Summer Intern Review

‘Enjoy’ is not a word that springs to mind. I would even go as far as saying that at times I did not enjoy the placement. This was primarily because of the way I was treated by senior members of staff and their blatant disregard for my welfare (please read question below). To add insult to injury, PwC expected me to pay for my expenses such as a 5* hotel, return rail tickets over the country, and evenings meals (for associates as well) out of my own pocket, before waiting several weeks to be re-reimbursed. This would be all well and dandy if I was only away for one night, yet as my client was located hundreds of miles away from my house, I spent about 4 weeks living in a hotel. This is a considerable expenditure for a student! I had to use my little brother’s savings account to pay for it as I had no money at the time. Hence, not only was I treated in a disrespectful manner but every day I had to squirrel away every single receipt in order to reclaim my brother’s savings! It made every day even more stressful. I still was left £40 out of pocket, and as they made me phone 0845 numbers I went over my credit allowance and had my phone blocked on two occasions. Furthermore, I found the work repetitive, dull and mundane.

In order to answer this question adequately, let me provide you with an example. I was in a client’s office four hours away from home (where I was sent to for the day!) and as I had exhausted the majority of my brother’s savings by this point I had managed to persuade PwC to pay for my return ticket costing in excess of £150. (That may I add was after much agro and hassle to various departments.) I tried to excuse myself to leave to catch the last train home at gone 8pm, only to be met with disgust and disdain from my Senior Manager and Manager. How dare I leave for the last train at gone 8pm! They would have preferred it I had missed my last train home and slept on the station floor- yet offered no solution or payment for another way in which I could get home! I was treated throughout my internship with a lack of respect and disregard for my welfare. I found myself in tears in the toilets on more than one occasion. That said however, I did feel valued however by the associates- they were lovely and I would say we became good friends. We got on well, shared jokes, and comforted me when I was upset. They were the best part of the internship!

The support system at PwC was very good. Training at the beginning was good and we were given a lot of resources to help us in our internship. We were also allocated buddy’s and mentor’s for the internship who you could ask questions to and turn to for advice. At times, I was given guidance by my Manager and explained how to complete certain tasks. The majority of my guidance came from the Associates. Overall I feel the level of support and guidance I was given was good.

I was extremely busy and despite my best efforts, I was constantly questioned in an irritated manner why I had not finished the piece of work I was doing. I found myself working till gone 9pm at times, never leaving before 6pm, and frequently being given ‘homework’ for evenings and weekends. Furthermore, not once did my lunch break amount to more than running to Tesco’s hurriedly to buy a sandwich. Admittedly PwC pay a comfortably, yet if I work out my hourly rate I would be lucky if it even met minimum wage.

Practically none. My work involved copying and pasting excel spreadsheets primarily and ‘looking for lost numbers’. I did not seem to progress to more complex tasks, or experience a vast variety in the tasks I completed. I asked to be transferred to different clients for a week or so to get a breadth of experience within the area I was in, however my request was declined- unlike some of my friends who were interning at PwC. They found themseleves working on around three clients, meaning they got the chance to experience a plethora of tasks, and build a rapport with many different teams. Sometimes I wonder whether I would have had a more enjoyable experience if, like my friends, I was allocated to a few smaller clients nearer home. I would have escaped the need to stay in hotels and potentially confrontational situations with my managers.

I learnt how to write long and organised to do lists. And extended my knowledge of copying and pasting in excel....

Pleasant

The internship was extremely well organised on the whole. However, PwC needs to do a lot more to help interns like me who find themselevs flying round the country and staying in different cities for extended periods of time. The expenses system is poor. And they need to reconsider their policy of expecting students to pay hundreds and hundreds of pounds for their keep in these cities.

Quite well. There was a 'Development Day' in the middle of the internship that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I feel that I may have been unlucky in having disagreeable managers, and being located in a client's office hundreds of miles away. The internship was well organized and I had a lot of support. However, after my personal negative experience I would not consider a career with them- the experience has left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

Yes- definately. There was lots of social outings on offer.

Fine

Fine

Lots