Is a big 4 internship a complete joke?
I am currently interning at a bank the summer before my final year of undergrad, and have many peers working internships for the big 4. I have heard stories of them getting paid 30/hr for doing absolutley no work, getting to "work" from home whenever they want, and some even got this entire week off for July 4th. Do these companies just baby their kids? Is there any value of these students in spending their summers doing this. Looing for confirmation that I am spending my time more wisely then them lol. Thanks yall
Whole point of a big 4 internship is for the company to make themselves look good, then offer the interns jobs before going back to school. Essentially lock them up to replenish their audit ranks.
You actually get pretty good training there; more importantly, everyone knows you get good training there, so you're easier to hire.
Its also "not" a bad job right out of college. You get to do some traveling, be with people your own age, and see some stuff. Once you get a grander view of the landscape its not as great, but it sets a firm foundation. It is IB/PE/ER/AS, no, but its better than most other jobs. For some its actually their best option. All in all, definitely better for a 22 year old than other options on the lower side of the range.
If you get a masters in accounting (takes 1 year) your big 4 starting salary is about 10k higher (60k vs 70k)...so that pays for itself in 2 years. You get regular raises in accounting...in 10 years, if you stay at the big 4, you'll be making around 250k..another 5 years to make partner where you'll make around 500k+....and then eventually you retire with a partner pension (assume half your avg salary...so 300k for life). Its a longer road to make the big money vs IB...but lots of people don't get a shot to do banking because there are only so many open positions every year...and so big 4 accounting is a viable alternative to make a good living for a lot of people.
yes, but that's not because they can't...its because a majority leave after 1, 2, 3, 4+ years to go into industry....which is an easier life (no busy season with 18 hour days...etc..). Just about anybody who is at a big 4 in NYC for ~10 years can move to a lower tier city and make partner immediately, and then retire in 5 years for the pension. Most don't choose that path, which is why its available.
who cares... worry about yourself... count your bank account in 10 years if you need a pat on the back... the person not in finance may have more...
BIG4 TAS internship is for example in Germany a starting point for IB career. There are no real targets and it is almost impossible to get BB/EB as your first internship.
summers are what you make of them....
Summer 1 Wealth Management Summer 2 Credit Analyst Summer 3 Sales/Trading
Started in a s/t at a bb post college
Summer 1 - learned what i didn't want to do and also learned a lot about our clients and that you can make money in a number of ways
Summer 2 - i actually learned a ton and developed the work ethic that i would need to excel in the corp world.. i also learned that office politics are real and getting ahead is not only how good you are but what track management wants you to be on
Summer 3 - knew first week this is what i wanted to do with my life or until someone told me to go home
so every journey is different but worry more about yours than your classmates
Oh look at this summer intern at a bank shitting on Big 4 summer interns. Kid, you are nothing and whatever work you are doing means nothing. You are a glorified secretary until you are VP and actually selling. Get off your high horse.
Another important component of B4 internship and 1st yr is you are put on a client team and are client facing very early in your career. That's a big deal. Assuming most leave (just like most leave IB in a few yrs), you have lots of client exposure during your brief stint. Very common exit is to industry at a client but at a higher level had you spent the same time at that client directly out of UG.
Know many who have done quite well within corp fin groups (including some CFOs) . Most credit their B4 experience as a great launching pad.
my thoughts exactly during the past few weeks. I don't think I'll be able to get into IB straight after grad so Audit seems like a decent place to be. Virtually every other option is sitting at a desk and doing mundane work (too mundane, even for entry level). They will pay for your CPA/ACCA/ACA or whatever, which is quite valuable. I assume you would learn a lot and every CFO I've met has the qualification. Combined with CFA, you could be in a great position when you're 25-26 years old. Add a masters and a 9-5 has you set for life..
People shit on Big 4 and other opportunities like wealth management because of the chasing prestige mentality in WSO. And the fact that a large portion of members come from families that are very well-off, hence such opportunities don't appeal to them.
OP, welcome to the start of the cycle of abuse you are being indoctrinated with in IB.
Intern: "Look at those guys over there: Having a life outside of work, not being fearful of their manager, actually taking time off" "What losers!"
First Yr Analyst: "Yo, our intern just asked to take time off during their internship, I never did that as an intern" "What a loser"
2nd Yr Analyst: "Yo, our first year analyst just took a vacation, I didn't do that my whole first year. I guess these analysts don't know work ethic" "What a loser"
Years down the road Existential Crisis Banker: "I was the loser"
you sound salty af lol
"Is there any value of these students in spending their summers doing this." pls fix grammar errors in this sentence, enlightened one. i expect to have your revisions on my desk by the morning, but don't work too hard.
The busy season ends in June so they don't have much work for interns to do . Also a lot of the workers go on vacation during that time as well. I have had an internship in Big 4 for a few summers now, I work in Financial Advisory luckily we have work all year around. I feel like I have learnt a lot about finance. I do however hear a lot of the interns who work in Audit always saying they dont have any work to do most of the time. It would be more useful to have interns work during the busy seasons but we are in school. They do have some programs were they will take on students who are graduating, during the busy season to help out with work. Also we dont get any weeks or days off besides public holidays. And you are not allowed to work from home. If you take vacation or sick days it is unpaid so it is not worth taking a sick day every Monday. I have had a completely different experience and I wouldn't say they baby us at all. They have like one or two team building days just for the interns but that is about it.