Just how bad is tax pigeonhole?
I've spent the year up to this point applying for audit internships, but believe it or not there are those of us incompetent enough to not land one. It occurred to me at the career fair that Deloitte had two reps from consulting and two from audit, each with lines of students halfway across the ballroom. They also had two reps from tax, who spent most of their time making sure consulting and audit people were in the right line.
I'm awful at getting jobs. I'm awkward and boring in interviews, I don't do many extracurriculars because I'd rather sit at my desk at home punching myself in the dick repeatedly than be around most of my classmates, and my academic credentials are decent, but not enough to make up for the first two. That's the current draw of tax (and public accounting, really) to me.
I don't want to spend forever in tax, or even accounting. My real goal is to take the CFAs (taking exams is all I'm really good at) and move into an ER/AM role, but frankly I would probably bail at the first sign of an F500 headhunter if I was still at Big 4. The transition seems pretty reasonable from audit, but I'm not sure I'd still have those opportunities with a tax background.
Has anyone who started in Big 4 tax made the transition into an entirely non-tax role? If so, do you have any advice on how to do it?
Hey, Love the brutal honesty. I have two close friends that have both worked tax for the past few summers and are now full time in two of the big four. Firstly, they really don't like it. Secondly they had spoke to some of the more veteran associates who were there about lateraling to valuation or more finance oriented areas and said it is more or less futile to try. Also, before accepting the full-time gig, every finance position they applied for would contact them back and tell them that they had a great tax position available and that they wanted them to come in to interview for that.
All in all I cannot give you first hand knowledge or as good advice as many here, but It seems to me that MBA will break the tax pigeon hole. Btw are you from a target, and what was your major?
I'm an Accounting major at what's considered a total non-target here (and rightfully so for finance positions), but three of the Big 4 recruit here.
Dude, I did tax for four years at a F500. It sucked. In my first two weeks at a buy-side shop, I learned more in two weeks than I did in my tax position of four years. However, if your personality is the way you describe it, then tax is for you.
My gf (who worked at a Big-4 in tax) tells me that you are correct in your assessment of the tax pigeonhole. She applied for non-tax jobs (even when she applied for grad schools) and recruiters call back telling her of wonderful tax opportunities they have, NOT related to what she applied for. She opted towards the accounting route (rather than master in tax) for grad school to get out of the hole. Accounting seems a good parallel to run along in case you want to get out of tax in the future.
Qui asperiores ratione excepturi incidunt deserunt alias autem quia. Minima incidunt quia nisi et. Enim nihil animi dignissimos nisi. Itaque et architecto voluptatem iusto fugiat.
Numquam et sed molestiae. Laudantium illum id molestiae consequuntur neque dolore qui voluptatum. Est dicta dicta eos architecto error quasi consectetur. Eos ratione ut quasi ad cumque eveniet. Necessitatibus ut dicta ut. Amet asperiores aut aut et voluptas quasi et quis. Reiciendis consequatur cumque eligendi.
Magni itaque accusamus magni. Ab necessitatibus et corporis amet quia sunt. Deserunt illum quia iure ipsum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...