To accept a public sector job over a Big4?

[somewhereovertherainboww]

Job offer 1: public sector (finance), central London location so a fairly easy commute, 9-5 hybrid with 2 days WFH

Job offer 2: one of the Big 4, audit, regional office, a 1.5 hour (pricey) commute by train, very long hours and rarely WFH

I am returning to full time employment after years of being a SAHM to 2 DC(4&6 y.o.).

My heart says option 1 is more family friendly and “meaningful” but my head says a Big 4 in my CV can set me up for life, offers better progression opportunities and pay.
DH is not on six figures and my earning potential is definitely higher, which puts pressure on me to go for option 2. DH is happy to do school drop offs and pick up from clubs in the evening to allow me to work long hours but I worry I will barely get to see the children on weekdays.

Is there a significant difference in salary once you take into account the longer hours worked in the Big 4 job?

Try the Big 4 ( have no idea what this means 😅) if it’s going to make such a big difference to your career opportunities. (Would that mean even longer hours in the future?) if you hate the long hours, long commute, drop down to a less demanding job with better more family friendly hours.

I think I'd go for Job One, but no compulsion to WFH, as that would be my idea of Hell. Or do Job Two for a year or so and see how it works out with the children?

If you love your job then go for the one that will give you the best progression in the future. The NHS will always need professionals like yourself. If it doesn’t work out in the big 4 with your commute and hours then revisit the NHS.

What's the difference in salary once you factor in the train tickets?

I work in audit at one of the big 4, I thought they all offered some sort of hybrid working now? But I wouldn't want to do a 1.5 hour commute every day, especially if it was on top of already long hours, so that would probably be a deal breaker for me.

If you can stand the commute and long hours, probably worth enduring one year at the Big4 and then finding something with better work/life balance.

Well for me job 1 hands down, short commute and flexible working trump it.
Job 2, is that 1.5 hours by train round trip or each way.....either way I wouldnt want to relying on a train commute every day!
Is there a big salary difference once youve taken train cost into account?

Personally I'd go for 1, but it depends really. I like being able to switch off when I log off and not be expected to work additional hours- to me the balance would be important. It is actually possible to progress quickly in the public sector if so inclined.

1.5 hour commute with long hours and no WFH would be too tough for me on a return to work.

Is there not a middle ground? Top 10 accounting firm in central London? Lots of firms are looking for auditors!

What are you doing exactly? Are you an accountant?

Just because it is "Big 4" doesn't mean it is the best job in the world. I had jobs at theoretically prestigious bluechip company, that was probably paying below the industry standard for the job.

There are a lot of big 4 "consultancy" type jobs that are nothing special.

What have you done so far and at what level are you going into Big 4? I spent 10 years in Big 4 audit and it isn’t family friendly, no, but yes to the CV points. That said I know plenty of people at my level in industry who came up through industry routes. Are you looking to specialise? What more do you want from the roles?

Salary is important. However, if you have some audit experience I doubt you'd struggle to get back into that field later on, provided the experience you gain in the interim benefits you (i.e. knowledge of controls and procedures). Good audit staff are hard to find. I'm sure KPMG were offering very flexible conditions, including term time working only in their recruitment ads.

I'd go for the best working conditions if the salary difference wasn't huge, the commuting time of the big 4 job isn't ideal (though I appreciate common for many).

I gave up audit a long time ago. Who wants to check what other people did months and months ago? I want to be the one doing stuff, in the here & now. Looking forward, not back.

Accenture used to be considered an impressive place to work when it was Anderson Consulting, now it is considered absolute dog .

I would do what is best for you, really think about if big name really is going to be a game changer.

Option 1, public service.
life is too short. Big 4 will suck the life out of you and and expect you to be grateful.

What level are you going in at? That would probably change my answer. That said, I think the Big 4 are definitely getting more flexible. DH is a Director in a Big 4 audit practice and WFH 4 days a week, goes for a run at lunch a couple of times a week and does 50% of nursery drop offs/pick ups.

Big 4 what?

For me, while the salary would be good for 2, and yes good for your CV / career etc, there is a lot to be said for 1 when your children are smaller.

Also how much of your big salary would be taken in an expensive commute and have more of an impact on work-life balance?

I think it's also worth comparing pensions etc - I know the public sector pension isn't as good as it once was, but often that benefit is pretty good.

Salary is also not the be all and end all - yes I know that's easy to say when you don't worry about paying the mortgage etc but at some point, being able to live well enough and see your children while they are little tips the balance IMO.

Tricky. Give us more details about it and maybe we can advise. What does your gut say?

Deloitte, Ernest & Young, KPMG, PWC - known as the Big 4 accounting firms.

Once you have factored in pension and commuting costs, is the big 4 role really better paid?

Personally, I think you would struggle going from being a SAHM to barely seeing the kids during the week so would go for 1. I also suspect that your DH would struggle with it too though he says he is fine.

It's not forever anyway, you can go for a big 4 job again in a couple of years if you want to

What about soft benefits like pension etc?

Option 1
Will give you much more time with your children while they are still young, these years go so fast
You'll still be in a decent career and can look at moving into something that pays better in a few years time.

I think you'll resent the commute involved in option 2, preventing you from spending much time in the evenings with your kids, but f you get home an hour before they go to bed

Big 4 won't be much help on your CV if it causes you to burnout. Your mental health is nore important than having something look good on your CV. And all the big 4 have been involved in some pretty high profile scandals so their reputation is tainted anyway. Having the big 4 on you CV may not carry as much clout as 10 years ago.

I went to university dreaming of working for the big 4. By the time it came to applying for graduate schemes I wouldnt go anywhere near the big 4 beacuse of all the horror stories and bad press.

With all due respect, money in the bank and career progression will help in the long run, especially when it comes to funding university placements ect. A big four is the one id choose.