Where would you recommend I should start out my Accounting career?

I had no prior accounting experience with a 3.92 in college and 150 credits. Applied through their website and had 3 interviews working two weeks and got a call a day after the last interview with an offer. The main interview was super causal with a manager and then a partner and was just like a conversation with a friend.

Depends on your city, school, and local offices. Having no accounting experience on your resume may make it pretty difficult

Getting an internship is lightwork if you have any social skills at that GPA

Not hard. They want bodies.

I was able to get a T4 and a T10 offer. Ended up getting an accounting/finance real estate role while still in school. My biggest suggestion is to solidify your interview skills and really learn how to present your experience to hiring managers. Additionally, start applying to T4 & T10 internships ASAP because you’ll be applying for Summer/Fall/Winter 2026 Internship Cohorts. Make sure to communicate you have, or will be taking your Intermediate Accounting Classes soon, (or are in the middle of it) and make sure to know a little bit about tax or auditing depending on which internship role you pursue. They’re really big on why Audit or why Taxation, just have a reason in the back of your head that’s logical. Also mentioning you are pursuing a CPA does not hurt.

I got into a Top 10 firm at least. I interned with them and will be returning shortly.

I applied to maybe 6 firms in total directly on their websites for internships a year in advance. Off the top of my head, I was rejected outright by 4 (one of those rejection emails came an entire year after I applied and was already an intern), ghosted by 1, and contacted by the firm I'm with.

The first contact I received was an email to schedule an introductory call with a recruiter. Then, I had that call where my recruiter got an idea of what I was looking for, expected graduation date, why I chose the internship I did, that sort of thing. Seems like a bit of a screening call where they want to make sure out the gate that you aren't a weirdo or completely unqualified.

I got an actual interview from there which consisted of meeting with some associates, then a senior manager, and finally a partner. It was all back-to-back and I was up there interviewing for at least a couple hours straight. No technical questions, all pretty casual conversation. They want to make sure you're a likable person they wouldn't mind working with - they know interns won't have much real knowledge. I ended up getting an offer, interned, and got my return offer.

Although some people get very mad here on Reddit in the WGU subs when I say we are at a disadvantage in terms of recruiting, I 100% believe it's still true. I don't see how anyone could argue we aren't when traditional schools have recruiting events and relationships with firms. All of the other interns I worked with came from our local universities and people generally won't be impressed with your online degree.

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A recruiter saw my resume on linkedin. Two interviews later, i get an offer, two weeks later I accept.

You need to not want a personal life, and want to be burned out and depressed.

Be a living organism that they can grind into the ground for profit

I was a shitty person in my past life

Ey campus rec. i just applied and got contacted. Then it goes. Super fast feedback as well in my experience. Just explore their job postings and take it from there. I also experience being referred but I didn’t get the job in the service line. I tried again just recently without connections and got the job! Now i have this thinking that it’s really how you present yourself in the interview that gets you the job! ☺️ Good luck! Also if you want referrals, a lot of people here or fishbowl do that.

Chances are you'll just have to try for an internship. I got an internship at a top 10 firm which resulted in a return offer, but I did have to leave my job for it.

I was working in AR and had been there for roughly 2.5 years - super stable, but not very high paying work. I live with my girlfriend so I have all the regular expenses, but figured the potential upside of the internship was worth it.

The firms just don't really do any recruiting at all at the associate level. They recruit from their intern pools.

The majority of B4 internships will lead to job offers if you're competent during the internship. Alternatively, many people who intern there will be well-suited to get offers from other public firms, as that experience is still seen as very valuable.

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Easy. Start wherever you start. Build your career, network, then start applying at the Big4. You probably won't start there at the beginning of your career. You'll get there over time.

Getting hired out of college and working at big 4 is harder. Transfering in with experience is easier.

It’s not very hard even from a no name school

Source: my experience

If you go to a school they target for recruiting and have a good GPA, you have a pretty good chance. Getting an internship is also a plus so long as you don't fuck a partners wife or burn down the break room.

