Flying start associate Review
at PwC
Degree Apprenticeship
Accounting
Edinburgh
Review Submitted: March 2023
Overall Rating
4.3 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3.5/5
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Overview of Role
5/5
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Skills Development
4.2/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
Interacting with the firm's clients
Doing work at an associate level
Giving feedback to managers and getting feedback from them
Working in a team with other associates and managers. These teams change throughout different engagements so you are never working with the same people.
Over the course of the placements, I gained more and more experience and was given more responsibility to coach people below me.
Doing work at an associate level
Giving feedback to managers and getting feedback from them
Working in a team with other associates and managers. These teams change throughout different engagements so you are never working with the same people.
Over the course of the placements, I gained more and more experience and was given more responsibility to coach people below me.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
I enjoy the poeple that I work with most of the time but due to changing teams there are sometimes managers who I dont like working with because they are overbearing and have expectations too high compared to others despite the work still getting done. But a benefit of this job is that you are never working with the exact same team twice so I get to meet lots of people and get away from those managers I dont like.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
I now know how to use excel as a level I didnt before. Being able to perform Vlookup's and pivot tables on top of normal functions like concat and sum.
I have been taught a lot about the audit world and how to look at a business' financials with scrutiny.
I have been taught a lot about the audit world and how to look at a business' financials with scrutiny.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
The programme is so well organised. Over the course of the 4 year programme there are 3 placements that are spread out over the final 3 years. Over these placements I have more and more responsibility and given the opportunity to coach people below me who are in the position that I was at the start of my placement.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I was given lots of feedback throughout the placement which helped me improve. I was also given a career coach as a first point of call if I have questions about the business and how to act proffessionally. In my first year I also had a buddy and then became a buddy myself in my final year.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
The lecturers who teach us our course content are really helpful and respond to emails with questions on course content quickly and mark mocks for us. They also organise discussion points and are available for emails during our placements if we decide we want to work. There is also support for those who fail thier first attempt.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
Each time I leave placement work to go back to university to learn more towards my qualifications it helps when I go back. I have learnt the basics of audit which was invaluable when understanding the audit qualities that go into different tasks performed during my job. I found this useful.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
5/5
There is a netball team at my office which I participated in a few times during my second placement but found that I was often too tired from the days work or working too late to be able to attend. There are running clubs and football and regular office socials so I felt really involved in the wider office even those I wasnt on a team with
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend PwC to a friend?
Yes
Why?
It can be really stressful and the expectation particularly to give up your spare time in overtime can be really high. And sometimes if feels like this isnt reimbursed properly in the form of pay. But the friends I have met here and how working at PwC for such a long time looks is worth it. Especially for the short term while I get qualified.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to PwC?
Be honest in your applications about the kind of person you are. Make sure you have done some work experience before hand in the audit sector or in accounting as this will set you apart from other applicants. Also, you dont have to keep fully up to date with every financial news story. Just pick one story that youre interest in and follow it for a few weeks before your interview. Check on the day for any audit world changes and any big financial closures.
