Help me weight out my options please
Hello, I'm rather new to the forums and have been reading and learning so much from everyone.
I recently got married (April 20th of this year) and have a beautiful daughter and a baby on the way, due November 20th. We just bought a house.
I am currently a sophomore in college obtaining a dual degree in Accounting (Investment Accounting track) and Finance. Dual degree is from 150 credits in undergrad for CPA. I will graduate in December of 2015.
My question to all who are willing to help is:
Since my wife and kids and I are settled, the closest Big 4 firm is about 1 hour away and I would gladly commute to it daily if it is actually worth it.
My other option is BKD which is about 40 minutes away from my home and I would like to know if BKD is respected enough by F500 companies in order to become either a Controller or CFO one day.
Be completely honest with me please, I need the truth. I wish relocation were an option but with a family it is hard to take kids away from their home and friends and other family.
So BKD, or should I commute the extra 20 minutes every day for the extra Salary and higher "prestige/respect?"
Salary differences are crazy from what I hear, in that BKD is horrible and Big 4 (hopefully Ernst & Young) is quite a bit higher, like almost double at some levels.
Any insight on this is much appreciated! Thank you to all who read this!
Congrats on the baby on the way.
The Big 4 will have a better exit options when taken in general but it doesn't mean it will completely eliminate your chances of being a CFO/Controller.
I think the commute is a non-issue because as Art said, you'll never be at the office. You should be looking at how much travel will be required. This can vary between offices and firms. I have some friends in regional that never travel, and some that travel out of state 80%. If you're in a large metro you will likely travel less. If this is the case, and you don't want to travel, big 4 might be a better option because they usually have large clients that you would work on year round.
Regarding compensation, I really don't think it will vary as much as you mentioned. In many cases the regional/national firms offer $1-3k more than the big 4 to try and recruit and compensate for the preference students have towards big 4. The salary at the big 4 will be higher at all levels past senior associate, but not by more than 10-15%.
Most people don't stay at big 4 long enough to see the huge difference in salary that the big 4 might offer at the manager/senior manager level.
Considering your family situation you should think about the work/life balance of each firm. "In general" big 4 is going to work you harder and have less flexibility while the smaller firms will work you less. Busy season will be bad regardless and the smaller firms can often be understaffed and work comparable hours to the big 4.
Art,
Thank you very much for your advice. I'm at a University where Ernst & Young recruits and I'm a 4.0 at the moment, so you are right, I don't have any offers haha, but I do hope my efforts help out!
Wow, very thorough, thank you so much for the great advice!
I would if possible try to place in with a Big 4 hands down. Considering you have a family you will more than likely want an exit strategy should the hours become a problem in your personal life. Go with the Big 4 not only because exit ops are better but better pay/better training.
If you do research on accounting jobs many of the posting in industry will say things to the effect of "Big 4 desired experience desired."
As someone noted earlier, location of the actual office is not important considering you will not be there. If you have a family and want to be closer to home you can also ask to work on a client closer to your house though I wouldn't bag on this too much.
I hope it didn't sound like I was putting down your chances, I just don't want you to take Big 4 for granted. On this website, sometimes people make it sound as easy as getting a part time job at walmart, when in reality, compared to other jobs, its still pretty tough. But definitely wish you all the best! Try to get involved in some sort of accounting org on campus, Beta Alpha Psi at my school not only was a great resume booster, but awesome for networking with the firms.
And if EY recruits there, the other guys probably do too, so look into that so you can cast a few nets rather than one.
Thank you Ezreal, i will most likely go ahead and strive for the Big 4.
Art, Its all good! and i will never take any Big 4 for granted, especially since, being at a University that was non-target for Big 4 last year, I have talked to the whole whopping 2 alumni who made it into the Big 4 and they let me know how hard it is but that it is possible. So i'm going to give it my all and join Beta Alpha Psi and the Accounting club and do the competitions and stuff too.
I really appreciate your input. Made me want to try EVEN harder now.
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