Lets say that I was able to have a successful business venture or do tech sales for 3/4 years post graduation. Then go back to get a MS in Accounting. Would being older be a disadvantage for Big 4 hiring or might it even be a plus since you have more verifiable and actionable experience.
I guess I'm asking is are the Audit hiring classes in the Big 4 normally all 22/23 year olds or do less traditional people trickle in?
Take what I say with a grain of salt, as I am a graduate of a B-School that typically spits out Big 4 employees which may skew my experience.
From what I've seen, and from what many friends who now work at the Big 4 experienced, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference for age brackets. I've had colleagues who were fresh out of an undergrad-masters expedited program who managed to cruise through the hiring process. I've also known people who had just earned their Masters in Accounting in their late 20s who managed to do the same thing.
Bottom line - if you have a solid Masters program under your belt and a helpful career center/network, you should be fine regardless of age.
Thanks! I've been completely considering the idea of doing tech sales for a couple years (since the pay is roughly $100K/yr) to save up, pay off other loans then launch into something more analytical and financial related. Thanks for the advice! :)
Just a consideration for you, assuming you're successful in tech sales (zero insight into this field) and are regularly hitting that $100k/yr number, I'm not so sure I'd switch to public accounting, especially as a new Associate. You'd essentially be cutting your pay roughly in half (low to mid 50's for a new Associate) for a position that you may or may not actually enjoy. Sure, you'll learn a lot about accounting, but you'll learn a lot more about your firm's respective approach to auditing and accounting guidance/codification. There are definitely more "analytical" positions out there if that's what you're going for. The higher up in public you get, the more it becomes about project management (manage the audit, manage the budget, manage the client, manage the partner) and putting out fires, at least in my experience. Can't say this will be the same for you should you go that route, but just something to think about.
Someone explained that to me, exactly how you did: it becomes more project management. But I actually enjoy that type of role. I'm considering somewhere between public accounting (I did honestly enjoy my 4 accounting courses) and sales operations (analytical/data driven). Money isn't a huge issue, I'm a very big minimalist so it doesn't really hurt me too much if I have to take a pay cut to pursue something interesting.
Agree with SouthernRisking on this. I was that age (24) when I started at my firm. I'm slightly on the older side compared to my peers, but it hasn't made a difference in anyway. I've had an intern (now an Associate) who had spent 10+ years in the military before going back to school and joining our firm. Hasn't hindered him so far.
I have a similiar question. I am in my junior year undergrad. I am in a 150hr program in which illgraduation with my BBA and MSA. I really Wish to commission in the navy as an officer upon graduation, but I’m curious how this Will affect my career path. I would be able to get my MBA while serving at no cost to me, and I certainly wpuld do this. My question is how marketable will I be If I have Obtained my CPA, BBA, MBA, and MSA as well as served a tour as a Navy Officer. My school does not have a strong presence of Big four presence currently. Deloitte recruits heavily, but as far as the rest they are hardly here. I hwve Internship opportunities this upcoming tax season with a few local medium sized firms, but I reqlly Wish to go big four. I was Also wondering if I do do navy, and get my MBA when I finish Service how hard will it be to get a big four job and what would be my starting salary in south east Michigan the starting salary for a staff tax or audit accountant is 57,000. I would Be around 29 when searching for a big four Job and would really like to have a 25-30% salary hike from there. Last but not least, I’d really like to leave the service and work in consulting either with pwc or EY, any advice on how my path would impact my marketability for those roles?
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