggle with. Even if you don’t get a demotion you’ll probably be hurt in the review process and your next promotion will take longer. There’s no denying it’s a big step between mid tier firms and big 4 and that’s to account for that. If you’re moving because you want big 4 on your resume it’s definitely worth it. Will lead to more open doors down the road, just make sure you stick it out to get the promotion.

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Odds are you’ll be way ahead of peers and doing senior work. They just want to give you some time to learn firm particulars around documentation, tools, etc. I’d do it if the B4 name was important enough to you

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That depends. Are you switching service lines? If you’re going from specializing from individuals taxes to ITS or state&local or M&A - Then yes you should do experienced associate cause you’ll drown in that senior position. Because if you go from doing 1040s at Bdo or rsm and jumping to Ey - from a compliance perspective there’s not much differences except maybe clients, culture and tools. But if you going from 1040s to let’s say a partnership heavy practice then I’d go ahead and come in as an experienced staff. But if you’re doing the same work then ask for the same rank you were in.

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Great point. This is the only reasonable exception.

Concur with everyone else, don’t take a demotion

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Absolutely not

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Disregard Covid, you get an automatic salary raise each year, but you need to kiss a lot of ass to get promoted. Don’t take the demotion.

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No... don’t think it’s worth the demotions, and maybe lower pay. It’ll take time for you to reach senior again... unless you really want the big 4 name on your resume.

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No. If it’s a different service line then yes but the difference between big 4 and top 10 at senior level is not that much.

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Does it come with a pay raise? If so, yes. If not, then no.

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Really depends on the team and practice you'll be working in.

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I have an offer as experienced associate - money is good and I ll take another promotion bonus when I make Senior again.

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Never

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No. No no no.

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Don’t

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NO - DO NOT UNDER SELL YOURSELF!

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