In it for the 15 year old girls in gym shorts, then? Halfway through a Ph.d in communications, I haven't really started to take a look around at what my earnings prospects are. Are they still hiring baristas?
However much having a Communications degree with a Business minor and having no idea of what you want to do gets you.
the first year in a Big 4 firm, they keep you going on 40-50 weeks. they don't want people to become bitter too early. second year you'll start to see 60-90 (depending on the client and the time of year), and it is after that year that the most turnover occurs. third year as an associate is the same stuff as 2nd year. then if you survive through the senior level, it is often said that those are the worst 2-4 years of your life in public accountancy. you're making $55k while working 80-100 hr weeks (again, depending on time of year and client), and if anything goes wrong in the day to day processes (which is inevitable), you're the one who is holding the bag and will ultimately receive hell from the Manager/Partner. Nic, no, public accounting doesn't excatly pay hefty sums of money when compared to i-banking or consulting. when looking at the 'typical worker' in those three industries, the ibankers and consultants come from upper-middle class backgrounds, attended private colleges (Ivies, williams, northwestern, etc), while public accountants are sons & daughters of the working class, attending public institutions (in my office, most were from Penn State, Drexel, Temple). these differences contribute to the huge discrepancies in pay/expected pay. not saying that it is right (lower rung auditors should be making more $$), but there has not been a huge revolt from the workers as a majority are near their parents income levels after their third year in the working world.
I assume there's a big payoff at the end of the tunnel, because that is seriously poor pay for that amount of time and stress. At 100 hours/week, assuming that a person is paid time-and-a-half for overtime, that would be equivalent to working at WalMart for a little over seven bucks an hour.
you are a salaried worker, there is no overtime. as a senior you're looking at bonuses of 10% salary, but no OT. the only payoff is when one makes it to partner. but at that point, you're dumping $615,000 (that is required equity at one of the Big 4 according to a friend who is still there) into the firm, and 99% of partners don't have anywhere near that cash, so they are taking out huge 2nd mortgages in order to be made partner. but the typical partner is looking at $600,000/yr, plus bonuses which can reach up to $800k (depending on the profitability of your jobs). so there is a pay off, but not overly large. the real pay off is after 5-10 yrs as partner, when most cash out there equity (which has increased in value) and go to a client as CFO, making hefty amounts off bonus/salary/stock there.
Do you have capped toil? In the UK, there used to be unlimited toil (there still is the N Ireland office) which was a big perk in itself. You could effectively have an extra 20 days holiday a year. Now toil is capped at 6 days, when overtime can be over 30 days a year. It is the most unfair aspect of the job in my opinion. There is also a real pyramid of pay, which rockets at the highest tier (partner), until then the pay really is nothing special. Partners' profit shares in the UK can be very good (average £650K last year), especially when compared to those below.
What's the typical salary for a "senior". I'm trying to compare it to what I make with the government as a GS-13 "senior auditor".
depending on the firm, a first year senior is looking at $50-60k as a first year. they'll get a 10% bonus if they are average. and they'll get a 6-12% raise after first year, depending on firm profitability.
65k-85k depending on your step, decent scratch. I have no degree, just military work experience when I left active duty. Currently I would fall into the GS-12 pay range. My wife after getting her Associates degree in dental hygiene started off at 84k a year. Not bad at all for 2 years of college, this year she almost made 6 figures.
Phooter, how long does it take to get that level? senior in public accounting is 2, at most 3 years. then you'll spend three years there and hit manager level if you have your CPA. there you'll be making $85-110 for three years, then move to sr. mgr. and start hitting in the $130-150 range, and that is in the age range of 31-35.