Industry Tax Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was made to very comfortable, with the internship starting off at a trip to Windsor (all expenses covered by PwC) for a 3 day stay will interns from all over the country. This lead nicely into my time in manchester, which was just as friendly and welcoming.

My colleagues treated me as they would treat any other. I was made to feel included and as a valuable asset for the company, the feedback system let me know that colleagues appreciated my work, and my presence. There are no hierarchical barriers here at PwC, I was working directly with directors on some occasions, and they talked to me just as they would talk to a manager. It was all very inclusive.

At PwC, you are assigned a "buddy" and a career coach. The buddy is there to guide your professional relationships in the office, and to be a crutch in finding work for you to complete. Having a buddy, who is usually a similar age, is a fantastic support system. The career coach is more of a technical mentor, they will assist you in the more in depth knowledge of the workplace, and will guide your internship to complete your self-set goals. At all times, I could see my buddy and my career coach whenever I needed. I never once felt lost for guidance.

Working in Tax at PwC is unlike many other workplaces, it is your responsibility to find work for yourself. Essentially, if you don't ask, you don't get. This requires a keen attitude to gather work and aim to help others. On some days, people were too busy to offer work, so it is required to email around asking if people need help with jobs. On some days (although not very often), it would be required to physically ask around the office to get work, which can be a bit daunting at first. Overall, some days can be very busy, some days can be very quiet. It's all up to your as the intern.

Staff at PwC were very trusting of you, some of the work given was very technical. Whenever a staff member gave me work, they would sit with me for sometimes up to an hour, and explain all the ins and outs of the technical side. This could mean you were performing some very essential work, that would be going onto clients paying a great deal of money for what you have done. You are left to work as you wish, with a deadline given. If you do not ask for help, people will leave you to work away, having full trust in you.

I developed a sculpted set of professional skills, such as communication and self managed time. This will be a great help when it comes to my project work in final year physics, being able to communicate effectively with my superior and manage my time working on the project effectively. The skills will elevate me in wherever I work after university, giving me a headstart in a dynamic office environment.

There is a very work focussed atmosphere, everybody is cracking on with their jobs. As people can sit wherever they wish (the laptops keep the office very mobile), there will be quieter sections of the office where people just want to get their heads down. There are also more lively sections of the office, where people talk more about social life and work. These are better suited to an intern, as work gets passed around faster in these sections.

It was very well organised. A 3 day stay in windsor for introductions was all booked up, with 3 meals and day, laptop provided, phone provided, backpack provided. The office started with a guided tour of each floor, and all the facilities. Your buddy would then introduce themselves and find you a place to work, and possibly introduce you to all the key players of the office. All of this flowed without fail, and made for a very organised internship in total.

The entire internship was training and development, from classes, online modules and real work in the field. The company have invested a great deal of time and money into me, making sure I'm well equipped to complete any jobs ahead of me. I have learned very technical skills at my time here, and i imagine would prove to be useful if I returned in the future. Interns here perform the same jobs that graduates do, there is nothing holding you back from asking to be taught higher level work, everybody is happy to teach. I can attest to this, as a director sat with me personally for over an hour explaining very technical tax details so I could work with them and help.

Very appealing, people rise through the ranks very fast at PwC. With included tax certifications involved with post grad roles, you can find yourself being qualified and being paid very well during and after this process. The flexibility of PwC is a big seller to me, being able to choose whatever times you wish, being able to work from home. It's all your choice.

It was well up to ourselves to organise social events for the other interns, but this was well facilitated. I wanted to organise an event for the interns, and this was awarded a budget. The whole night was paid for, I've never known anything like it. Small things like that create a terrific atmosphere amongst colleagues for socialising. My first introduction to the office was a completely social one, where I was introduced to a department day out to an escape room, all completely paid for. This stood to testimony of PwC's reputation for treating its staff well.

Being in the centre of Manchester, there are more than enough facilities to accommodate after work socials. This can be as cheap or extravagant as you want it to be. Living in town would not be cheap, some interns rent student flats in town and it can cost them £800 for the 6 weeks. However, transport in manchester is superb, it costs me £4.50 a day for the train, which is a negligible amount compared to what you are earning back.

Nightlife in Manchester stands for itself, only second to Newcastle for good nights out. hundreds of bars clubs and restaurants, more than enough and it's all just a few minutes walk from the office.

Over my 6 weeks, there have been 4 occasions where I have had a meal or drinks paid for to socialise. There are several clubs in the office, such as walking around town, a choir, environmentalism and many more. The town of manchester offers more activities than one could possibly list. You only have to walk 1 minute through the street to see a club or activity to join in on.