Career Advice

Which Company

  • Option 1: Big 4 Audit Firm

    Votes: 8 21.6%
  • Option 2: Startup Firm

    Votes: 29 78.4%

  • Total voters
    37
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
I'm leaning even more strongly towards the "startup".

lxi: you're right, it isn't really a startup; it's a company that was created a week ago purely with the intention of TUPE'ing over the contracts from the old company... the fact that they also get the people is a big bonus, but at the end of the day, they are also hiring to expand from day 1.

Rossyl: that's something that has always puzzled me, I must admit. What is defined as a "big" company? Would my previous 3 years with the guys who manage schools (~1000 employees around the world be classified small or medium?)

Oldcro: the way I see it, it's "the company I want to work for" vs "the company who's name I want on my cv" (especially if I ever do decide to move back to Italy)

David: exactly! It's nice to have the choice... but I can assure you, I haven't been sleeping very well lately! I even dreamt of the guy who interviewed me for the "option1" chasing me trying to lynch me with a network cable for turning down his offer... (I have very weird dreams....)

Worst case scenario? You'll find me coaching people on how to play starcraft 2 in a few years...

M.
 
Last edited:
Having spent 10 years in a big 4 accounting firm I can assure you that at a personal level the "risk" involved in working for them in terms of career progression is different to that of the start up, but not always lower.

Yes, you may end up with that big name on your CV but if you bail out after not that long what it can easily end up saying to future employers is:

"I was Audit/Tax/Management Consultant/IT Drone Unit No.XXXX..."

OK if you work your way through the system to a more senior level and can then lay out a solid portfolio of work and experience it becomes is a very different proposition and you are marketable, but there is a price.

None of the big 4 firms not got to where they are by keeping their people happy. They got there by exploiting them and their professional aspirations in quite cynical and ruthless manner. All have a rapid staff turnover, sucking in large numbers and spitting an almost equal number out.

They are all Partnerships. If you are not a partner, nor considered to be partnership material, then you are a **** and are treated as such to a greater or lesser degree although the "expectation management" process is there to ensure that there is always a glimmer of great things, just of of reach for now, but enough to keep you striving.

Now that is perfectly OK if you understand that and plan to leverage the experience gained by moving on if and when the time comes but a lot of people do not, getting seduced by the "Big 4" tag and seem to think that a glowing career within said Big 4 is assured. And of course they do nothing to dispel such an idea, so that meeting without coffee or biscuits to explain that you might want to consider other options comes as a great shock to those who have swallowed that line.

Each start up is what it is and largely depends on the characters involved. Can give you no guidance on that other than:

follow your instincts

Very small share interests/options in an unlisted company are not worth the paper they are written on. They only have hope value until the point somebody want to buy the company, buy your shares out or it floats. Do not allow anybody to talk you into a lower salary on the basis of that, only for a meaningful equity stake.
 
One other thought, having seen the big 4 in operation at fairly close quarters over 20 years, and having interviewed a number of candidates who have come from them: for the first few years you are always likely to be a small cog in a big machine. One of my favourite lines of questioning at interview is to the effect of 'have you actually personally done x, y or z, or have you just been around when it was done?'. In a big 4, the answer at more junior levels is frankly more likely to be the latter.

They are also NOT caring employers. In my field (tax) there were brutal cuts in a number of firms last year - lots of very good people got axed (I hired a couple). If the times turn against the consultancy, and the work slows a bit there are no hiding places, and people very quickly learn what their true value is to the partnership!
 
wow im the only one that voted for the big 4..

trust me, your career will be off to a flying start.. thousands would give a limb to have an offer from these guys... the startup is a massive risk...

Yes you will definately have a less interesting job and you will be a small cog etc... but a just do a year with option 1 and then if you dont like it, move and you have them on your CV... future jobs will be much easier to land.
 
I agree Jay. Though I read Spinal's post as someone who already has a career and is looking for the next steps.

Spinal: Are you a new Graduate then? If you are, then I echo Jay's view.
 
I graduated in 2005, and have been working since. For 3 years as a SysAdmin in a medium sized company (~1000 employees); after that I did 6 months of freelance consultancy in Africa (General IT) and then 1 year of security consultancy in the UK with one of the 3 largest software firms in the world.

So while not exactly "senior" nor "very experienced" I do not consider myself a neo-graduate anymore (though technically, I'll always be a graduate as at some point in my past I did graduate).

Thanks for all the great comments :)
M.
 
