Q: Big4 - Yearly salary increment

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hey forum, just wondering what your thoughts are on this year's pay increases and bonuses? Is 5% and 3 months looking too optimistic?

not sure about increase but 3 months seems too optimistic for the average performer.

Can anyone share, at least for the first 2 years in Big 4, is the work tough because:
1. Long hours, a lot of work to be done but quite simple/mundane work (thus more physically demanding),

or because

2. The learning curve is very steep and the work is extremely difficult (as compared to what is learnt in uni), thus more academically challenging?

I know that it probably is due to both factors, but which is it more of?
Going out to work for my first full time job soon and I'm pretty scared and wish to know what to expect roughly!

Thank you

1. Don't waste your effort grinding there if you don't like what you're doing.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Can anyone share, at least for the first 2 years in Big 4, is the work tough because:
1. Long hours, a lot of work to be done but quite simple/mundane work (thus more physically demanding),

or because

2. The learning curve is very steep and the work is extremely difficult (as compared to what is learnt in uni), thus more academically challenging?

I know that it probably is due to both factors, but which is it more of?
Going out to work for my first full time job soon and I'm pretty scared and wish to know what to expect roughly!

Thank you

Originally Posted by Unregistered

1. Don't waste your effort grinding there if you don't like what you're doing.

Well the same pretty much applies everywhere else right. Any more insightful answers?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Can anyone share, at least for the first 2 years in Big 4, is the work tough because:
1. Long hours, a lot of work to be done but quite simple/mundane work (thus more physically demanding),

or because

2. The learning curve is very steep and the work is extremely difficult (as compared to what is learnt in uni), thus more academically challenging?

I know that it probably is due to both factors, but which is it more of?
Going out to work for my first full time job soon and I'm pretty scared and wish to know what to expect roughly!

Thank you

My personal experience with PWC is 95% option 1 and 5% option 2.

The first few weeks when you are taking on an assignment the learning curve is there because you don't know the process and what to look for.

After that for the next 4 years is really just mind numbing SOP, checklist, standard interviews and really voluminous work.

Was it worth it? Not really IMO.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Can anyone share, at least for the first 2 years in Big 4, is the work tough because:
1. Long hours, a lot of work to be done but quite simple/mundane work (thus more physically demanding),

or because

2. The learning curve is very steep and the work is extremely difficult (as compared to what is learnt in uni), thus more academically challenging?

I know that it probably is due to both factors, but which is it more of?
Going out to work for my first full time job soon and I'm pretty scared and wish to know what to expect roughly!

Thank you

Coming from 3 years of experience in a Big 4, I would say it's 99% option 1 and 1% option 2. The work is dead simple once you get the hang of it, but there's a hell lot of work to do and not enough people to go around. You will grind grind grind for **** pay and long hours and at the end, wonder if it's all worth it.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Coming from 3 years of experience in a Big 4, I would say it's 99% option 1 and 1% option 2. The work is dead simple once you get the hang of it, but there's a hell lot of work to do and not enough people to go around. You will grind grind grind for **** pay and long hours and at the end, wonder if it's all worth it.

Where are you now, and what are your next plans? How are your peers doing too?

Is it cause most of you are in audit? I hear the same things from my audit friends too

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Where are you now, and what are your next plans? How are your peers doing too?

he's lucky to leave, my colleague also planning to leave after the bonus is given out. she already got new job offer secured and starting date in july. pay increase is 30% and bonus is typically 3-4 months. all in all it is about a 40-50% increment from now. she just booked a new car also as her future office will be at jurong side and she stays at woodlands.

i am still hoping to make partner but at manager level, partner seems to be so far away still and the **** keeps getting worse and worse. most of my peers who went to mncs are earning 10% higher than me based on current pay. if add all the losses i made from year 1-4, i think their lifetime income is at least 150-200k higher than me.

What about non-Audit (and even Tax) Big 4 peeps? Any insights into the questions above? I suppose it's definitely not as mind-numbingly boring as working in audit.