Tax Intern Review

The internship was only 6 weeks long and there was a lot fitted into the 6 weeks to give as much interaction with various teams as possible.

My colleagues were very welcoming and actively sought to find work to give me that would be acceptable for my level of technical capabilities.

The management were very supportive in that i knew I could approach them with any issues and we had regular check-ins to ensure I was progressing as much as was to be expected and that I was happy with the work I was receiving.

I was given various pieces of work that I was able to schedule and manage myself. This meant that I was not too busy at any stage. However, there were days where I could have handled more work, but given that I am not qualified to do certain pieces of work there was not always a lot of work for me to do.

I was given a lot of responsibility in the sense that I was responsible for managing my own workload and I was left to work on certain tasks unsupervised. Although due to the time constraints and my level of technical knowledge I was unable to take responsibility for a full project.

The internship has developed my skills in certain areas more than others. Moving around several teams encouraged my communication skills and the ability to build relationships. Additionally, the research work I completed whilst on my internship will carry with me upon returning to university as it allowed me to decipher information and draw out keys statistics and information I needed from accounts and articles. My technical capabilities, however, will not be truly developed until I begin to complete my own set of work and projects to really get a grasp on legislation and technical knowledge.

The atmosphere in the office was great when I was on the internship. It was a bit quieter than usually due to staff being off on holidays at various stages, which helped get to know smaller groups and teams at a time. During my internship, the Tax department were preparing for their charity Tax Away Day were the team would carry out challenges that would support their chosen charity, Barnardos. Therefore there was a great buzz around the office as there was a bit of friendly competition and excitement surrounding the event.

There was a clear schedule of where the interns where for each week, however there seemed to have been a bit of confusion with managers when we came to each team. This may have been because the individual had forgotten rather than it not being well organised.

We received a national induction that was a great opportunity for all the summer interns. It gave us the opportunity to network with the interns across the UK and within our local office as well. The training received here give a broad insight of what to expect going into the office, so we did not enter not knowing what we would face.

The future employment prospects are very appealing. PwC appears to be a great learning environment for completing exams and professional qualifications. There is a lot of support and advice given from both management and other colleagues who have completing the same qualifications before.

During our six weeks there have been 4 different work social events that I have been invited to where I have had the opportunity to meet colleagues I would not otherwise have met. These events have also given us an opportunity to relax and have a more informal chat with colleagues to learn more about them and their career path.

The cost of living in Belfast is a lot lower than the rest of the UK offices. I remained in my own country for the internship and so there was not much change to cost of living or socialising to what I am used to.

The nightlife in Belfast is great. There is a large variety of establishments on offer and these places range in prices. You can chose a place with a crowd and atmosphere that suits your mood, for example, a few quiet drinks after work vs a night out with music and dancing.

There has been a lot of fundraising taking place through work recently for Barnardos and so there have been several activities organised for outside of work that will also do good for the community, for example, a 24 hour football match.