Accountants: Do you like your job?

Depending on your situation, it may be fairly hard to get into a big 4 firm with a 3.0 GPA. There are certainly no guarantees. Your best bet is to land a really great internship to give you a leg up on your resume, because there will be plenty of applicants to big 4 with 3.5-4.0's.

An accounting degree is much more versatile than a Finance degree. My degree is in Finance and I plan on doing my masters in Accounting. If you want to stick to the corporate end of Finance, much of it is heavily Accounting related, so you'd almost still be better off with an Accounting degree.

As far as ibanking, there's a misconception that all of these folks are Finance people. There is a large percentage of ibankers that have Accounting backgrounds. There are very few, and I mean very few jobs that require a Finance degree.

Thanks to the above poster, I doubt I'll make a Big4, but maybe the next tier down, whatever that is here in San Diego Just read this, doesn't sound as bad as I thought (Day in the Life at a Big4) http://www.vault.com/nr/main_article...id=0&ht_type=1 except for the 11pm quitting time during tax season! Whew, these people must REALLY like what they do . I guess with those kind of hours, everyone who didn't like it left a LONG time ago though

Does anyone know what Big 4 is looking for in a potential intern? I really want to start applying to firms over the next couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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Does anyone know what Big 4 is looking for in a potential intern? I really want to start applying to firms over the next couple of weeks.
you most likely missed your window for this summer/fall since they wont be interviewing during busy season. Interviews started back in September for interns and next year's new associates. That is unless you have some inside connection to a partner who can make your interviews happen. What are they looking for? First look good on paper. At least 3.3 from a school that they recruit from. Recruiters should've came to your school this fall as well as showing up at accounting society/ Beta alpha Psi events throughout the year. You can always apply through the website but your resume better stand out big time as they get thousands of apps through the site and have but a few seconds to glance at each one. Once you get to the interview, you made the cut as far as meeting the bare minimum criteria. Now you have to sell your self as a good coworker, hard worker, someone that can be an asset as an intern/associate and someone who can be fun and not a drag on an engagement. Think, if 50 people get interviewed for the intern job they most likely all have similar GPAs, similar activities, similar participation in accounting society and beta alpha psi so the interview is where you get a chance to sell yourself and separate from the pack or fall to the wayside.

Damn. I was under the impression that the deadline for internships in Big 4 was in March. I do have a couple of ins (Deloitte Alumni and someone who works for KPMG), maybe they will be able to get me an interview.

Your GPA only matters to a certain point, there are people with 4.0's who don't get hired. If you going to be pushing some long hours these people often want someone who they like. Not to mention that plenty of women get hired for their looks depending on the area recruiter but you chances of getting hired below a 3.3 are pretty low as they will often discard your resume without even interviewing you. If you get your foot in the door and get a interview your GPA no longer matters it is all about how you present yourself (you will interview with at least 3 different people).

Most internship hiring is done in September/October. If you do not get a internship your chances of full time hire are significantly reduced.

In Houston and Dallas most initial interviewing takes place in March for all of the big 4 firms, GT, BDO, and RSM. You interview in March 2009 for internships in Jan 2010. Start signing up now through your career service center at your school for interviews. If the big 4 don't recruit at your school, then call your nearest big 4 office and speak with a campus recruiter.

To clarify, tax returns blow

Originally Posted by Texasmade

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In Houston and Dallas most initial interviewing takes place in March for all of the big 4 firms, GT, BDO, and RSM. You interview in March 2009 for internships in Jan 2010. Start signing up now through your career service center at your school for interviews. If the big 4 don't recruit at your school, then call your nearest big 4 office and speak with a campus recruiter.

So you interview a year in advance for an internship? That's crazy. Almost every other firm I have looked at (not in accounting) is interviewing in March for June. If this is the case my dream of a big 4 internship this summer has been crushed.

Originally Posted by leonuk

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To clarify, tax returns blow

Why? Looks like any other paperwork to me

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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So you interview a year in advance for an internship? That's crazy. Almost every other firm I have looked at (not in accounting) is interviewing in March for June. If this is the case my dream of a big 4 internship this summer has been crushed.
Having a job early all set by senior year of college is fantastic...... pay is decent not great..

Originally Posted by Johnny_5

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So you interview a year in advance for an internship? That's crazy. Almost every other firm I have looked at (not in accounting) is interviewing in March for June. If this is the case my dream of a big 4 internship this summer has been crushed.

Yes that's how the accounting firms do it here. It's probably different for industry jobs. For big 4 summer internships, those are really hard to get if you go audit or tax. This is because there isn't as much work to do in the summer as Jan-April.

Originally Posted by longskate88

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Why? Looks like any other paperwork to me

Do you have experience preparing them for clients? I thought you were still a student.

Originally Posted by Viktri

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Do you have experience preparing them for clients? I thought you were still a student.

No, I don't have any experience with them, that's what I'm curious about...is it really that bad?

Originally Posted by longskate88

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No, I don't have any experience with them, that's what I'm curious about...is it really that bad?

I did VITA a few times when I was in school. I helped nonresident aliens (foreign exchange students) prepare their tax returns. The best reaction is when you do their tax return and it turns out they owe money. The look of anger and shock on their face when they owe a couple hundred dollars sure did make me want to not go into tax.