[Anonymous]

I have passed 3 parts of the exam, have never worked in Accounting, and was thinking about trying to get an Associate job at a Big 4. I turned 40 last year. It sounds like they only hire associates in there 20’s? Is it worth trying to start at a big4 firm?

[Anonymous]

I'm going to say here that it's probably not worth it to join the Big 4 at 40 years old.

Many join the Big 4 out of college because they are in it for the long haul (career-wise), and can afford to suffer through the brutality for a few years before they make the jump to industry.

Realistically, at 40, I would take a wild guess and say people are not willing to work like a dog for crappy pay. I also would think that at 40, people would NOT want to receive orders from seniors almost half their age.

Please forgive me for making these statements. But I am offering my frank opinion here.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to say here that it's probably not worth it to join the Big 4 at 40 years old.

Many join the Big 4 out of college because they are in it for the long haul (career-wise), and can afford to suffer through the brutality for a few years before they make the jump to industry.

Realistically, at 40, I would take a wild guess and say people are not willing to work like a dog for crappy pay. I also would think that at 40, people would NOT want to receive orders from seniors almost half their age.

Please forgive me for making these statements. But I am offering my frank opinion here.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but I agree with the last poster. You'd be receiving orders from someone around 25, and the work/life balance is terrible around 4-5 months out of the year, possibly more depending on your clients. If you want to pursue it then by all means do, but just offering my own 2 cents it wouldn't be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but I agree with the last poster. You'd be receiving orders from someone around 25, and the work/life balance is terrible around 4-5 months out of the year, possibly more depending on your clients. If you want to pursue it then by all means do, but just offering my own 2 cents it wouldn't be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies, but the question was whether they ever hire older people.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies, but the question was whether they ever hire older people.

[mla1169]

Yes, big 4 hires people in their 40s and 50s. If you can still access recruiting through your school it's your best shot at a foot in the door. Otherwise network like crazy especially through linkedin.

To the other posters you might want to let go of whatever you believe about 40 year olds. At 40 a person likely has close to 30 years left in the workforce and sill a viable big 4 candidate. I'm 44 and not in big 4 because of my kids. I was a mom at 23 so it wouldn't matter if I was 25, put my kids first then too. To say the hours are prohibitive to a geezer in their 40s is as silly as me saying someone in their 20's parties too much for such a demanding job.

The reason most big 4 hires are early 20s is because most applicants are that age lol. If 11 out of every 12 applicants are recent grads safe to assume the odds are in favor of that age range.

As for taking orders from a 20 something, I don't see the question? A person becomes a senior (and thus manages associates) based on experience. My boss is far younger than I am, and one of my employees is in her 70's. Age seems to be a non issue.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Yes, big 4 hires people in their 40s and 50s. If you can still access recruiting through your school it's your best shot at a foot in the door. Otherwise network like crazy especially through linkedin.

To the other posters you might want to let go of whatever you believe about 40 year olds. At 40 a person likely has close to 30 years left in the workforce and sill a viable big 4 candidate. I'm 44 and not in big 4 because of my kids. I was a mom at 23 so it wouldn't matter if I was 25, put my kids first then too. To say the hours are prohibitive to a geezer in their 40s is as silly as me saying someone in their 20's parties too much for such a demanding job.

The reason most big 4 hires are early 20s is because most applicants are that age lol. If 11 out of every 12 applicants are recent grads safe to assume the odds are in favor of that age range.

As for taking orders from a 20 something, I don't see the question? A person becomes a senior (and thus manages associates) based on experience. My boss is far younger than I am, and one of my employees is in her 70's. Age seems to be a non issue.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[onmywhey]

The Big 4 do hire older candidates but to speak frankly, they will avoid it if possible. It's illegal to discriminate based upon age but based upon what other posters have said, their evaluation of the situation is true.

I know you want to know if the Big 4 hire older candidates, the answer is yes, but think very long and hard why there are not many older candidates and what the changes to your lifestyle if you did get in.

[onmywhey]

The Big 4 do hire older candidates but to speak frankly, they will avoid it if possible. It's illegal to discriminate based upon age but based upon what other posters have said, their evaluation of the situation is true.

I know you want to know if the Big 4 hire older candidates, the answer is yes, but think very long and hard why there are not many older candidates and what the changes to your lifestyle if you did get in.

[Anonymous]

They Big4 will hire you regardless of age if you are able to sell yourself to be a great fit for the firm. I agree with @onmywhey. Think about the lifestyle change. I have worked in a private industry for several years, and now in the Big4. I am also one of the older candidates, and the adjustment is pretty steep. If you've been used to working 40-50 hours a week, the 60-70 work week is pretty brutal.

[Anonymous]

They Big4 will hire you regardless of age if you are able to sell yourself to be a great fit for the firm. I agree with @onmywhey. Think about the lifestyle change. I have worked in a private industry for several years, and now in the Big4. I am also one of the older candidates, and the adjustment is pretty steep. If you've been used to working 40-50 hours a week, the 60-70 work week is pretty brutal.

[jlough]

The short answer to your question is that yes, the Big 4 does hire people in their 40's.

The long answer is that most Big 4 will fill most open 1st year Associate position with people who do internships or who they meet at campus recruiting events. Why? They want the 22-year-olds who most likely don't have families, need the hours for their CPA license, who are willing to work for a lower pay, and who are too young and dumb to realize that reasonable work hours are worth their weight in gold (no shame– I was a young and dumb 22-year-old Big 4'er too!)

I would highly recommend to connect with Big 4 recruiters on LinkedIn and see if any of the firms you are interested in has a campus recruiting team for your alma mater. I worked with a few older people when I was in B4— I've heard that it can be an advantage to be older because you make better social connections with partners/directors, which can help you network in the future.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[jlough]

The short answer to your question is that yes, the Big 4 does hire people in their 40's.

The long answer is that most Big 4 will fill most open 1st year Associate position with people who do internships or who they meet at campus recruiting events. Why? They want the 22-year-olds who most likely don't have families, need the hours for their CPA license, who are willing to work for a lower pay, and who are too young and dumb to realize that reasonable work hours are worth their weight in gold (no shame– I was a young and dumb 22-year-old Big 4'er too!)

I would highly recommend to connect with Big 4 recruiters on LinkedIn and see if any of the firms you are interested in has a campus recruiting team for your alma mater. I worked with a few older people when I was in B4— I've heard that it can be an advantage to be older because you make better social connections with partners/directors, which can help you network in the future.

F- 7/13- 84
R- 10/13- 79
A- 11/13- 99
B- 1/14- 86

Licensed in PA- 3/20/2014

This exam ALMOST defeated me back in 2006-2008, but I came back and WON!

[Anonymous]

@jlough LOL…so true that is what I was thinking.

I am sure hiring groupies who swoon over them like they are Justin Timberlake and will work long hours for low pay is a great model for them! Use em up and spit them out!

There is a lot of manual grunt work to do and eager recent graduates are great for that!

I am not sure I understand the all of the hype for Big 4. I think there is some good opportunities there but there are ones elsewhere too. I am not sure why so many people think their careers live and die because of Big 4 including the original poster.

[Author]

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