Assurance - Summer Internship Review

by PwC

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.7/5
  • The Role
    3.8
  • The Company
    3.8
  • The Culture
    3.3

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • I definitely enjoyed the experience of my internship for several reasons: the office and the people were excellent - really intelligent, helpful and welcoming people who made the interns feel welcome. I was given lots of meaningful work to do and had responsibilities in my project. There was the opportunity to get involved in other bits of work, and everyone was willing to take time to explain their work.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • I was on a fairly busy project with deadlines during my internship and so I was given responsibility to produce work, which meant that I was relied upon by members of the team. This meant that I felt valued because it was really appreciated when I could deliver work needed for the team. The interns were looked at as a valuable resource to help out on projects and we were in demand which was nice.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • There was a clear support structure throughout the internship. Interns are assigned a 'people manager' who is there to explain the internship and the whole process (including exit process). I had weekly hour long meetings with my people manager, who was there to answer any questions for me, suggest things to do and people to get in touch with, and who was able to chase up feedback.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • The work hours on paper are 9:30 - 5:30 with an hour for lunch, it was usually starting then but finishing slightly later (6-6:30). During my internship I was usually busy for the full day, with project meetings to attend and then work to complete. It is driven by the intern how busy you are - you can definitely take on more work and be very busy or not be as active in seeking out extra work.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • I was given a large amount of responsibility during my project which I really valued. I was asked to contribute in meetings and drafted section of the client report, drafting the introduction and executive summary and had sections of the report to research, write up and do the economics for. I was definitely relied upon during by internship to deliver work to the team, without me producing work to the necessary deadlines the project would have struggled to meet its deadlines.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • Consulting skills definitely improved during the internship - key skills such as report writing, speaking with client, presenting etc. were developed through practice in this area. Technical economics skills were developed at the start with the first week including training in Excel, econometrics etc. Throughout the work itself it varied by project the extent to which skills were developed. The ability to write succinctly and clearly and some improved R skills are what I will take away to my degree.

    3/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • It was a very friendly and welcoming office. People sit fairly mixed between grades, and there's a lot of people helping out each other and asking questions, making it feel very nice and relaxed. People feel comfortable to ask for help from other people, and there's a nice 'coffee area' for informal catch-ups. There's a baking rota in the office, and a sports day was held during our internship, and various activities that make the office feel like a team.

    5/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • It was a well set up internship, starting with 2 days in a hotel to go through all of the admin/set-up for the internship. The rest of the first week was training in the office and being introduced to the team. The interns were all assigned to different projects - and these projects had to apply to have interns so they were ones where there was definitely work to be done. The buddy and people manager system was well set up, and the exit process was smooth.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • There was definitely investment at the start in consulting and economics training, although this was not formally continued during the rest of the internship. There was a lot of learning on the job, where it was noticeable how willing people in the company were to take time to explain things to the interns and help us to learn new things. Development in soft skills, and working with other people was strong.

    3/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Flexi Time

    Subsidised Canteen

    Company Parties/Events

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • Future prospects are definitely appealing. The training of the graduates is very good, and both economics and consulting skills are well developed. There is a clear and fast moving progress structure which makes it possible to excel in the firm and be given responsibility earlier. The firm is flexible about people going on secondments or taking further study to allow people to develop themselves further.

    4/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • There were only 5 economics interns, and aside from a few economics drinks there was not much of a social scene. I think that this was different across management consultancy where there were many more interns, and they regularly met up for drinks, but as there were so few just in economics this wasn't really a thing - though after getting to know people from all lines of service at the internship induction this would definitely have been possible.

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • My placement was in Birmingham so this was very reasonable. Birmingham is a good city for living costs as both rent and other costs are low. Whenever I commuted to client site PwC always paid for travel expenses which helped. There were also a number of paid socials and team dinners as well. I was able to stay in a Student Residence over the Summer and this was £90/week which was very affordable given the salary they pay you.

    3/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • I didn't go for a 'night out' during my Internship as this is not something I normally like too much, but friends of mine did do this and seemed to enjoy it. However, there were many other opportunities for socialising and events. We attended food festivals during Lunch sometimes, Lazerquest, Espace rooms and some of the people on our project also did social tennis. There were many opportunities to get involved in evening socials.

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • As mentioned above there were many opportunities. There are numerous 'above & beyond' opportunities; for example, the Consulting interns in the Birmingham office organised a Charity Team Challenge for the office. There were other opportunities to get involved in group events and socials as well. I always felt that if I wanted to get involved in more activities outside of work then they were available.

    4/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

West Midlands

August 2017


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