1. If you're in audit, 95% of the time you'll be traveling, but typically within driving distance of your office. Almost the entire audit process is done onsite at the client's offices, especially when you're a first or second year. That said, there can be times when you're staying in a hotel. I was probably in a hotel 30% of the time in my first year. Mind you it wasn't anywhere glamorous. More likely it's kind of a small place without a close Big 4 office nearby, otherwise most likely the closest office in that market would do the audit. Not 100% the case, but more often than not.
2. If there is ever a senior associate/manager/etc that you liked working with, and for whatever reason seems like to like, learn to suck up good and fast. The best case scenario is for someone in that level to pull you onto their audits whenever they're staffing the teams. 1) You're more likely to start doing less stupid stuff (e.g. ticking & tying) earlier because they'll trust you with more complex tasks; 2) they're probably easier to work for if you like them; 3) they understand your schedule better and ideally will try to accommodate if possible; 4) they'll be the ones you go to to push for you when you're looking to guide your career in a certain direction. I regularly worked with the same couple of people most of my time in Big 4, and I feel like my experiences were significantly better than most my peers- both from a learning perspective and from a enjoyability perspective.
3. I can't stress this enough, but whenever you get some shitty task to do, just shut the hell up, smile and do it. The more you put up a negative attitude, the more you'll get that type of work. Once you've built a reputation for yourself for working hard and trustworthy, you can start to bitch and moan with the rest of the people that have earned their stripes so to speak. But as a first year just starting out, no one gives a shit you need to check X number of invoices against the ledgers or drive X amount of miles.
4. I don't know what firm you're working for, but in general, you have to take control of your career. If there's something you want, you need to figure out what needs to be done to get it. If you're lucky, you'll have a few supporters help push you along the way. But no one, not even your assigned "buddies" or "mentors", will do the dirty work for you. If you want more public company experience, be vocal about it. If you want to start senioring jobs your second year, be vocal about it. Again, you have to make things happen- but don't expect it to happen instantaneously.
5. The difference between an average rating and above average is negligible when it comes to raises, but it requires you to stand out significantly more than your peers. I'm not saying that's a good excuse to just do the bare minimum, because being noticed positively has other intangible benefits to you. But I'm saying that don't stress about work so much. Somehow the audit will always get done. It's just a job. Work hard when you need to, and enjoy your life when you can.
