CADETSHIPS 2012 Discussion Thread (4 Viewers)

[seremify007]

What's the work atmosphere like at the big 4's? How are the facilities??
Describe please.

Difficult to describe but you would've gotten a good feel for things at the various functions (information sessions, interview itself, congratulatory function). Everyone perceives things differently and it would vary depending on both the people you met and the department/division you applied for.

What do you mean by 'facilities'? The kitchens and bathrooms? LOL! I am pretty confident they will all be up to a reasonably good standard- but if you're in Assurance you won't be in the office much to enjoy/appreciate them anyway.

 

[krizbro]

hey ! I have obtained a cadetship for PwC jus recently. Just wondering if HECS is covered ? Ive read the contract, but it says something about a Trainee Grant Scheme, and not entirely sure :S and I dont want to really PwC incase they form a judgement about me wanting to work there only for the HECS payment. Just curious is all ! LOL

 

[tambam]

hey ! I have obtained a cadetship for PwC jus recently. Just wondering if HECS is covered ? Ive read the contract, but it says something about a Trainee Grant Scheme, and not entirely sure :S and I dont want to really PwC incase they form a judgement about me wanting to work there only for the HECS payment. Just curious is all ! LOL

No, they don't pay HECS for you. But they give you the specified grant amoung for each month that you go to uni (around 9). So you could use it to cover your fees, or you could use it any other way you want.

 

[seremify007]

hey ! I have obtained a cadetship for PwC jus recently. Just wondering if HECS is covered ? Ive read the contract, but it says something about a Trainee Grant Scheme, and not entirely sure :S and I dont want to really PwC incase they form a judgement about me wanting to work there only for the HECS payment. Just curious is all ! LOL

Trainee grant scheme as tambam mentioned is independent of HECS. It's a payment made in exchange for you committing to work for the firm.

HECS is the loan scheme offered by the government to make university more accessible to people (i.e. you get to borrow the cost of your university education upfront, and repay it back later once you start earning income).

I have no idea what you're saying in the 2nd half of your message re: judgement.. :S

 

[krizbro]

oh thanks for that. yeah i jus read the second part of what i said. sorry, dont know what i meant by that. LOL. i've just heard rumours that UNI is entirely paid for by the big four, but of course its a large payment for a job to do for cadets. either way we're getting a good grant, and we have to work with them for productivity. it's going to be a tough yet wonderful 4 years. we'll see how it goes :] cheers guys.

 

[seremify007]

oh thanks for that. yeah i jus read the second part of what i said. sorry, dont know what i meant by that. LOL. i've just heard rumours that UNI is entirely paid for by the big four, but of course its a large payment for a job to do for cadets. either way we're getting a good grant, and we have to work with them for productivity. it's going to be a tough yet wonderful 4 years. we'll see how it goes :] cheers guys.

As far as I know, the only cadetships which pay for your uni degree are government-related (e.g. audit office of nsw, treasury department, etc) but then you accept a reduced salary and different career progression/structure.

Seriously though for Big 4 cadets- you guys are being paid so much more than those who did the program 5 years ago, or 11 where the leave entitlements were half (i.e. 4 hours a week rather than 7.5), the grant was much lower, and the annual salary was about half of what it is today (from back in '99).

 

[mickeydee01]

hey,

i'm in my last yr VCE and only just found out about these cadetships...is it safe to say ill have to wait till next yr to apply for them or is there still a chance to apply?

thanks

 

[krizbro]

cheers seremify. wow, so true. if we're getting entitlements like these, then we're so much luckier than the people who were cadets a decade ago. but all in all, im looking for the experience of PwC. i believe it makes a candidate for a particular occupation pre-eminent, thus giving them a higher competitive advantage in the financial industry. i'm lookin to do a bach commerce at UTS or big Mac (Macquarie) .. so looking forward to the HSC break and working with PwC in basecamp.

and 2 more questions seremify .. if i were to procure an occupation in investment banking, what is the best way to go about it ? and ...... how are partners in the big 4 treated in terms of working hours/salary/status. etc

 

[tambam]

hey,

i'm in my last yr VCE and only just found out about these cadetships...is it safe to say ill have to wait till next yr to apply for them or is there still a chance to apply?

thanks

VCE is melbourne right? I'm pretty sure its a bit late to apply for most cadetships now, and i'm not sure how different sydney is to melbourne
BUT i know a few firms (especially the smaller ones) who still seem to be looking for cadets, and my friend actually got knocked back by one a month ago, and she got contacted last week asking if she was still interested. So obviously some smaller firms are still desperate to fill spaces.
And in Sydney, Grant Thornton applications open in october, i don't know if there's one in melbourne.
But another thing you could try is maybe early next year, try to contact some of the Big 4 firms, to see if they still have vacancies. I think a significant amount of people sign contracts and then cancel it before they start.
I was at KPMG last month, and there was a guy there who started as a cadet 2 weeks before (because at KPMG they start in June), and he said he hadn't applied the year before with everyone else, he had just sent in an application a few months before cos he heard about it from a friend, and started 2 months later.

