Summer Intern Review

I enjoyed my six weeks at PwC a lot as I go to experience working on a different client every week. This includes working from the office and also from the client's site. I feel the variety really allowed me to get the proper PwC experience. However, the work was also very intense and overwhelming at first, a syou are thrown into the deep end straight away.

During my internship I felt like I was contributing to each project with every piece of work I completed. I was given the responsibility to communicate with clients and prepared documents which were then included on the audit file. I always had things to do and was never made to felt like a nuisance for asking questions.

When you first join PwC you are assigned a career coach and also a buddy. You're career coach is there to support you and answer any questions you have throughout your internship. Your buddy is there for you to ask any smaller questions to, which you wouldn't want to ask any senior people e.g. how to use the scanner. While working on a client your supervisor is always happy to answer any questions you have.

There were some days during my internship where I was very busy and was on the go non-stop. However, there were also days where I would be twiddling my thumbs. This is because there is a lot of work which as an intern, I do not have enough experience or knowledge to complete. Therefore, sometimes nearing the end of the week I would have completed everything I could at my level.

I was given a lot of responsibility to complete all of my work by a certain deadline. However, I was never overwhelmed by my workload and my seniors always made sure they were available to support me. I felt like the work I completed was actually useful and made a contribution to the actual project. I was also given the responsibility to communicate, face-to-face and over email, with clients to get the answers to any queries.

As I study Natural Science at university, I cannot say that the specific skills I learnt during my internship would directly assist me in my studies. However, after I finish my degree I would like to begin a career in audit, and I know that the knowledge I have gained during this 6 weeks will but me at such an advantage during this process.

The atmosphere in the office is mixed (Bristol office). Everybody is very friendly and always approachable. Some people are very chatty and some people are very quiet. The general consensus is that everyone is very work focused during the day, but during the lunch hour it is very relaxed and friendly. The atmosphere when out at a client is very different because your team are a lot more stressed, so it feels more cold.

The internship started with a 3 day induction at a hotel in Windsor. This was very organised and gave you a chance to meet all of the other interns. The first day in the office you are introduced to the people you need to know and give an office tour etc. After this it is less organised because some teams you are placed on are not always aware that you are an intern, so they have not prepared work appropriate for you to do. You are very much expected to use your initiative in organising your movements and finding out who you need to speak with in regards to your week plan.

During our three day induction we are given basic audit training and taught the fundamentals or what we need to do. We are also given a crash course on how to use the systems. However, this is very intense and nobody really comes out of it with a clear understanding. After this there is no more training and you just learn on the job. which is very difficult at first and you need to ask a lot of questions. However, you do start to pick it up after a few weeks.

The offer rate for a graduate position after an internship or a placement year are very high. You are likely to be offered a job because they have invested time in training you. I very much hope to be coming back to work at PwC in the future, as I enjoyed my internship a lot.

I didn't get to experience much of the social scene of the office, due to the timing of my placement. However we did have a summer party which was lots of fun! There are office drinks held in the loft every month, as well as movie nights, Christmas party etc.

I was living in Bath and commuting into Bristol. The cost to rent in Bristol is slightly more expensive than other places, however the social places in the city are very reasonably priced. A lot of the graduates still live at home just so that they can save money, how were renting/buying in the area is very feasible.

The night live in Bristol is very good. There are a lot of clubs and bars all over the city. The graduates and interns often go for drinks after work on a friday and on occasional nights out. bristol is a very lively city and there is always things going on late into the night.

I did not get to experience any activities outside of the office as I was only an intern for a month and a half. However I know that there are activity days where you can choose to get involved with different things e.g. kayaking, pottery etc. There are also charity days where the whole office runs and event to raise money.