I have not read the previous posts. It depends on the financial commitments you presently face.
If you are a single man, living with M&D then consider NO.2
A mortgage with wife + 2 is another matter....
 
Being 24 with no ties, I wouldn't consider either! Get yourself contracting. IT Security Consultants command very good rates. Get yourself Ltd. and send CV to Lorien, Elan, Hays, Rullion, etc. Be flexible with your location and earn at least 3 times those salaries you mention. Then buy a brand new AMG. :D

Consider permy roles when you're married with kids and a mortgage!
 
A £29k job at a big 4 firm won't be hard to find in a couple of years. A chance to be part of a start up will be.

In two years at the big 4 firm you might be on £35k but you may also be looking for another job. In two years at the start up there's a possibility that you'll be on £50k and have stock options. Of course you may also be looking for a job.

Chances like option 2 rarely come along in life. There's little downside for you but the potential upside is immense. Take it.

I've done quite well over the years and am more comfortably off than most but I had the one chance with a technology start up and chose not to take it. Had I done so I'd be extremely wealthy now*.

We've never met and I know you only through the posts I read on here but my inkling is that you're far more suited to option 2 in terms of personality and skills.

In any event it would be a far more interesting ride and again, that would seem to suit you.


*PS - of course this may well not be true - my continued involvement may have brought them to their knees.
 
Last edited:
You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Both have interesting points. On a flippant note, take a coin and toss it in the air. Heads option 1 tails option 2. Let fate take control.
 
You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Both have interesting points. On a flippant note, take a coin and toss it in the air. Heads option 1 tails option 2. Let fate take control.

Ironically I did do that using a random number generator... after 3 attempts, 2 went for option 2 and 1 for option 1... a sign or what?

M.
 
Ironically I did do that using a random number generator... after 3 attempts, 2 went for option 2 and 1 for option 1... a sign or what?

M.

Hmmmm 3 attempts????


Best of 5 next?

:)
 
I'm an IT Manager and manage a team of people and often come across CV's. Sadly I don't have any roles at the moment! In terms of how things would look on your CV, I would completely understand how you ended up at the startup if that's what you decide to do.

I had an option to join a startup a few years ago but at that time for me it was too big a pay cut and would have impacted my financial commitments (mortgage etc), I wish I wasn't as tied down as I was but hey that's life. I'm still in touch with the two main guys that started up (one of whom was from a big 4 consultancy), their company went well for about 3+ years but then the founding members parted company. They're both stiill very successful in new ventures.

After 4+ years work experience I don't think I'd want to be joining one of the big four, although I do echo what others have said - it's great to have on your CV.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
I've been in your position - 10 years ago. I went with the start-up - and left within three months. It's a very different culture, and whilst that can be appealing (Google is a great example of a different culture), so many of the other things are missing that sometimes it's very hard to find yourself within the firm. Start-up’s typically have to establish revenue and profit first, before all else. This means some basic things like good HR procedures, etc are missing - which may be unsettling. You also indicate you know the start-up company - for that reason alone I would think twice. Friends and business generally do not mix for good reason.

That said I did start a partnership with one of my best friends, doing business consultancy. We ran it for 5 years, made a lot of money, but we started out with the premise of what would we do if it all went wrong. We then drew up a legal document outlining the process, covering everything from death to inappropriate behaviour to bankruptcy etc - and worked all scenarios through. We also determined levels of authorisation etc and so on. So being friends helped, but it also meant we took extra care.

Now, working in a very large multi-national company with a lot of staff - I generally look back on both experiences in a very positive light. That said, given your years of experience (4 I think from your first post) I would tend to say you should go for the big four. At this stage in your career I think it will do you good to have that name on your CV - for at least three years. You'll be far more valuable long term to most employers.

The start-up is basically a gamble, albeit a partially known one. You may say that at your stage in your career you can afford to start again if it all goes wrong. Frankly the same is also true of the big four company - it does happen.

As a recruiter I would see your big 4 experience in a more favourable light, but I would also value any entrepreneurial experience you have as well. In small firms you get a lot closer to the decision making process and experience far more of the actual business. Large firms you tend to be function isolated (although this can easily be changed).

Tough choice - in the current climate I'd go with the big four, and apply the self starter spirit to the company and your role. It will stand you in good stead.

Good luck !
 
saorbust +1
Working for the big4 will give you the opportunity to work on projects or move to related areas which you would never have got with the startup company. Plus the big4 will like as not invest in a substantial amount of training which costs and is vital in your line of work.
Les
 
Any progress?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom