Dilemma Big 4 or Bank

[confusedog]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Mine not on monday.. if u going down on monday to sign, mean there is no room and time for u to consider le ba..haha..congrat

Bro don't congrats me lah. still undecided.

Proves my point!

Go for bank... Big 4 only taught you on how to 'write and talk better' but no content and no real experience.

I was an accountancy graduate so I had offers from the Big 4 and also managed to secure a MAP at an offshore bank.

BIG 4 was offering $2,400 then. Whereas MAP was offering more than $4k.

My thought process back then was:

1. BIG 4 offers a stable progression. Starting 5 years more or less batch based promotion. Pay will not be bad if look at mid/long term. Will not starve. Should be able to live comfortably.

2. Banking provides a higher start pay. There is more job insecurity and more competition from peers. Progression is much more merit based.

In terms of pay:

1. My pay now is still more than my peers who went to the audit line. For most of my batch of MAP, (depending on the department we are in now) this is generally the case. However, for some of us, the gap between Big 4 vs Bank MAP is narrowing. Big 4 peers earning about 5k+ vs some of my MAP batch mates who draw about 6-7k pm. Out of my MAP batch mates, 20% are drawing >$10k pm. (as I said, depends on which department/role we are in within the bank)

Going forward:

Some of my Big 4 peers would eventually reach partner. I'm sure that they'd be earning a considerable amount, perhaps more the average banker. I am also pretty sure some of my MAP batch mates would reach Managing Director, which will (depending on job scope) also earn comparable to the Audit Partners.

At the end of the day, both paths have their merits. One thing is that if you are in Big 4, you still can join Banks later. However if you are from the banking route, hard to join Big 4.

So did u sign the loa eventually?

[confusedog]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I was an accountancy graduate so I had offers from the Big 4 and also managed to secure a MAP at an offshore bank.

BIG 4 was offering $2,400 then. Whereas MAP was offering more than $4k.

My thought process back then was:

1. BIG 4 offers a stable progression. Starting 5 years more or less batch based promotion. Pay will not be bad if look at mid/long term. Will not starve. Should be able to live comfortably.

2. Banking provides a higher start pay. There is more job insecurity and more competition from peers. Progression is much more merit based.

In terms of pay:

1. My pay now is still more than my peers who went to the audit line. For most of my batch of MAP, (depending on the department we are in now) this is generally the case. However, for some of us, the gap between Big 4 vs Bank MAP is narrowing. Big 4 peers earning about 5k+ vs some of my MAP batch mates who draw about 6-7k pm. Out of my MAP batch mates, 20% are drawing >$10k pm. (as I said, depends on which department/role we are in within the bank)

Going forward:

Some of my Big 4 peers would eventually reach partner. I'm sure that they'd be earning a considerable amount, perhaps more the average banker. I am also pretty sure some of my MAP batch mates would reach Managing Director, which will (depending on job scope) also earn comparable to the Audit Partners.

At the end of the day, both paths have their merits. One thing is that if you are in Big 4, you still can join Banks later. However if you are from the banking route, hard to join Big 4.

hey bro very informative! thanks for sharing! care to share which dept you're in? I'll be going to tech and ops dept, worried about the prospect there in the future. i'm aware of the various challenges working in a tech dept.

the hr manager did say after rotation can switch depts but i'm not too sure what are the chances or just say say only

[confusedog]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

So did u sign the loa eventually?

haven't yet, managed to bargin for a few more days and they are okay with it. dunno is it they lack of people or what haha.

what's your take bro?

It may be relatively true that once a back office, always a back office. but on one can forsee one's future and opportuntity ahead.

Given this current gloomy mkt, it is not easy to get ur ideal job. Just clinch on the better offer which i fell dbs is.

for first few yrs in ey, u wun do much of thinkimg job. instead you will be like a soldier and do mundane job initially.

Unless u gt intention to stay in a firm for long, dbs may seem better

Hi Can check with you guy, how long do they take to shortlist you after you've dubmitted your online application? What are some of the questions askd during the panel interview? Thanks

Hey I went for the panel interview for the DBS tech not long ago and few days back i received an email asking me to fill up a job application form coz "it forms the basis of my personal profile once im on board".

Does this mean that I have been accepted? I emailed the person back and she didnt reply and no one called me yet