Depends on how you define difficult. It’s difficult if you go to a non-campus recruiting school and have a poor GPA. It’s not difficult if you go to a campus recruiting school and have a good GPA, or if you have years of experience as a staff or senior accountant and want to join the firm as an experienced hire.

I speak for auditing. Well if you meet the basic requirements... GPA and eligibility to take the CPA... good social skills... not that bad getting in. But have your resume reviewed and understand behavioral questions you should be good to go...

Out of college yes, but you can apply after working at another firm for a year or two and they will be more than happy to take you.

Super easy, barely an inconvenience.

If you go to the wrong school, yes

I went to a non-target school for undergrad. No one got into big 4 and I didn’t get an offer anywhere. Went to a target school for my masters and interviewed with 3/4 firms. Ended up getting in. Really seems to matter what school you come from

I wouldn’t touch big 4 with a 10ft pole! I work 40hrs a week! Weekend holidays off and don’t work for clients I don’t like. Oh and I don’t have a boss or answer to anymore. Best decision of my life

I haven’t done it myself but this is my goal and I have seen others that have done it. From what I’ve gathered, the MA will help a lot and the CPA will help even more. Most if not all states require 2,000 hours of work supervised by an active CPA to get licensed, but you can pass the tests and have that on your resume while waiting to fulfill those work hours. This is the path I’ll be following and no, your MA doesn’t have to come from a target school. I’m sure it would help, but it doesn’t have to.

I'm in a Top 10 firm tax internship currently.

Yes

Most accountants never worked for the Big 4. It's not necessary and neither is working in public accounting to have a successful accounting career.

No you’re not screwed. You got a lot going on and some good experience. I’d look into winter internships for around your grad date or masters (for recruitment) if you want to keep trying for a public firm. I don’t know your circumstances but it could be either your location or current school. Most firms recruit directly from universities at the staff level or come from prior internships with them.

In terms of your overall goals my only suggestion is to consider getting away from non profits for now and just apply to staff roles starting in the winter. It’s fine if you love NFP but if you’re unsure it’s probably not the best place to start out. This is coming from a guy that likes my NFP clients but it’s just a niche area.

I got turned down by B4 and large regional Firms. It took me a bit but I’m making 6 figures in a MCOL city in a management level role.

I did end up getting into public after working in industry at a small public firm but it was to help my resume. I would still be fine if I stayed in industry the whole time

I started my career full time in 2022 (two public accounting internships under my belt before this, not big 4) at $60k and am projecting to be around $95K for 2025 income including bonus. No CPA either. It’s very possible. I’m also left public after only a year and a half.

You don't need Big 4 for a successful accounting career. It's one path, but you've got a strong base already. Stick with your plan, get that CPA, and focus on growth. There are many ways to hit six figures and a big title without Big 4. Stay adaptable and strategic!

And you mentioned that you are immediately getting the 150 hours for your CPA eligibility, maybe you could enhance those hours by signing up for exams like FAR. It never hurts to try, does it?

You're not eligible to even apply to B4 until you're eligible to write your CPA exams. After that, you'll be looking at entry level competing against the recent grads, so the level of competition depends on the popularity of the location, that year's pool, and other factors.

The way I got in was unconventional and not useful, but most people just go the standard application/recruiting way. Attend some (virtual) networking events, figure out if it's a good fit, etc.

My experience was entry level. The acceptance rate of applications to hires is more competitive than Harvard and Yale. It’s tough. Not that working at big 4 equates you to an Ivy League education, it’s just a hard bar to pass. Networking is the big differentiator between success and failure. If you’re good at networking, it’s not particularly difficult to get in, but if you’re bad at networking it’s a long-shot.

On the face of it your odds are not good. But non-profit is a niche and if they had a business need for someone with your experience in the field it could happen.

The final interview process was me and one other person in a small room with a small knife in the center of the room.

He seemed like a nice guy, I'm sure his family misses him.