Associate Review

I had a tremendous time during my placement. Everyone I met was extremely helpful and friendly. The work was challenging at first, but through the internal training programs and the knowledge gained from studying towards the ACA the progression and the variety of work increased.

You were assigned a 'Buddy', someone from the year above you, a 'Career Coach', someone more senior and to a social group. As a group we met every month for an update and social events and it was a great way to get to know people of differing positions within the firm.

When working at clients everyone I worked with was very helpful and explained things very clearly, they were always on hand to answer any questions I had and offer guidance when necessary. My group leader and career coach would always check to make sure everything was going well and to offer support if need be.

There were times when workloads were extremely high, especially when approaching exam weeks and client deadlines, but the majority of time it proved to be a good balance. On reflection, the busy times were some of the most enjoyable as there was always a good team spirit, it also showed me how hard I can actually work when I need to, something that will definitely help when going into final year!

As a placement student you are treated exactly the same as new graduate, which meant that as long as you could prove you were to a good standard the option to seek more responsibility was there for the taking.

The skills and knowledge I learnt will help massively in final year. I was given the opportunity to study 9 out of the 15 papers required to become ACA qualified. The knowledge and training gained from the college sessions and work will prove invaluable. I am now a lot more confident in myself as a person. I was given the opportunity to take 9 of the 15 exams required to qualify as a chartered accountant and was given an invaluable opportunity to see what working in the accounting or auditing industry will be like

As a group we used to meet up monthly, and was normally followed by a social activity, these were always great fun and varied from pub quizzes through to a day at Ascot for the races.

Extremely efficient. The fact that we were treated as a graduate in a company that is renowned as a top destination for graduates was a great bonus.

I think this is where the placement excelled. I was sent to college with all the new graduates to study towards the ACA and the opportunities and quality of the internal training were amazing.

I will be returning when I graduate.

Spending a lot of the time in college meant that the social scene wasn't too dissimilar to that at university.

London is expensive, but the package offered by PwC is very attractive and meant that you weren't living on the breadline after a big night out. At all of the social events held by work there was always a good selection of food and drinks on offer that were free too!

London was an amazing city, so diverse and so many places where you can spend your wages!

I got involved with the 5 a side league which was a great way to get to know more people. There were also a number of other activities available such as charity work, tennis club and even a group who put on a charity pantomime each year.