Global Student Exchange Tax Intern Review

As the Global Student Exchange Programme Intern, I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. The opportunity to intern in the United States for five weeks as well as the London office for six was absolutely amazing! This internship opportunity is truly unique as no other big 4 firm, let alone any other large firm, offers such an experience. The work that was provided was also very interesting.

Both in the US and London, I felt incredibly valued. When I joined, the projects were all at different stages of completion. It was nice to see some projects kicking off as well as some coming to an end. Irrespective of the project, my colleagues always took out the time to fully explain the details of the projects so that I had a good understanding of what the tasks entailed.

Support and guidance is always at hand at EY. There are many support structures in place which enable all of your questions to be answered no matter how silly you feel they may be. But, in EY you are encouraged to go out of your way and do what you truly find interesting. If I wanted to work with a particular partner, or manager, it would be my responsibility to reach out to them and get things rolling. Guidance is also at hand here via the support structures, incase you feel slightly daunted by talking to some of the more senior members of the team.

The amount of work I had varied largely depending on what was required to be done and for what project. Some days I would be out the office at 5 sharp, whereas other days I would still be in the office after 7.30. Of course as an intern you are not expected to stay so late to complete tasks, but if they are pressing and deadlines are nearing, then it would be wise to get the work done as soon as possible.

There was a fair amount of responsibility. Some projects included me researching areas which were so open ended, that it was truly me who decided what was to be included in the final report and what was not to be. Obviously some tasks were straightforward and thus it was a given they would be completed to a certain standard, but the more open ended tasks were still handed to interns.

The skills picked up were a lot more interpersonal ones. This has helped me with group courseworks at uni particularly as I feel it is much easier for me to coordinate everyone's role in the group. I also managed to pick up office etiquettes which will help me in the future when working in different offices. Some of the knowledge I picked up was so specific and advanced, that I still haven't had a chance to use it at university since being back.

In both the London and US offices, the atmosphere was not too different. I had initially expected the London office to be a little bit more serious. But both offices had a similar culture. Of course there was a sense of pressure visible on most people's faces, but the overall atmosphere was cheery. People wanted to be at work. They enjoyed working with the people they worked with and were always having a good time. In the London office particularly, a lot of the first year graduates had very good bonds of friendship developed and it was nice to see.

My time in the US was incredibly well organised. All my flights and hotels had been booked and it was always just a matter of me showing up and signing in. EY is also loved by americans and special treatment was given to me on several occasions merely due to the firm I was working for. This was of course great. In the US offices, there were a lot more fun activities for the interns to partake in. There was also a conference of 3500 interns in Disneyworld which was incredibly well organised. The London internship was a lot less fun in that regard, and due to being the global HQ of EY, a whole load more hectic and thus it was understandable for the difference in experiences.

The firm invested a lot! The flight to the US and corporate apartments in which we resided in were all paid for. A stipend was also provided for my time in america to offset the cost of living. The International Intern Leadership Conference was also something that the firm created as an investment in their future employees. The sheer size of the conference hall was enough to blow anyone away. with 3500 interns all attending (all who had had their fights and hotels paid for too), it was evident that EY is a firm that invests in its people.

The prospects are incredibly appealing. The amount of opportunities to travel are immense and this is something that truly attracts me to a career at EY. The vision 2020 goal is also something that attracts me to the firm as it is evident they want to push to be the biggest of the big 4. There are also many more chances to grow throughout your career as a result of this. Another thing that pulls me to the firm are the people. EY has always been known as the peoples firm and it is not at all hard to see why.

There was an amazing social scene. During my time in the US, I was fortunate enough to be in New York with other international interns from Mexico, Germany, Italy, Canada and Jamaica. We were all present for the 4th July celebrations and thoroughly took advantage of this public holiday by visiting as many tourist hotspots together in a large group. Later on during the actual time in US spent working, there was always a happy hour on Fridays as well as parties at partners' houses. (unthinkable back here in the UK). When back in London, due to being in the heart of the city, there was always something to do after work and most of the interns wanted to take advantage of the night life.

In the US, the cost of living was lower than in London mainly due to the conversion rate between the dollar and the pound. However due to being in another country and without a personal means of transport (car, bike etc), it was slightly difficult to get around. That didn't deter us from having a good time however. Back in London, it was much more pricey and hurt the pocket at times. But this didn't matter as I was always in good company and it was money well spent in the end.

The nightlife in New York was of course amazing. There was a whole load to do. But due to being 20 at the time, it was impossible to get into bars and clubs due to the legal age being 21. We still explored the city because at the end of the day....... New York is the city that never sleeps. My host city was very similar, although the people did go to sleep. London night life is also very good. There are a whole load of bars and clubs to suit whatever your taste and fancy for a particular night.

There were a lot of opportunities in the US. We were able to go to a baseball game and watch it from the private EY stands; we got to take part in a big 4 kickball tournament; we got to pack food for the homeless; we were able to play bowls on a rooftop bar and we were able to go to Universal studios and Disneyworld's parks for free. In London we had two intern socials including making pizza at pizza express and going to a ping pong place. There was also a csr day.