T14/Biglaw Aspirations worth leaving Big 4 career route? Forum

[jbagelboy]

I use to work at the Big Four. I don't know how you ever found the time to study for the LSAT. I worked in the consulting branch, so my hours were usually a lot more humane like in the 40-50 range. The shit that sucks the most is how you have a half dozen managers all giving you work at the same time. Let us know on TLS what you end up deciding to do.

I studied for the LSAT while I was still in college. I just decided at that time that law school wasn't the right decision for me. I was just reconsidering it now, just to keep my options open... as when that LSAT score expires in Feb 2015, I won't have time to study for it again ever. So I really only have two admission cycles before that window will close for me in my eyes.

BUT another option that I've strongly considered is transferring to an M&A or Transaction consulting group at my firm/another firm a couple years down the line once I have a bit more experience. Big 4 consulting is soooo much better than audit in every way. Better pay, much better hours, more interesting work, shorter partner track, better b-school resume experience, etc. I actually decided against going directly into Big 4 consulting when I was applying for jobs out of college as I figured that it was always an option that was open to auditors to move into that role (and it seems like a lot do after getting some experience). I haven't really regretted that decision yet, while audit does work you much harder than the consulting groups I hope that it does give a new college grad a much more well-rounded business skill set... at least that's what I tell myself (and that's what the firm tells me lol).

But yea could definitely see myself moving into that side of the business. What group were you in/how'd you like it?

I was actually in Risk Consulting for construction and engineering projects. During my tenure there, I traveled to Atlanta, Singapore, Norway, Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin and a few other places. It was a real cool job for the most part, but I always knew I never planned to do that for my career. Some of the work I did was somewhat difficult and other stuff wasn't that bad at all. In my group, I had a very small number of billable hours allocated to me to complete projects, so I had to frequently eat hours and not bill them.

Knowing that I didn't want to do consulting for my career made me miserable at times and resulted in me having to quit. It was the right decision for me, but a very difficult one to make. I put a high premium on happiness. I have always wanted to be an attorney since like my sophomore year in college. This consulting gig just felt like a detour and not getting me any closer to where I wanted to be.

You have a tough choice ahead of you. I actually graduated with a very similar GPA as you and your LSAT score is good. Like others have said, I think it comes down to if you actually want to be an attorney. I wouldn't attend law school simply because it may be a route to a lot of $$$. If you just want money, I would go get an elite MBA.

The Big Four can be a good place to work, but they need to work on a few things here and there. If you aren't happy, I would go get an MBA or a law degree. Only you know what you truly want to do though. I would ignore most outside voices, because a lot of them just can't weigh the costs vs. the benefits of making such a life altering decision.

Tell us what you end up deciding. I am very interested in hearing what you decide to do.

Are you referring to navigant? Jw

[bizzybone1313]

I use to work at the Big Four. I don't know how you ever found the time to study for the LSAT. I worked in the consulting branch, so my hours were usually a lot more humane like in the 40-50 range. The shit that sucks the most is how you have a half dozen managers all giving you work at the same time. Let us know on TLS what you end up deciding to do.

I studied for the LSAT while I was still in college. I just decided at that time that law school wasn't the right decision for me. I was just reconsidering it now, just to keep my options open... as when that LSAT score expires in Feb 2015, I won't have time to study for it again ever. So I really only have two admission cycles before that window will close for me in my eyes.

BUT another option that I've strongly considered is transferring to an M&A or Transaction consulting group at my firm/another firm a couple years down the line once I have a bit more experience. Big 4 consulting is soooo much better than audit in every way. Better pay, much better hours, more interesting work, shorter partner track, better b-school resume experience, etc. I actually decided against going directly into Big 4 consulting when I was applying for jobs out of college as I figured that it was always an option that was open to auditors to move into that role (and it seems like a lot do after getting some experience). I haven't really regretted that decision yet, while audit does work you much harder than the consulting groups I hope that it does give a new college grad a much more well-rounded business skill set... at least that's what I tell myself (and that's what the firm tells me lol).

But yea could definitely see myself moving into that side of the business. What group were you in/how'd you like it?

I was actually in Risk Consulting for construction and engineering projects. During my tenure there, I traveled to Atlanta, Singapore, Norway, Chicago, Michigan, Wisconsin and a few other places. It was a real cool job for the most part, but I always knew I never planned to do that for my career. Some of the work I did was somewhat difficult and other stuff wasn't that bad at all. In my group, I had a very small number of billable hours allocated to me to complete projects, so I had to frequently eat hours and not bill them.

Knowing that I didn't want to do consulting for my career made me miserable at times and resulted in me having to quit. It was the right decision for me, but a very difficult one to make. I put a high premium on happiness. I have always wanted to be an attorney since like my sophomore year in college. This consulting gig just felt like a detour and not getting me any closer to where I wanted to be.

You have a tough choice ahead of you. I actually graduated with a very similar GPA as you and your LSAT score is good. Like others have said, I think it comes down to if you actually want to be an attorney. I wouldn't attend law school simply because it may be a route to a lot of $$$. If you just want money, I would go get an elite MBA.

The Big Four can be a good place to work, but they need to work on a few things here and there. If you aren't happy, I would go get an MBA or a law degree. Only you know what you truly want to do though. I would ignore most outside voices, because a lot of them just can't weigh the costs vs. the benefits of making such a life altering decision.

Tell us what you end up deciding. I am very interested in hearing what you decide to do.

Are you referring to navigant? Jw

No, I did not work for Navigant. I worked for one of the Big Four (E&Y, PWC, KPMG or Deloitte).

[bizzybone1313]

OP, in the next year or two (or even now), you probably feel like I did a while back. You probably feel like all of your hard work in undergrad would go to waste if you were not to attend graduate school. I understand this feeling and I think it is completely normal. I am sure this is factoring into your decision somewhat, right?