Associate - Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed this opportunity, I was able to experience a wide variety of work and clients. My days were never the same which I loved, one day I was in a central London office helping with the proposal of some consultancy work and the next at a client site completing some controls testing.

As an intern I was included and invited to lunches, promotion drinks and social events which run throughout my time at PwC. Since leaving PwC I have been invited back to events which they are holding which does make me feel a valued member of their team. PwC also have a good feedback system where the senior managers of jobs which you have worked on provide feedback, highlighting your strengths and progression - receiving this quickly following a job was really good.

There was a lot of support within my office, I had a buddy who I could ask for help in a more informal way which was useful for little things like 'How do I use the printer?' and then a people manager who provided more formal support and was great for asking questions in relation to clients and organising partner shadowing. Both my people manager and buddy were easy to get hold of, either by email of phone, and kept in contact with me to check my progress when I was not in the office. Whilst at client sites there was also the additional support from the manager of the job, here they provided guidance on how to complete work and answered questions which were specific to the client or work.

As the internship was over the summer (Aug-Sept), a time of year where firms like PwC tend not to be as busy, there were instances where I was not kept busy, however this was only whilst at client sites. Whilst in the office the balance was much better, I was always kept busy, but not too busy. Through talking with my people manager I was able to experience different aspects of work which are completed by PwC employees in different departments, he organised a couple of days assisting employees in Pensions - an interesting opportunity which gave me an insight into this sector of the firm.

Responsibility differed with how much the manager of a job thought you could take on and how much you wanted to take on. Naturally responsibility whilst on jobs was low towards the start of my internship as I was unfamiliar with the tasks at hand. As I progressed I was handed more responsibility until in my last week I was given complete responsibility to complete a section of a client risk evaluation, however here help was always on hand if needed.

I found the experence very informative - I was able to experience a wide range of work and clients and feel that in doing so have been able to build up a good picture of what a career at PwC would be like. Although not relevent to my degree the skills which I have picked up (and more importantly the contacts which I have made) will definately help me with a career at PwC as a graduate.

Although work wasn't easy the atmosphere in the office was always calm and friendly. The office was split into 2 sides and there was a good level of banter between the two - extending into competition on the football pitch!

Very well organised - regular meetings with people managers were pencilled into diaries and days set aside to meet in London with all interns in the UK in order to discuss the internship program separately from general office employees and to give us a change to see how others were getting on. In addition to this work was also very organised - you were told on the first couple of days in the office where you would be working over the coming weeks, with what clients, with what collegues and what the work will involve wuch that you can prepare for it.

The first week of the internship program was set aside for training, 3 days residential and 2 days in the office. Here you were given a laptop and shown how to use it (some of the programmes were complicated at first glance). If you had any problems or questions in relation to an aspect which you didn't understand somebody would always be able to help you and make sure that you were ok.

Interns tended to grab lunch together and go for a drink after work, the only negative was that I was at clients offices for the majority of my internship and therefore not with other interns.

Not too bad. Really depended what we decided to do - a few interns lived in Reading, where we were all based so knew where to go.

Good - again as some interns lived in Reading they knew where to go on what nights.

Lots of sporting opportunities: Football, racket sports, Rugby, Golf.