There are a lot of politics and a lot of favoritism here at EY. Entry-level positions don't feel it much, but you can definitely feel it as a manager or director. On the surface level, we talk about a people first culture. On the inside, the company always puts the client first and works you very hard in order to meet deadlines. My bosses don't seem that sympathetic to do amount of work that I do.

Dress is business casual in the office. The only time I find myself wearing a full suit and tie is when we go out and meet with clients.

There is a huge divide between the Ernst partners and the Arthur Young Partners. There has been a push to get partners to mentor the analysts and Seniors in the company, but the push has been very slow and there is little involvement amongst the partners.

The sharing of knowledge is highly encourage at EY. If you work very hard, and show that you can bring great value to the company, you will have access to senior managers or even partners. I think the great thing is that it is very rare for you to have access to Partners. Therefore, you know that your hard work is being appreciated when the Partner recognizes your achievements.

I think the best thing about this company is that the people here are all extremely intelligent. The environment in the office is casual, and we're allowed to wear polos and slacks. In tax, I usually work about 45-50 hours per week. During the busy season, I'll definitely stay around 60-70 hours a week.

EY truly emphasizes their "people first" culture. As much as the work may be tedious, the people are truly awesome. Even as an intern, they take a lot of time to make sure you understand your role and your work. The people definitely made it a more casual and "fun" place to work. Also, the company is quite relaxed on dress, requiring business casual, so you could wear polos and khakis in the office. (If you are at a client, you may be required to wear a suit.)

I work in Tax and we work a usualy 9am - 6pm everyday. During the busy season, we can work our 12 hour days and I've even worked 7 days a week before. The cool thing is that during the busy season (and spending all-nighters at the office), the dress code is not followed at all. I had my hoody sweater on and comfy jeans to compel me to work through the early morning hours of the day.

At the analyst level, there is a lot of talk about diversity and equality. However, once you get to upper management, you start to feel the elitist and hierarchical structure. I think the company tries to push for a relationship between the upper mangement and analysts, but the relationships feel forced and never that comfortable.

The company stresses diversity, but I have seen very few minorities around the office and few woman at the Senior Manager and Partner levels. They pretty much engrain the idea of diversity in your head, so if you're a woman or a minority, you have a strong chance of getting hired.

You really need to take the intiative in this environment. People will not hand you over anything; you need to step up and claim it for yourself. In the other big four, you are guided and led along a path with mentors. In EY, you need to fight to get a mentor and actually prove yourself before someone will mentor you.