Beyond Money Alone: How College Accounting Students Choose Their First Job

PAR Differentiators Students Consider in Accepting Job OffersEY and UT Austin top professors poll.

In considering job offers from competing accounting firms, the most highly sought-after students weigh three criteria equally, and it doesn’t much matter whether the offer is for big money or whether it’s from a Big Four firm anymore, according to a leading survey of several hundred college accounting professors.

Students today consider compensation and benefits, “work/life balance and a family-friendly environment” and a desirable geographic location each about equally, according to the 33rd Annual professors Survey for 2014 by Public Accounting Report.

The difference is barely discernible, PAR reports. On a scale of 0 through 10, with 10 being the most important, professors marginally differentiated between the three in order of importance. They rated compensation and benefits an average of 8.10, quality of life/family-friendly environment 8.09 and desirable geographic location 7.99.