Trainee Associate Review

The day to day role covers going to the client site on most days or based in the office, working through audit tasks. I have responsibilities for coaching the first years below my self. I have interaction with the client and management within EY. My projects vary week to week based on what I'm booked to on my retain.

I'm currently studying to become a chartered account which is all paid for by EY, there are 15 exams overall and increase in difficulty as you go through the three levels. We have training once a year for on the job, which begins around September however most of the learning is performed whilst on the job, where we are given coaching by senior people to your level.

Their are some aspects of the programme which are bad and certain parts which are good. The bad points are the very long hours (although we are contracted to 37.5 hours we usually do about 45 hours a week as well as commuting each day which averages for myself to be around 2 hours a day, which is not something that is communicated before you start. The culture is also not flexible often we have to book our holiday before January for the upcoming year, with a small chance of getting holiday at later notice. However the teams we work with are very nice on the whole and make the job bearable.

At the moment feeling valued by EY on the whole is very low due to the retraction of recognition awards, which gave financial incentives to working hard or doing something in your job which is not expected of you. Also feedback can take months to get back from Seniors which makes it harder to get recognition from management.

the structure is good, however many people in my position feel it is too long, perhaps 4 years would be more appropriate considering the level we will be looked at in the firm for the last three years of training where we will not be able to be promoted as we are not qualified yet treated as if we are qualified like the grads who joined at the same time as us. We don't have regular meetings with our counsellor which are mainly around year end. We are given plenty of notice however regarding when we are in college which makes it better for us to plan when we should request holiday to revise (not something given to you)

We have little correspondence with Kaplan until we are in college studying. We are however given contact details when we are in and therefore this allows us to contact them if we have questions whilst we are revising after college has finished. If we have to resit there is no additional support provided and therefore can make it harder to get the support needed to pass on the second attempt along with working full days.

On the face of it, it appears we should get a lot of support as we are provided a buddy and counsellor however there is little effort after we join with the buddy as we begin to make contacts with the people we work with who we'll ask questions from. Also the counsellor relationship only works if the counsellor puts in the required attention to make sure everything is completed. On the job we are supported by the people above us and as long as the communication is sufficient then we get the support we need.

I'm fortunate enough to still live at home and pay minimal bills however to purchase a property in Reading would be impossible on our salary as the prices are too high. Renting is also very expensive in the Reading area so again I wouldn't be able to live off this along with bills until my pay rises. the location of the office is very good being so close to the station which makes it easy for me to commute in. We are also paid significantly less than a grad, for example in my 3rd year I will only be paid a minimal amount more than a 1st year graduate, however I will be taking on a lot more responsibility.

Outside of work we are limited to time due to the long hours and commuting, also due to the constant changing in our retain we are restricted to what we can plan. The firm does however provide bi-annual events which are a very nice thing. We get the opportunity to socialise with our colleagues at work in a nice area which reduces our stress levels at the time and gives something to look forward too.

No

As noted above, the long hours (eight to seven hours most days), long commute (around two hours a day) and the long period of the training make the job hard to enjoy. We also perform repetitive jobs on each project, and are treated exactly the same as a graduate however paid significantly less.

The tips or advice I would give would be preparation for the interview stages, make sure you research the firm and any new legislation to give yourself something to talk about during the interview. I would also make sure you are happy to work the long hours and are happy to commute a long way each day.