I got accepted to UF tax program and as an international student, hope to get a job in the U.S. after graduation. I recently talked to program director only to hear that I need to prepare for individual job search rather than to depend on on-campus interview opportunities. After visiting Gainesville, I realized that he was serious about what he said. Gainesville is very, very small town and pretty far from major cities in Florida. It's like, not many recruiters may want to come here unless they are really aiming at UF students. That said, there are fewer on-campus job interviews comparing to big city schools. Even if I succeed in making an appointment with UF alumni on my own, it seems to be a big challenge just to go to the cities where they work. I'm looking at big 4 accounting firms tax service. Anyone who've gone through job search process with Tax llm degree, please share your experience. I'll appreciate it!

Maybe you should try to get in touch with some UF tax alumni to see what are job prospects in law firms outside Florida.

Furthermore, I do think it's useless doing such a high rated tax LLM if you only plan working in a Big 4 since you could target the biggest law firms. (that's just my point of view, which some people may not share)

I wouldnt say going to UF is useless if you only plan on working in Big4!!!! UF is the second best tax program in the country and compared to NYU and Georgetown the tuition and cost of living are incredibly affordable.

Now, whether going to Big4 out of UF rather than a large firm, thats a matter of personal opinion. Perhaps the original poster prefer to have more of a life outside of work rather than a large salary. Everyone has their own preferences, going to Big 4 is no less a good reason to go to UF than going to a large firm.

Thanks for the opinions. While thinking about big law jobs, I am wondering if you've been through tax llm or just about to start it. No offence. I don't have JD from U.S. law school. What I heard from UF is that it is difficult to get a law firm job without JD degree even with llm degree from a prestigious school because law firm recruiters places heavy emphasis on JD degree. Also, I have no idea what the law firm job placement is like at UF, especially for international students. Candid words from UF was that most of international students, in case they found jobs in the U.S., ended up with big 4 tax practice.

If you have different information or statistics, please let me know.

Hi setho,

I was juste giving my opinion since I've been practicing first in a Big4 then in a Law firm. I really get bored in the first one, especially because of the kind of job you are supposed to do (compliance, invoices,...) and because i didn't have the impression to use the tax knowledge i gained during my studies. Maybe it's different in the US (i'm from Europe), but from what i've seen and what i've heard from other people, it's much more valuable to work in a law firm (above all if you graduate from a prestigious tax program), even if the workload is heavier there.

Im at UF this fall. I have heard that you should look on your own, but jobs wont be that hard to find, depending on where you want to work. If you want a Big4 job then dont worry, Big4 out of UF is easy. The bigger firms in FL will recruit out of UF, but you would have a harder time getting into lawfirms in NY because of NYU and Washington because of G/T. So, if you want to stay in FL (Miami maybe) UF is ok. Also, you could get a Big 4 job in NY out of UF if you wanted, I think just the law firms in NY would be harder to do.

also ask in taxtalent.com go to career forum. They have a lot more tax knowledge than here.

Hi setho,

I was juste giving my opinion since I've been practicing first in a Big4 then in a Law firm. I really get bored in the first one, especially because of the kind of job you are supposed to do (compliance, invoices,...) and because i didn't have the impression to use the tax knowledge i gained during my studies. Maybe it's different in the US (i'm from Europe), but from what i've seen and what i've heard from other people, it's much more valuable to work in a law firm (above all if you graduate from a prestigious tax program), even if the workload is heavier there.

I have J.D. from UF (took tax courses there) and LL.M/Tax (NYU). Few comments:

1. If you can work for a law firm first, you'll be better off in sense that its easy to go law firm to big4; its uphill swim to go from big4 to law firm in most cases.

2. On employment in NYC area ... I agree that being from NYU (LLM/Tax) would give an edge over UF (LLM/Tax) in general. However, make no mistake, UF is a well respected law school in NY and at NYU as well and many UF J.D. graduates have gone up to NYU and to work in NYC and made very strong impressions (including to faculty of NYU LL.M. Tax). Point: A UF LL.M. in Tax will be well respected in the tax communities and those in-the-know on tax law in NYC.

3. For international lawyer without a J.D. Degree, I suggest you look at and consider the programs now offered specifically as LL.M. degrees for international lawyers who want to integrate into the americal law practice. Many are now offering such programs, including NYU with a program specifally and solely aimed at that goal. Query: might that be a better investment of time, money and study ... as compared to the Tax LL.M. ... if you had to chose one or the other. For law firms it might be, for big 4 it might not be, but I am not sure on that question.

4. My pre-Tax LL.M. study/work was NOT accounting (but did have a Bachelors in Business). But, for me (and as reflected by a couple other respondents) the compliance and other work in a big4 would be much more boring and limited than law firm work. If you are making that choice with an LL.M. in Tax, I hope you have done accounting work previously and know you like accounting enough to go that route and pass up more traditional tax work. Even a corporate tax department can involve more traditional legal type of work in tax law, unless you landed some exceptional tax law research, analysis, writing and client advising in cpa context ... and if you are capable of doing that well, you should be a good candidate for law firm or corporate legal department work too.

Rob

Thank you for your input. Do you know if NY Law School LLM in Taxation is well by firms in NYC? What's its reputation among tax practicioners?

Thks

RE: Question about NY Law School.

I have no knowledge about NY Law School, its tax program or reputation among NYC firms. Sorry.

I know that my LL.M. from NYU got good Wall Street law firm job offers for me that I doubt I would have gotten otherwise, being a J.D. graduate from a Southern law school, in that they tend to favor the Northeaster law schools. However, the NYU LL.M. opened the doors and got numerous job offers for me, one of which I did accept. It later yeilded a job offer on the spot in first interview with one of the top U.S. Corporations headquarted in NY, which I accepted. NYU and its LL.M. is that respected and well known.

ROB