Disclaimer: This post is entirely based on my own experience, perspective, insights, and opinion on the Big 4 and being in a client focused role i.e. Audit, Tax etc. I understand that people may disagree with my views, but again, this is my own perspective. This is simply to share my experience with others who may find it helpful and beneficial.
Here's my short summary: I joined a Big 4 company in the UK on the graduate program as a new analyst. I was there for approximately one and a half years, completed the part of my professional exams, and then left without anything else lined up (which I do not recommend!), now I'm on the job market looking for some totally different (I would not go back to that environment).
First of all, my expectations of what the Big 4 would actually be like were very different before I joined. I expected it to be extremely structured, with a developed pattern of work, and I would know what I would be doing on each day. However, this was far from the reality. Ultimately, there is little to no structure, you're doing different kinds of work for different clients, most of the time you don't have a clue what's going on, but that's "normal." You would form particular relationships with senior colleagues who would delegate you work, and then you would have these sort of "bonds" with these people and stick with them for future work, which leads me to one of my first issues I had.
Personally, I found it very strange that I would need to get on good terms with and almost suck up to senior colleagues. I'm a very independent individual, and I didn't like having to form special relationships with people to develop myself. In my team, everyone was very friendly, but seeing past the normal pleasantries, there's always the matter of how they perceive you individually. If people didn't like you personally, then they wouldn't get you on board with work that they do. So I had to try and put on a face for so long.
At the Big 4, fundamentally, you would need to really get onboard and have "interest" in the work that's going on. In my case, I just saw work as work. I wasn't really "interested" or "enjoyed" any of the projects that were going on. This is the opposite of how you need to be. If you're someone like me that doesn't care about seizing opportunities, really getting hands-on in the work with an eagerness to learn more, you're going to be VERY unhappy as I was. And there are actually many senior people like this in the Big 4, and let me tell you, they are very, very dissatisfied and unhappy people from my experience. The people who were happy were the ones who were the real "go-getters," winning their clients, digging for the latest information etc. For me, I really didn't care about helping a client make an extra £1000 profit. I could care less, there are more important things in the world for me to worry about. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it – that was my personality, NOT THE RIGHT TYPE. This lack of interest also causes problems in learning and development. If you're not interested, then it's going to be more of a big struggle to pass your qualifications. This isn't the type of job where you work your hours, you go home, and do the things you want. There are jobs and roles out there where you can simply cruise along, take a more laid back approach and just do your tasks and leave it at that. You can't do that at the Big 4, you have to really integrate yourself or at least attempt to.
You also have to be into the social culture. Every week there would be drinks down at the pub. Most folks in the UK here like to drink beer all evening and talk smack/small talk over trivial things – I don't. And I wouldn't make an effort to conform and attend these events. Others that I know didn't enjoy it still would go because they know if they didn't they would lose popularity, which would affect their work relationships and subsequently future opportunities. Me personally, I couldn't care less how popular I was with other people. My attitude was "I don't care, I am me and you are you," and this did have a big effect on my work relationships naturally. I was still open and friendly with everyone else, but there was no genuine connection other than that except with a few odd people I found similar to myself.
When you're like this, you can only keep it up for so long. Don't get me wrong, somewhat similar individuals like myself do remain at the big 4, they do manage to complete their qualifications and move on, but they end up being VERY UNHAPPY and dissatisfied. It's a great career path for many, with great growth opportunities, pay increases, etc. But it just wasn't for me personally. I could've stuck it out, put my head down and suffered, but I simply didn't want to and I did not see it as a career for me besides.
I could go on and on in great detail, but I think enough been said to take in by readers I appreciate all those who read my little experience. Please do share your comments and thoughts, I’m happy to answer questions about the Big 4 and my experience or if anyone wants to msg to talk directly happy for that too!