Management Consultant Summer Intern Review

I've really enjoyed my internship so far. I've not met a single person in the business that I haven't gotten along with, and everyone is always very willing to help. From day 1, the initial training was very well thought out and the location was very nice, making you feel like a valued employee. You're also given a brand new laptop during training to use during the internship which is great if, like me, the laptop you have at home is a bit old and slow. This internship allows you to do real work that is actually of use to the company and the client rather than just photocopying and doing menial tasks. Within the second week I was working on client site and the team are really keen for interns to get involved and help them out but don't overload you with work either. The only reason I haven't given this 10 stars is because I've had to get up very early most days in order to get to another office or client site which gets a bit tiring after a while, but that's part of being a consultant. My base office is Reading but I've only spent an hour and a half there in total as I've been working from the London office and the client site most of the time. This hasn't really bothered me as the London More office is lovely and PwC pay for all of your travel from your base office but it's something to bear in mind for people applying to consulting. Another perk has been getting to stay in nice hotels whilst working with the rest of the team which isn't something you can really afford as a student.

I've felt extremely valued by my colleagues and they've treated me as part of the team from day 1. Additionally, they're very aware that you get set a lot of work and are careful not to overburden you.

You're supported the whole way through. I've been assigned a buddy and a people manager who I can ask any questions to. They also make it clear that there aren't any silly questions and it's best to just ask as many questions as you need to rather than getting things wrong. I've even had colleagues who are much higher up and aren't expected to help me offering to talk me through how certain internal systems work etc.

It varies a lot depending on how much project work you're set. The normal working hours are from 09:00-17:30 but I'll tend to stay half an hour or so later if I need to finish something off. They're not strict with you taking breaks during the day. You're treated like any other full time employee and it's up to you to manage your workload and tell the right people if you don't think you're going to hit a deadline (although that hasn't happened yet)

We were set important tasks that needed to be done for the project so that was good. At the same time, we're given tasks with a good amount of time to complete them so the responsibility isn't a burden. Also, everyone else around you is working very hard so you don't feel like you've been given too much responsibility.

I study neuroscience which isn't directly related to management consulting. Therefore, I've already learnt a lot from this internship about business, consulting and PwC which will serve me well in my future career. In terms of transferable skills, my communication and presentation skills have improved and I'm much more aware of different personality types within a team.

Great atmosphere. Everyone's happy to help you and interested in what you've been up to. Colleagues are also very good at getting you connected with other people in the company and I've already been introduced to a few of the top partners within consulting. At the same time, it's also a great environment to work in. It's quiet when everyone is working hard.

Very well organised. You can tell that a lot of work has been put into preparing the internship programme and we always know what is expected of us. There are times when I only find out the evening before where I'm going the next day but that doesn't really matter as it only affects what train I need to get.

I've been able to set clear objectives of what I'd like to achieve during my internship and these have been agreed with my people manager. Then, I'm able to help with tasks that allow me to achieve these objectives. We started the programme with a 3 day residential which gave us all the basic skills we'd need and also introduced us to the IT system. Also, there are online tutorials which we're able to complete in our own time.

Very appealing. If they offer me a space on their graduate programme once I've finished then I think I'll accept it. They also seemed to say that a very high percentage of interns (more than 90%) get offered a space on the graduate programme.

Yes, there are often drinks with other interns on a Friday evening. Also, Wednesday nights we have a team dinner after our meeting which is really great for getting to know the people you work with. I've also been invited to drinks by a colleague in London along with 2 other interns I work with which was really nice.

I stayed in quite expensive student halls in Reading during my internship (simply because they were well located and would rent out a room or 8 weeks.) There are cheaper options though. Food is reasonably priced and similar to everywhere else. When working in London, I found the restaurants and bars around the office to be very expensive (a pint costs £5).

I don't really go out clubbing during the week and I go home at weekends so I don't know.

There are a couple of sports teams and interest groups as well as language classes but I haven't joined any during my internship.