I was hired as an Analyst in 2005. The starting pay was $55,000. Bonuses at the end of the year are given individually and based on performance. My first bonus was around $10,000 my first year.

My working hours are ridiculously long. We're constantly working on our clients' time; therefore, we can't leave the office until the work is done (especially if deadlines are coming up). You can expect to work an average of 50 - 60+ hours a week. I work on the tax side of Deloitte and can say that when I was entry level, I did a lot of data entry, binders, and quality checks. I am now a manager and have much more client interaction.

You will get the amount of work that you work for. For example, if you only do the bare minimum, expect to leave the office around 6:30pm everyday. However, if you're like me, then you will work at least 12 hours of billable work everyday. I work my very hard in this competitive environment so that I get noticed and I'm able to move up in this company. The company is competitive, but very just in promoting its people.

The people that I work with are all supportive, intelligent, and all of my managers are excellent leaders. The best thing about it is that the managers know how to lead without me or anyone else having to hate them for it. I come into work business casual, and only go full suit when we are meeting with clients.

I am a semi-conservative person which fits perfectly with Deloitte. The people here are social (we go out to happy hours and dinners all the time), but there is a conservative feel among the employees. I guess it pretty much depends on which office you are at. I'm currently in the Chicago office which suits me perfectly!

Deloitte has a great program called Mass Career Customization. In this program, you are able to customize your career in four different fields:

1. Work Load: define how many projects you are willing to take on at one time
2. Role: you can specify if you want a role that is client interaction intensive or simply peer interactive intensive
3. Pace: how fast to you want to move up within the company
4. Location/Schedule: do you want to work at home, work part-time, or travel

I think this is one of the best things that Deloitte has ever done.

Work hard, and you will get more work. Do average or less that average work and you'll be given less work to do and more of it will be grunt work. In a client service company, billable hours are extremely important. If you don't have billable hours, then you'll eventually quit or be fired.

My average day runs from around 9am - 10pm. During the busy season, 12 - 14 hour days are common. What usually happens is that I'll go into work, slide into my cubicle, turn on my laptop, and check my mail. I'll have messages from some clients but mostly from my Managing Directors telling me what to do for the day. You eventually become one with your cubicle.

In 2006, I was hired as a Senior Tax Consultant. My starting pay was 65K with a signing bonus of 5K. My first raise came pretty quick actually. 7 months after I was hired, I got paid 70K. One year later, my second raise put me at 72K. Guess the second raise wasn't as great.

The Managing Directors are extremely fun and feel just like another analyst rather than your boss. Dress code is always casual, with the exception of professional attire when you're meeting with a client. Hours are 9 to 8pm, but you can expect to get much longer hours when there is a deadline.

I constantly need to kiss-up to my bosses in order to get noticed within the company. There is a very standard path way up if you're an accountant, but it seems that you can't get past that "standard path." Even if I'm working my butt off, they won't promote me unless I've spent my two years as an analyst.

All the managers and partners at Deloitte are extremely friendly and very easily accessible. There is a managing director right across from my cubicle that I am very close to. I am confident in just getting up and walking into his office to say hello.

The managers and directors that I work with are fine; HOWEVER, the partners in the company have a very arrogant feel to them. I have tried to talk to them, but it seems that they won't give me the light of day because I'm not a partner. The very beaurocratic culture does not suit me and makes me feel as less of a person

We have a lot of networking opportunities, social events, and even a yearly community service day. If you want a fun and vibrant place to work, then Deloitte is definitely the place for you

You do not have just one boss at Deloitte; instead, your manager depends on what project you are staffed on. Deloitte is extremely review heavy, and your boss does a complete 10-page review of your core competencies at the end of the project. Remember, the bar is set extremely high and even if you feel like you're doing a great job, there are about 10 of your peers who are equally at your level. If you deserve the recognition, then you will get it.

I love Deloitte because I get to work with extremely smart people, get great client exposure and interaction, and I develop a skill-set that I know can carry on to any other venture I decide to take on later in life. Deloitte not only prepares you for another career, but they want to keep you in their company and give you the great opportunity to easily move your way up within the firm.

Billable, billable, billable. Everything is about maintaining your billable hours high. Billable hours are hours that can be charged to the client. You're expected to have at leat 1,800 billable hours per year, which is actually pretty easy with the amount of work that we do. I sometimes feel that we get lost in the mess of billable hours and forget about having fun while working.

Even though this company ranks high in certain surveys, I feel that internally the morale is mediocre at best. Deloitte seems to be a stepping stone for most professionals. They come in here with high hopes and quickly leave after two to four years to pursue an MBA or a different industry. I think morale would be higher if people were paid more.

In 2003, I was hired as a manager with a base salary of 87K. There were 7 paid firm holidays, and about 28 days of vacation that I took full advantage of. When you travel, Deloitte takes care of food, transportation, hotels, and pretty much everything else. We call it Uncle D. Health benefits are great as well. They definitely take care of you at Deloitte.

I love the competitive nature of the company. I go through about 6 different projects per year, and try my hardest to always get a great review. The competitiveness comes in because you have SO MANY peers! This can be seen as a bad thing, but I love it because all of my peers encourage each other to do better and help each other through projects.

Advancement in the company is extremely structured:

0-2 Years: Associate
2-5 Years: Senior
5-8 Years: Manager
8-12 Years: Senior Manager
12-16 Years: Partner

Work hard and you'll be promoted right on time.

I thought I would be working my 9-5 with an easy job. Man was I mistaken! I have no time for family and friends because it seems like it is busy season all year round! What happens when I work harder and finish my work quickly? I just get more and more work; therefore, this has resulted in me taking my time with everything so that I don't get piled on with the work.

I was hired in 2005 as a Tax Associate. The starting pay was $44,500. I had 23 days of paid time off and 8 paid holidays. When I got my CPA, I received a bonus of 3K.

Deloitte's goal is to maintain its high status. You'll constantly find that it is one of the top in "the best employers to work". The truth is that employees are paid to write a positive review. Although I feel that Deloitte really is a fun place to work at, this practice makes it seem that they are desparate and need to bribe their employees to maintain its status. A positive and negative cancel each other out, so Deloitte is currently neutral for me.

I have been given the freedom to be involved with any level of the company. The Managing Directors are always open to speaking with me and giving me guidance. I honestly feel that the more value you add to the company, the faster you will move up within the firm.