 

[seremify007]

cheers seremify. wow, so true. if we're getting entitlements like these, then we're so much luckier than the people who were cadets a decade ago. but all in all, im looking for the experience of PwC. i believe it makes a candidate for a particular occupation pre-eminent, thus giving them a higher competitive advantage in the financial industry. i'm lookin to do a bach commerce at UTS or big Mac (Macquarie) .. so looking forward to the HSC break and working with PwC in basecamp.

It's a great program but I suspect most of you guys won't appreciate the 'real' benefits of it until much later in your careers. I was fortunate enough that I got to move divisions during my cadetship, and hence I've seen the benefits of experience in non-FS environments before moving into FS.

and 2 more questions seremify .. if i were to procure an occupation in investment banking, what is the best way to go about it ? and ...... how are partners in the big 4 treated in terms of working hours/salary/status. etc

As in, how do you get a spot in IB? LOL like the majority of other people who ask for it, it's not something for everyone despite the glamour, but the best way would be to get an internship during your penultimate year (i.e. 3rd in a cadetship) and then to work there over the summer holidays (and hopefully get offered a grad position). If you do get an offer and you wish to accept it, you'll probably just have to repay the grant you received from the firm. It's not that uncommon.

As for partners... I think their hours are pretty decent compared to a grad or trainee, or a senior, but then they have a very different role which is driven by their role as owning and growing the business (i.e. winning new work). They also have to manage relationships with clients, as well as review the work put forward by their engagement teams. In terms of status, I think a Big 4 partner has sufficient status in society within their respective field (i.e. they get respect) and depending on the individual, some like to take it down different paths (e.g. becoming a technical expert, becoming a relationship partner, being in the media, being the representative of the firm's view, quality control, managing the business, etc... or any combination of these). I don't know enough to comment on salary but there are plenty of websites and surveys (even BRW did one a few years back) out there which can give you a fair idea. Keep in mind that partner's receive both a salary and a profit share (since they own the business).

 

[seremify007]

But another thing you could try is maybe early next year, try to contact some of the Big 4 firms, to see if they still have vacancies. I think a significant amount of people sign contracts and then cancel it before they start.

Most firms do a 'catch up' recruitment drive for first year uni students to enter cadetship programs but keep in mind there aren't that many positions during this recruitment phase compared to if you applied during high school.

 

[mickeydee01]

thanks for the reply...i had a look on a number of websites and most of the dates were closed but ill try my luck and even send in a resume and cover letter....cant hurt i guess...do you know if there is anywhere with a list of firm websites that you can apply for?

sorry, im just not really informed on all of this...i went back to tafe to finish my vce and they dont really tell us much there about this stuff...only just found out at a holiday lecture....thanks for your help

 

[Azure]

Try this http://www.charteredaccountants.com...Students/Brochures/Employment Guide 2011.ashx

 

[mickeydee01]

thanks for that

 

[tambam]

If you plan on starting uni next year, its not too late to apply in around june next year.
Because a cadetship is normally 4 years, but if you start it in the 2nd year of uni, you basically get as much work experience (2 full years) as everyone else.
So its not really a disadvantage to be applying next year.

And as seremify said, most firms have 'top ups' on their cadetship intake at the beginning of next year, so i reckon right now you should try emailing hr managers of some of the big firms and actually ask if they have more opportunities, rather than just waiting around for something to come up.
Good luck

 

[seremify007]

Just a note though, if you are only just finding out about this stuff now you may want to do some research before you shoot your CV's off to every firm. A cadetship/traineeship is not an easy thing to just sign up for- i.e. it's not a scholarship, it's a full time job (i.e. minimum of 9-5 every day whilst you study in your free time). It's a very demanding program and hence the criteria they look for in the recruitment process will be evidence of your ability to balance strong academic performance with extra curricular/work commitments, as well as your general commercial acumen, ability to work in teams and learn, and the ability to present yourself well to clients and colleagues. Ultimately though, you also need to demonstrate an ability and desire to commit.

Only reason I'm stating the above is you don't want to be rushing into this just because you missed the main round of interviews/applications as it's something which requires significant commitment.

 

[krizbro]

If you do get an offer and you wish to accept it, you'll probably just have to repay the grant you received from the firm. It's not that uncommon.

wowww. pay back the grant ! :| as in the grant for the entire 4 years ? wow. crazy stuff.

 

[seremify007]

wowww. pay back the grant ! :| as in the grant for the entire 4 years ? wow. crazy stuff.

Grant is actually only for 2 years (or more technically, about 18 months since you're not at uni for the entire 2 years!) but why would you be surprised? After all, the firm is giving you $x per month for agreeing to work for the firm when you graduate, so if you end up not working with the firm, why should you be able to keep the grant?

 

[hungwell1337]

if you gets sick of work just take leave LOL

 

[krizbro]

Grant is actually only for 2 years (or more technically, about 18 months since you're not at uni for the entire 2 years!) but why would you be surprised? After all, the firm is giving you $x per month for agreeing to work for the firm when you graduate, so if you end up not working with the firm, why should you be able to keep the grant?

understandable .. cheers for the advice/intricate details mate (seremify). appreciate it heaps. hope you have a successful and enjoyable life :]