2 Days to Accept...Really Need Help
I am usually very brief in my posts here on wso but I am in need of some serious help ASAP and I hope you are all up for a good bit of reading. Before I get started, I understand that nobody can give me definitive answers and that I will ultimately have to make this decision on my own but I feel that having multiple points of view from people who have been where I am will really help. Basically, I have 2 offers that I am seriously considering for a summer internship and they cannot be more different from each other. So, first allow me to give a quick rundown of these differences and my overall take on them.
Firm & Position: One is a Tax Internship at a top 10 F500 consumer products company and the other is an Assurance Internship at one of the better Big 4. I do not know the industry group or even the specific assurance practice that I will be in for the big 4 position but I will have a chance to specify this after I make a decision. Similarly, I do not know the exact tax group I will be in but obviously there is less in the way of options here. The way I see it, I have no experience in either and from what I hear, doing an internship in one area will not inhibit my chances to pursue a different role in the future for full-time.
Nature of the Work: From my tax interview, I know that I will be assigned to a specific person (manager or higher) and I will be performing more or less the same duties they will which I think is great exposure. From my assurance interview I did not get much in the way of details. I believe I will be assigned to a particular team from my industry preference, but as far as the actual work, I am not sure.
Location: The big 4 internship is in a major city on the east coast, the F500 internship is in a town just about 10mins outside of a small city, and is also on the east coast. The tax internship would not require me to move, while the assurance internship would. Overall, I guess it would be nice to live in an interesting city for the summer and have some different scenery for a while, but I don't really have anything against my current location. Also, I don't know how much time I will have to enjoy myself in the city as I am unsure just how many hours I may be working at the big 4 gig.
Pay: On paper the hourly wage is without a doubt much better at the big 4, especially due to the overtime possibilities. However, this is bittersweet because the cost to rent a furnished apartment in that city for the 3 months of the summer will likely run $1800 - $2000 per month (maybe more), and while I know that sharing a room or living at a local university dorm would be about half the cost per month, I really enjoy my autonomy and not having to share a kitchen or bathroom. I gave a rough calculation, and at around 40 hours per week at 9 weeks I would make about $9000 or so for the entire summer at the big 4. After taking housing and random expenses into account I will probably net around $3000. At about $5 less per hour and around 10 weeks long, the tax internship would earn me about $8000 but because I would not have to move, this would all go in the pocket (more like to student loans, but you get the point).
People: The people at the F500 were relatively older individuals with families, but seemed very inviting and happy with what they were doing. The big 4 had a younger crowd and an equally friendly disposition as the F500. Basically, I would be working with great people either way, the only thing is I have actually met the people I would be working alongside at the F500, but not those at the big 4.
Future Opportunities: I know a great deal of interns from the big 4 get an offer for ft and this is enticing to say the least. Conversely, I know that the F500 firm made it more or less explicit that they don't give ft offers, but I may be able to continue pt during my last year of school. So, unfortunately I would have to go through recruiting again next fall if I chose the F500.
If you have made it this far, thank you and congratulations. Given everything above I have two main things keeping me from a firm decision. (1) If I choose to decline my Big 4 offer, will I even be considered next fall for full-time if I choose to apply again, or will they and the other Big 4 only be looking for those students who already did a big 4 internship the prior summer? (2) I keep hearing horror stories of those in the big 4 who took offers based on the perception of prestige and/or great exit opportunities and now hate their lives. I also hear that big 4 is a must if you want to go anywhere in accounting which leaves me with the question: what are my options if I choose not to go the big 4 route?
Wessman,
I just accepted a F50 finance internship on the east coast. This is a pretty clear cut decision for you in my opinion. Go with Big 4. If the F500 led to a FT offer in sweet leadership rotation program, it would be a very hard decision. But it doesn't...
Big 4 will lead to a FT offer, and next fall you will have a FT offer in your back pocket going into recruiting. If you realize that Big 4 is not for you well...good news! Big 4 name carries a lot of weight in the F500 world, so I'm sure that if you interview well you can land an offer at F500 with Big 4 internship.
That F50 tax internship won't lead to a FT offer, so you will go into recruiting with an empty hand. You could probably get a F500 offer if you interview well..but nothing is certain. What is certain is that you can get a Big 4 FT offer if you do well during summer.
Also, living in a big city for a summer while being a Big 4 intern surrounded by many, many college kids like yourself sounds damn exciting. I would not even consider the amount of $ you would save by doing F500 internship since you won't get a FT offer out of that. You might lose $50K by not getting a FT offer by trying to save $5K.
Please, please choose Big 4
Money should be irrelevant in your decision. Choose the one that a) gives the most likely chance of getting an FT offer and b) will allow you access into the career you most desire.
I will say this though, Big 4 Assurance is SERIOUSLY over-glorified by recruiters. You basically spend 2-3 years in a windowless room ticking boxes, scanning invoices, matching numbers, calling up people who dont like you for information neither of you care about and generally really not enjoying yourself. That said, some people really enjoy the investigative aspect of it.
For the purposes of balance, Tax is probably worse, especially Internal Tax. Of the two, I would go with Assurance, aim for the FT offer and then work your ass off to get a better offer.
The money definitely is not my main concern. Basically, I don't think I want to pursue a career in public accounting and would prefer private or government positions regardless of the lower pay. So, if I could obtain these positions without taking the big 4 internship then I would lean towards to F500.
I think in this economy you have to go with what's likely to give you the best shot at a FT position. You can't just look at it from the perspective of this summer.
Check my answer in this post, OP had the same question as you (F50 tax vs Audit at Big 4).
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/choosing-between-these-2-offers
In short, I would go with Big 4 audit unless you know you want to do tax for a career. The Big 4 internship will be better for landing FT offers for corporate finance, corporate/commercial banking, and other finance positions (just not IB). Tax has a pigeonholing effect.
EDIT: Government positions also value big 4 experience due to the training you receive and you would be able to come in at a higher salary.
So you think that even if I have no real interest in pursuing big 4 in the future, the big 4 summer internship on the resume will help me break into a private/government position better than the F500 Tax position?
Thanks for the link, I guess there are a few people in a similar situation to myself. I also wanted to know if anyone had any input on the different industries you can choose from at the big 4 and how office size affects the job. I have not really been able to find as much info on this as I thought I might, and while hr and some of my contacts have been super helpful, I don't really want to call or email them for every little question I may have.
I do know which industries I can choose from but don't know the real details that make one different from the others. For example, does one industry frequently have more/less hours? Will Asset Management have more focus on regulation than Consumer Products? Does a bigger office have any advantages/disadvantages compared to a small one? Those kinds of questions. I know this is not an accounting forum, but I have been on a lot of the various accounting specific forums, and to tell you the truth I seem to get more complete answers here. Thanks all.
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