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
    4.0
  • The Culture
    3.1

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • Although there wasn't much work to complete during the first two weeks of the internship (due it being summer and a relatively slow time for businesses), the work became interesting towards the end and there were plenty of social events throughout which were very enjoyable. The induction was a three day residential event and involved lots of networking, social events, a barbecue etc. and was a great way of getting to know interns from across the country. We finished the induction with a formal dinner with partners and directors from the firm which was a great experience!

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • By far the most positive aspect of the internship was the people I got to work with. My colleagues were warm, inclusive and always supportive. I learn a lot from them very quickly and they went out of their way to ensure that I was given interesting work which was relevant to my interests and provided support throughout. The office culture is very open- everyone from interns to directors sit together in an open plan office which makes collaboration and general relationship-formation very easy.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • Support was given throughout. The induction was a week long and introduced us to all the technical concepts we needed to know to gain a basic understanding of the work, a throughout IT induction was carried out so we knew how to use the IT services and relevant software for the work and we were given a lot of time to asks questions and clarify any doubts. Once the actual work began, I received thorough, clear briefs from supervisors whenever I was given work. They would take out a considerable amount of time to ensure not only that I know what I had to do but to also give a detailed briefing of what the piece of work is trying to achieve. This meant that despite often having to do mechanical tasks, I was given an understanding of how my work fit into the wider services provided to the client.

    4/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • Work was 9-5:30 every day and I was kept engaged and relatively busy throughout. Although I stayed until 7 or 7:30 on a few occasions out of choice, I was encouraged to leave work on time and was always asked how much free capacity I had before I was given work. Overall, the workload was not too challenging and there was a very good balance. When there wasn't much client work, I was always given other interesting work to do so I never felt that my time was being wasted.

    4/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • Towards the end of the placement I started getting more and more responsibility. I was asked to shadow a high level meeting with a client and take detailed notes and draft a deliverable. The meeting agenda was highly technical and the client was an important one. This placed significant pressure on me to get the work done to a high standard but I was given plenty of support throughout and the feeling of being given responsibility and being able to do meaningful work was very satisfying.

    4/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • Having studied economics at university, getting to know the workings of tax and how companies deal with tax issues definitely adds some real life experience, exposure and knowledge which complements my studies. This will allow me to get more out of my final year at university and beyond this, I feel that I have received a comprehensive understanding of what a career in tax is like and this will definitely help me in choosing a career. I got to work on projects from a variety of different areas and on clients from different industries which definitely gave me a comprehensive understanding of professional services and business in general.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • The general atmosphere in the office was very relaxed. The first month of the internship was August and the whole office had a dress-down policy where we could wear anything to work (unless we were on client-site or had a client meeting in which case standard business attire was required). The office has great free coffee and large dining areas where everyone has lunch together. There's also table tennis so we could have some great fun during breaks! Overall the atmosphere was casual and relaxed but still professional.

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • The whole internship was well organised. Right from the application process to the last few days, everything was planned meticulously and executed efficiently. The induction program was thorough and well organised, the support systems in place during the internship were great, plenty of social events were organised and we were given opportunities to learn more about other areas of the business. The process was seamless.

    4/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • The firm definitely invested a lot in my training and development. A considerable amount of resources were spent on providing the residential induction and the training was thorough and extensive. Supervisors spent a lot of time helping us to understand the work we did and actively sought out work for us which was interesting and relevant to our interests. Furthermore, we were given work which encouraged us to develop new skills and understand new concepts rather than giving us mechanical and tedious work.

    4/5

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

    Subsidised Canteen

    Sports and Social Club

    Company Parties/Events

    4/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I received an offer for full-time employment which was great. Furthermore, the firm offers a great deal of flexibility in terms of choosing your career path and allows graduates to change lines of service and offices after completing the initial years of training and qualifications. We were given a lot of information about different areas of the business and what a long term career at the firm could look like.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Although the intern intake was quite small (there were only 7 of us), the other colleagues made it a point to arrange drinks and social events and invited us out. The social scene was therefore relatively positive and the people were very easy to get along with. One of the highlights was an event where we got to know the partners and directors then went to the park for a game of rounders followed by pizza and drinks!

    4/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • The cost of living in both Edinburgh and Glasgow was cheap, but if you have to combine the two of them like I did, it ends up costing double. Hence the low score. The socializing itself was really fun in both areas but the cost of it was unsustainable. Staying a bit far from the city can be manageable though.

    2/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • Both Edinburgh and Glasgow have great nightlife, and because I had already experienced both, I had an even better understanding of it. However, I have to stress that combining the two is too stressful. There are plenty of pubs and bars along with some nice restaurants. The prices are a bit high but PwC pays you enough that covers the cost of living.

    4/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • We had one social whilst we were there, which was good fun. Apart from that, there were opportunities to do stuff outside of work but I did not take advantage of them, so I cannot pass judgement on those. However, it seems that there are many and varied things to do outside the office.

    4/5

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Details

Internship (1 Month+)

Scotland

May 2018


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