I QUIT MY $100k BIG 4 JOB (And Here's Why You Should Too)

I QUIT MY $100k BIG 4 JOB (And Here's Why You Should Too)

In September 2017, I joined the BIG 4 graduate programme in London excited to start my BIG 4 career. Just under four years later, 70% of my intake (including myself) had left the BIG 4 for higher earning exit opportunities.

This video summaries why I decided to leave the BIG 4.

[matthiasrambally]

You know you're an adult when you love this kinda content lol

[ronaldgreenjr]

The last 1 minute of this video was incredible. A simplified justification for why the sacrifice of low wages and high hours is worth it. The concept of the hourly wage or yearly salary is an illusion. We all crave more fulfilling opportunities. That is exactly what you earned my friend 👍🏾

[PhilosophyLines]

Makes a lot of sense, maybe mid-tiers that don't expect you to work past 5:30-6 is a fair middle ground. Especially with revision too, the idea of 47.5 base weeks seems like a complete non-starter. Have you read much of Cal Newport's stuff like 'So good they can't ignore you'? Personally found the book like an unnecessarily long blog article, the gist is that you can find satisfaction in a job through developing expertise vs. it necessarily being your 'passion'.

I think it's quite satisfying gradually getting to grips with accounting and developing an intuitive understanding of how things should be treated, but I can see why you'd then want to apply that to business problems or more judgmental work rather than merely continuing to 'check' treatment.

It's also probably quite a good idea developing an unambiguously useful skill that is perennially in demand early in your career. Your videos definitely impacted my thinking re: aiming for big 4 vs. other firms, nice one.

[ericliu]

Great video! It’s always important to be a free agent so that you aren’t easily dogmatic.

[awediomusic]

Brilliant video, really glad you're back! I'm joining a B4 school leaver audit programme in six days and really looking forward to it. While your points about Audit being a grind, and the level of challenge and value-add being debatable, I do still believe I'll be building the perfect foundation to pursue a career within business and finance and my worries are somewhat tempered by the fact that in near all professions worth pursuing, you've got to put the graft in early on in order to progress into more challenging and senior positions (whether this is in accountancy, law, banking, consulting etc). In five years I'll have a very strong pool of exit opportunities available to me which I can take full advantage of, and living at home in the North East for the first couple years of my apprenticeship actually makes that take-home pay very attractive. During my training, I'll be building up both hard and soft skills, an expansive network and a portfolio of investments to further open up my options in the future. And I have to thank you, James -- your YouTube channel was an invaluable resource during my application process and I couldn't have done it without you. Whether I stay with my firm beyond qualification or make the leap into CF or consulting, the future's looking bright!

[DawsonWright-lhhc]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

00:27 *💰 Feeling underpaid, unequal distribution of rewards, and better opportunities elsewhere were significant reasons for leaving the Big Four.*
03:56 *📊 Working as an auditor often felt unfulfilling and lacking purpose due to the perceived lack of value in the work compared to other roles.*
05:37 *⏰ The combination of high workload, long hours, and little personal time led to sacrificing personal interests and well-being, prompting the desire for a better work-life balance.*
07:01 *🏢 Concerns about poor work-life balance, unfulfilling work, and low salary were not adequately addressed by senior leadership, leading to a desire to pursue a different career path.*

Made with HARPA AI

[ruthabalo]

Thank you for your honesty! Great timing too :)

[yimok.y]

Hey James! Been watching you since the summer, love your content! I joined PWC audit London office last month(non FS) and just found out I passed my AC and BTF exams this morning 😊 the time is absolutely insane even tho I haven’t start my first engagement yet… but I do enjoy it, very satisfied with the training and development side of the firm. Good luck with your further career!

[saurabhsivam]

Hi James. I have been following your videos for quite some time now, and they are very insightful.
I have joined Deloitte USI as a fresh undergrad this September. I would love it if you share your views on USI. TIA

[jonathanbowman]

To me it would seem better if the Big 4 changed the work pattern from 9-5 with an astronomical amount of overtime to shift work. All staff are put onto a rota and you work a different shift say every 2 weeks. Have an early, rush hour, middle, late and night shift. Have a four day week, 9 hours per day, working every 1 out of 3 weekends. Staff have the option to put in for paid overtime if they wish. You could have the early as 6am to 3pm, rush hour as 9am to 6pm, middle as 12pm to 9pm, late as 3pm to 12am and the night as 10pm to 7am. The office would be open 24/7 for the clients and staff would have long breaks between each shift to recover/socialise but could earn extra with optional overtime.

[zhaoliyi]

Hi James! Looking for some advice or help from you about the process of interview lol. And really appreciate your videos about all the experiences ：D

[raymondgodwinmasika]

Hey. Thanks for your content. Helped me greatly in choosing between the Big 4 and Mid-tier Firms. Long story short I chose Mid-Tier, starting at BDO on Monday. Hoping to get more help from this channel on future career decisions

[callumweir]

Rate your content highly, honest and helpful. I think big 4 is simply a stepping stone for most people into more intellectually and financially rewarding career paths. There great for people finishing uni and needing a foot in the door into the financial services industry and Id still recommend them but would make people aware of reality of audit.

[abdulrehmankhan]

What Should I Do?
ACCA or CAs generally go for the Audit firms or Big 4 however it's on 2nd in my list, I am having difficulty to see the secure side if I want to pursue in Industrial Value chain or to be part of startup or Business group (for providing my 100%) but having limited influence or examples around.

[theinquisitor]

The big problem is that audit is a statutory requirement and so clients (and auditors) often don't take the job very seriously.

[ultrainstinct]

from what I've seen the best time to leave is the later of either getting qualified or being a senior for a year

[jd]

Lol the “worked and cared less” is so true.

I started Big Four late so now at 28 as an A2 I don’t care that much due to my overall years of work experience and that a lot of the details don’t make a difference in the grand scheme of things.

I’ve worked with some try hard S1’s who are only 23/24 and it’s their first job. All that ends up happening is they quit due to all the extra effort they put in. I saw one S1 timesheet and it looked like a novel with all the shit she was writing

[reallybluntcactus]

Hi James! I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to go through all of this with us - I’m just about 2 years working at a Big 4 and itching to leave. I haven’t qualified yet (only passed 1 Professional ACA) but lately my well-being has been incredibly low. I don’t enjoy this area of work, and I don’t have the motivation to qualify if I do not want to be an accountant going forward. From an employability perspective, would you say it’s a huge red flag if I start job-hunting now? I’m hoping to convert to a risk management position or an entry-level research analyst. Something which allows me to think and analyse future performance. Thank you!

[Hindufromdenmark]

sir make a video how to break investment banking, consulting and corprate finance .

[wombito]

What do you make of m&a at big 4? Do you know anyone that has done that and whats their experience there?