u/Intelligent_Lab_9578

Hi all,

I’m currently a Tax Manager at a Big 4 firm outside London and I’m weighing up an offer to move into an in-house Tax Manager role.

The in-house offer is attractive from a short-term earning perspective, and the move would likely improve work-life balance too. However, I’m concerned that I might be moving for immediate pay rather than thinking properly about long-term career progression and earning potential.

I’d be really interested to hear from people who have either stayed in Top 10 tax through Manager → Senior Manager → Director, or moved in-house around Manager level.

Does staying until Senior Manager or Director materially improve your exit opportunities and salary ceiling?
Is in-house tax equally rewarding long term, financially and professionally, or does patience tend to pay off

My main concern is that the in-house move looks appealing now, but I don’t want to sacrifice longer-term earning potential or career optionality if staying in practice for a few more years would put me in a much stronger position.

Thanks!

I’m currently a Tax Manager at a Big 4 firm in the UK (London) and have recently been approached about moving into industry as a Group Tax Manager for a listed company.

On paper, it seems like a great opportunity - better work/life balance, potentially more ownership/responsibility, and exposure to the commercial side of tax rather than purely advisory/compliance work. However, I’m struggling with whether it’s the right long-term move for my career.

A few things I’m thinking about:

- Does moving in-house at Manager level limit future career opportunities compared to staying in Big 4?
- For anyone who has made the move from practice to industry, did you enjoy it more or less than expected?
- How transferable are the skills once you move in-house?
- If I moved and realised I didn’t enjoy industry, would it be difficult to move back into Big 4 later on?
- Is Group Tax Manager at a listed company generally seen as a strong career move/prestige step from Big 4?

I think one of my concerns is that I know the Big 4 environment well and have a clear progression path, whereas in-house feels more unknown.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has made the jump (or decided against it), especially in UK tax.

Thanks!

Does anyone know when the exam papers get released and is it before results day? (So we can torture ourselves guessing how many marks we have got 😂)