Data Scientist Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at PwC! Coming from a non-tech background, I was eager to kickstart my career in technology but I was doubtful about my lack of technical skills. PwC really helped me build my confidence by giving me access to online courses to train and build up all technical skills needed for the role, ranging from coding in Python, to web development with HTML/CSS, to mapping out business processes using BPMN. I was also very lucky to work with great people which made the experience even more enjoyable!

I felt very valued by my colleagues; everyone who I worked alongside with were always friendly and supportive, and I felt comfortable asking them about anything. Even though I was just a placement student, I was treated as if I was a permanent member of staff, which made me feel valued and a part of the company. If I had any concerns or suggestions, my opinions were always taken into account and I never felt too scared to voice out my concerns, if any.

I was given a lot of support and guidance during my time at the firm, especially when the whole world went a bit south due to the pandemic, so the latter half of my placement was spent working from home! Our team mostly worked remotely before the pandemic so suddenly switching to working from home was not an issue. I always felt connected to my team since we had daily meetings to talk about work progress, and our team leader always made an effort to ask about our team members' well-being.

To start off with, the project I was assigned to didn't have much work so I spent a lot of time just training. As I reached out to more people, I landed myself a few more projects which started to fill my day up more. In our department, we got the chance to work with other placement students in a group project, alongside our main projects, which I found was a great way to network with my peers and learn new skills.

I was given a good amount of responsibility, as the products I developed were actually used day-to-day by stakeholders, or the findings from a data science project were taken into consideration by stakeholders to make further business decisions. Although having quite a bit of responsibility was daunting at first, I never felt I was alone as I knew I could ask for help and advice from my manager and other team members whenever I needed.

Working as a data scientist, PwC has given me the invaluable opportunity to learn how to code in Python and I have learned a lot about machine learning, both of which I had no prior knowledge. This has helped in choosing my final year dissertation, which will involve bioinformatics where Python knowledge and data analysis is essential. Completing this placement has also solidified my plans to work in technology when I graduate, and I am grateful to have spent a year in such a supportive, diverse company.

The atmosphere was very relaxed and chill. The More London office is an open plan, so we can basically sit wherever we want. I really enjoy the open-plan office because it makes collaborative discussions more effective, and it's nice to talk to your friends when you're working to get a bit of a break! I enjoy the fact that staff members of all grades sit together as it's nice to interact with people from different grades and different teams!

PwC invests a lot in training for their staff which I really appreciate. I was given access to a plethora of online courses, and I learned so many new skills. For example, I learned how to code in Python, web development, Agile and Scrum methodologies, bot development, business analaysis and process mapping, and data visualisation using PowerBI. I was also lucky to be given the opportunity to complete my Professional Scrum Master I Certification, for which I received tremendous help from my mentor.

Cost of living in London is always a pain to think about! Living in London is obviously much higher than living in other parts of the UK, and I definitely was stressed about this before I moved to London. To make sure I wasn't in-debt, I budgeted well ahead the start of my placement and always made sure to stick to my weekly budgets. This way, I was never out of money, and I could control how much I can spend that week. I mostly brought in packed lunch to save money, and Tesco meal-deals always helped.

PwC has many social groups to be part of. For example, I was part of the firm's Music Network Committee, where I helped to organise music events for the firm. I also joined PwC's Badminton club, which is fun and a little scary since I hadn't played badminton properly before, but everyone I met there were super nice. The firm also has a One Firm One Day event, where staff get the opportunity to volunteer for a day - a brilliant way to give back to the community.