EY is a complete bait and switch: Intelligent people are promised work in areas of interest and are lured into an anti-money laundering engagement for at least a year (everyone in BAP and many in RAP/TAP). The engagement is pure, mind numbing data entry that makes you question your intelligence because the guidance documents are so disorganized and poorly written. Moral is incredibly low because analysts are "failed" on cases, oftentimes due to random grading or unclear requirements. Even worse, pass rates determine bonuses (which are small to begin with). People are blatantly frusterated about their work situations, and those who put on a brave face cry when they get home. The environment is chaotic at best-- depressing is the norm.
You will spend the rest of your time doing businesses development work (or finding it). Business development work generally doesn't count towards your utilization, a metric that factors into your pay (you do it without being officially on the engagement to network your way in).
Business development work is like that college hook up that hits you up late at night to get what they need (your free labor). They tell you how wonderful you are and how anyone would be lucky to have you. They tell you they see a future with you, but when push comes to shove they aren't ready for commitment (to hire you on their engagement full time). They tell you they just need time to figure things out, but eventually you realize you're being used.
And that's what working at EY feels like. Being used, lied to, and played. And they get away with it because there are hundreds of you, but you only get one shot at the first year of your professional development.
ps: Even if you come as an experienced hire in another division you might end up on AML because it's one of the only profit- generating engagements at EY.
