Quote: (08-29-2016 04:43 AM)frozen-ace Wrote:
If you really want to go Big4, try and get into one of the big markets. They are always looking for new hires- Chicago, LA, SF, Silicon Valley, NYC. Your best bet will probably be Chicago since that is your closest market. It will be awful. I hated every minute of it, and burned out hard. To get the full experience, go set a chair in the corner of a room and stare at the wall for 16 hours. That's what it will be like. If you can handle that, you'll make it! I wanted to be a manager. So did everyone else in my start class of 70. Only 5 made it. It was a bum time, I don't even like thinking about it. Imagine working until 1AM every night on a regular basis, sometimes later. Imagine having no days off, and every day being "Monday". Imagine going weeks and weeks without a day off, and not even having time to shop for groceries or do laundry, let along go to the gym. You'll gain weight, age quickly, and get some gray hairs for sure.
Why must this be so extreme? Is that typical of working in Big4 in the US? Or more a typical US thing? I know it is the case in investment banks and hedge funds, but these work weeks are just extreme.
In Amsterdam Big4 people also work hard but nothing like this. Maybe 55-70 hours. Heck, 70 hours is extreme already if its not for your own business.