"Work life balance" isn't reality. Public Accounting INCLUDING Plante Moran don't offer a work/life balance. The perception is that you work long hours, 60+ hours weekly during tax season, but the truth is that you don't work under 50 hours a week every week. This 50+ hours doesn't include your commute time, so expect to be leaving home by 6 and get home around 7 - all year long. When interviewing, ask about total charge hour goals and then add on 20% for training, conferences, add another 20% for sitting in traffic and commuting to/from clients and then add time for making up the lost charge hours if you happen to take vacation time. Salary is good straight out of college but then the raises are slim and at Plante, incharge and above salary levels are extremely low. Managers below $90,000 while working close to 2,800 hours per year. They will dangle the carrot of partnership and the big money but very few make it to that level. They have pushed out long time Managers and even partners.
