Company: EY
Date: 2009-12-07
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former

Politics still at the forefront in Big 4
Pros: I agree that EY is a great place to "launch" your career (as they so proudly advertise).  There are alot of younger people in the same boat as you to network with (ie misery loves company). You get great exposure to many Fortune 500 companies - so you can learn a lot of things in your first 3-5 years at the Firm. Because budgets are so tight, good resources scarce, and deadlines unreasonable - you will also learn how to work very hard and as efficiently as possible. I think Big 4 alumni coming into industry clearly have a leg up in this regard
Cons: Where to start....obviously, like any Big 4 - the hours are ridiculous. You may find one or two Senior Managers or Partners that can actually say they have a decent work-life balance, but the majority of all people that work at the Firm do not.  You cannot. 

It seems to be a vicous cycle - many of the "best" people leave the firm to go on to succeed in industry. If you do the math, only a small percentage of people that work in the Firm are Partners - so, if good people leave - the majority of Managers and Senior Managers arent very good.  The incompetence at that level is basically what drives the additional hours for those at the lower levels.  Those running the engagements know nothing about project management, and often are lax on the subject matter so endless are are a result of poor planning and lots of rework.

Additionally, EY (advisory) could care less about quality of work and "people".  It is an endless grovelling to try and win and/or expand new work.  Success at the firm means absolutely nothing about how much you actually know, or how hard you work.  If you are a greasy snake and can stomach 
  -  selling sand to an elderly woman in a desert, 
  -  backstabbing your peers and the people working below you,  and 
  -  smoozing and kissing butt to whonever is in power that year - 
you will go far.  Otherwise it is best to get out after you have suffered through your "learning curve"