The Zero Stress Life?
Hey everyone! I'm a rising junior attending a college with a very highly-regarded accounting program (nowhere near HYP, but Big 4 firms heavily recruit here). I'm an accounting major with a finance minor (and possibly a philosophy minor as well), and I'm considering staying an extra year for an accelerated MBA or MAcc. I have a 3.9 cumulative GPA, honors coursework during my first two years, decent extra-curricular activities, but no real experience (I worked at a golf course these past two summers). I'm just curious, what is the best career path for me to achieve the best quality of life? I'd rather be making $70k/year working 40 hours a week than be making $200k/year doing IB hours.
So where do I go to achieve my ideal quality of life? Does anyone have any insights into their own stress/quality of living? Thanks!!!
It sounds like you’d have no problem landing a gig in a TAS role at a big 4 perhaps? Work life balance, pay is around that, if you’re smart I’m sure you’ll move up the ladder
I take my first tax class this upcoming semester lol so I'll have to see how that goes - thanks for the idea!
Tax is not TAS my man. Transaction Advisory Services. Way cooler than tax imo. Sort of like consulting/banking/auditing combo but I’m too lazy to flesh out the details when typing on my phone. Think all the third parties involved in a transaction. You’d be doing due diligence/quality of earnings and whatnot.
Just left that, granted it was in NYC, but it was that pay you mentioned with probably 60-70 hours a week. At the lower level it was a lot of people who wanted to tell themselves they could make it in IB. A few people made it to IB but curious to see how it works out for those who do want it going forward.
Big 4 TAS is not a great option if you are looking for a 40 hour job with great work/life balance. You are either working with stressed FP&A or Corp Dev clients in the middle of a deal or you are working with stressed audit teams in the middle of their busy season. I’d say 50-60 hours per week, with the max being 80 (some groups may work less than this off course)
If you want to go have a nice easy going life go back to the golf course. Go get a job at a sick private course in golf management somewhere warm like Charleston or Nashville. Kiss ass of country club folk and make decent money to live an easier life. I used to caddy and it was the best job I'll ever have.
Get out of the rat race before it begins and you'll be much happier. Plus, you won't be a suit!
^^^ I say as I'm client side for the 9th straight week hating everything (-_-)
Are you a recent grad? And that's always been a thought in the back of my mind
Yup. White collar life aint too glamorous. You end up day dreaming of the outdoors
I challenge you to look with a different perspective. I've tried to move away from the binary lens from which we typically view life (i.e., happy or sad, overworked or under worked, stressed or anxiety free) and view it more as a continuum. I've noticed a few small changes in my life thus far.
I only suggest this given your age and the inevitable stress and anxiety that will befall anyone, regardless of their quality of life.
Interesting thought - can I ask what you do now and how you're enjoying it? (hours/stress/life outside/etc)
Typical IBD lifestyle. Associate. I use to have crippling anxiety that my significant other would leave me because of work. I had to get inventive with dealing with the unpredictable nature of our business.
What is a rising junior? Are there falling juniors? Are you just insinuating you're going places in life?
Eh, I'll give you a 4/10 for this one. The "are you just insinuating you're going places in life" remark really was not in any way funny, and the whole "rising/falling junior" joke could have been greatly improved. I respect the effort , though.
dawg you aint shit
Become a pharmacist. You work like 40 hrs, make $120K+ in lower cost of living area. It’s little more saturated than say 10 years back but still a decent place with very good job security. Customers can be annoying and CVS isn’t the best place to work, but there are many other employers.
I'm an accounting major lol
+1 laughed out loud
My undergrad has a very heavy Big 4 recruiting presence. From what I hear of them, it still is stressful. Maybe not get yelled at all the time and work ridiculous hours stressful, but you're still working well above 40 hours per week there. And the culture is very competitive, everyone wants to eventually make Partner which is a really solid lifestyle if you can make it. Again, Big 4 is likely less stressful than IB but probably still decently stressful. But if you stress a lot through your twenties, you can chill out later.
What are your career plans/lifestyle goals? Are you trying to make partner?
I have no interest in accounting. My goal is to become a real estate developer. Real estate is my niche and I just put all of my focus into that. If you want lower stress (but not zero stress) look into Asset Management for Real Estate. Accounting is useful for that role. If you do AM for a life insurance company (MetLife comes to mind) its a cushy, well paying job. Personally, I don’t care about life enjoyment until I’m 30. And I accept that as a developer I will constantly be stressed, but it will be fun (for me at least).
Having zero stress is impossible. We are naturally made in a way to respond to positive and negative stress.
Our ability to effectively manage our stress through coping mechanisms decreases it. Some people might be stressed working 80 hours. I call that busy. It doesn't need to be stressful. Some people might be stressed working 40 hours and making half as much.
Rather than looking for opportunities that provide low stress environments, I challenge you to identify your stressors and how you vent and cope with them. If you do that, you will be able to cope with stress in a healthy manner. Then, you will be prepared to follow your true passion and interest, whatever that may be, unhindered.
Because every position, whether it is the Big 4 or some laid back cushy role is going to have spikes in stressful moments that define who you are as a worker and individual. You must get through and shine in these moments; without them you will not learn and grow. To stagnate is to avoid facing these moments and if you are prepared you will face them with ease.
This sounds like something of a kung fu master. You are a wise being
.
Look into going through the credit analyst program at a regional commercial bank with a good culture. Slow and steady raises/promotion with great work/life balance (40-50 hours per week). Once you become an originator you will spend large amounts of time maintaining client relationships out of the office.
Corporate financial analyst is a great route too, but I've heard work/life varies wildly by firm. Most of the big F500 companies should have HR policies in place to deter slave driving hours.
Do you have any insight on the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency)? They get every other friday off as well - starting comp is ~$60-80k depending, and they do recruit at my school, basically they deal with bank regulation, hire from a diverse array of degrees
When you have 0 stress, you are dead.
I'd rather be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war...
Stress is inevitable; it's how you deal with it that matters
Most of the kids that opted not to do banking went to PwC CMAAS (Capital Markets Accounting Advisory Services). It seems to pay better than Tax/Audit and be more interesting. All or working in different cities for it too (NYC, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, and SF), so lots of options there. Recruiting seemed to be pretty competitive as far as big 4 goes. Not competitive as big 4 consulting but definitely more so than typical Tax/Audit.
Velit delectus molestias voluptatem qui. Et quia nulla culpa ipsum ea nam est. Vel nesciunt saepe aut est repellat consequatur non. Omnis et repellat sit fuga.
Id fuga officia et nisi impedit ea minima. Ut quae architecto error similique. Repellendus ipsa hic officiis ut.
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...
Et ipsum voluptatem quis illum. Est ut velit molestias.
Harum dolore veniam eos dolorem porro natus unde sapiente. Optio dolore excepturi voluptas. Quae deserunt velit sint eos in. Atque ratione veniam molestiae porro atque quo. Alias quis omnis libero qui odio quod. Illum earum veniam labore delectus delectus pariatur.
Tempora totam nobis facilis doloribus. Soluta blanditiis est id dolores.
Velit vitae enim fugit pariatur ducimus enim laboriosam. Eum ratione dicta consectetur in reprehenderit. Nihil beatae error voluptas aut enim. Sed voluptates rem incidunt voluptates repudiandae autem a. Et quia perspiciatis eligendi labore commodi.