Associate Review

I enjoyed my placement at PwC, the work was very varied, working with multiple clients in multiple locations across the year. The work was challenging but people were always on hand to help with any issues I had. The culture at PwC is fantastic, I joined within a year group of grads who are now my good friends.

I joined in a year group of 14 new starters, we all had training together, went to college for exams together, and soon became good friends. There is a really good atmosphere within the firm and everybody wants to socialise outside of work. People really value the work you do.

You are assigned a people manager who looks out for you on your year at the firm. They are responsible for your overall welfare during the placement. On jobs supervisors were always approachable and happy to give good quality guidance on any tricky bits of work. Managers are generally quite young which makes them very approachable.

The job is very busy at times especially from January to March, where I worked until 11pm on a number of occasions. Throughout the rest of the year you have plenty to do during the day but can usually leave at 5:30. It is very busy during exam time because you need to revise for the exams after work each evening which can be hectic and stressful.

At PwC you are not treated as someone who is on 'work experience' but treated the same as a graduate. You are expected to complete work to the same standard as other new starters and are given complete responsibility for your own areas of work. It is up to you to manage your own time.

Although my degree is in economics and not directly attributable to my time at PwC, I have gained a vast amount of skills, and my confidence has certainly improved massively. You are expected to be outgoing. I am much more hard working and university will seem a lot easier than the placement!

The office is very friendly, with everybody being welcoming. It is very modern, with hot desking, meaning you never sit next to the same people two days in a row. There are good facilities, with a break out area and lots of private rooms. The views over the Tyne are stunning.

Because you join along with everybody else on the grad scheme, the process is very easy. You are assigned a buddy who is in the year group above you and they are on hand to ask any questions you may have. You are in training for the first two months of the placement.

The firm treat you as a new joiner on the graduate scheme, so you are in training for two months at the start of the placement. You are also put through seven of the fifteen ICAEW ACA exams which are costly to the company, but it is evident that they are prepared to invest in you.

I have not yet finished my placement, but as long as I pass my final exams I would hope that I will get a job offer. PwC have invested a lot in me and most placement students can expect to get a job offer if they have performed well throughout the year.

We had a lot of social events put on my PwC, when we joined, at Christmas, Easter and in Summer. But outside of work I also spent time socialising with my year group. We went to pub quizzes, bar crawls, BBQs and lots of nights out!

I lived in Newcastle so it was very cheap. My rent was only £212 per month and you can get drinks very cheaply on a night out.

I did my placement in Newcastle so obviously it was great!

There is a sports and social club which runs events every few weeks throughout the year. There is also office yoga. Each Friday people working in the office often go to the pub after work. There is a football team and netball team aswell.