“In certain states/cities, I heard college students actually choose a mid-tier over a Big Four.”
Yes, I can vouch for this. Out of undergrad, there were at least a handful of people I knew that chose to go to mid-tier firms over big 4, and some even chose small firms. I suppose that's where they saw a better fit for themselves and their careers. The work is different in big/mid/small firms, especially in audit.
“What if a mid-tier pays you more than a Big Four offers? Would people still choose the Big Four over the mid-tier?”
Again, depends on your goals. If you plan to stay 2-4 years and use it as a springboard, then the few thousand more you are offered out of school is irrelevant. Some people would, while others will not. I'll just say that you see far more people out of big 4 than mid tier… although that's not really a valid statistic since there are literally several multiples more people in the big 4 firms than mid tier…
“If you have like a couple year of Big Four experience, would it really be that beneficial for you for future career?”
It CAN be, but there are no guarantees. Let me repeat. THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES. I've seen people leave big 4 and get mediocre jobs in industry, and others who left a mid tier firm for investing banking jobs afterwards. It depends far more on the person. However, all else equal (experience, resume, networking and soft skils, etc), a public company will generally list “big 4 preferred” and in some cases “big 4 required” on the job listing.
” If you like public and plan to stay in public for a long time, would you still choose Big Four over mid-tier even though you will be working more hours and possibly earning less at Big Four?”
This is a great question! If you do actually like public accounting, many people choose other firm types given it's very difficult to sell new business at the big 4 level. I've seen more than a handful of senior managers from my former big 4 firm who joined small firms because they saw a clearer/more likely path to director/partner there.
I'll admit, it's a bit of an “old boys club” in the big 4, both inside the firm as well as the network that persists outside of it, but there are very tangible benefits when you look out to mid/small firms as well as industry once you have big 4 experience; HOWEVER, I will repeat again, THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES. It's not like once you work in big 4 people will just beg you to come work for them, but the network you develop with fellow staff/seniors/managers/partners will be much larger than at a mid/small firm, and that is what really helps you throughout your career, not the job or what you learn specifically at work.
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