Flying Start Degree programme - Year 4 London Review

I am part of the Flying Start Degree programme - Year 4 - and I am based in London. I am working at PwC as an Associate in the Assurance sector and as an external auditor to many FTSE 100 firms. My role on a day-to-day basis involves working with a team to perform testing on different parts of the financial statements to ensure they are as accurate as possible. I am often based at client site and have a lot of client interaction.

I have developed many new skills whilst working at PwC, and been able to put into practice skills that I have been learning whilst taking my ACA qualification exams at university. The placements allow me to put my knowledge into practice. I have also improved my digital literacy, and my communication and teamwork skills.

I enjoy this programme to an extent as it allows me to experience both university and working life. The people at PwC are enjoyable to work with as they are friendly and approachable. However, the work is challenging and there is a culture of working long hours and not receiving much help when it gets close to a deadline.

I feel valued to an extent - certain team members are appreciative of my help and hard work. However, colleagues that are higher up, e.g. Managers/Senior Managers etc. do not always recognise the work we do. As PwC is such a big firm it is difficult to receive much recognition.

The programme is structured. We receive training and study blocks before every placement. We are also encouraged to meet with our personal tutors and course contacts if we have any issues. However it can be disorganised as this was the first year this programme was offered at university - sometimes if we found something particularly difficult there was not as much concrete help as we would have liked. Also, some people at PwC are not well aware of this programme and so people believe I am at a higher grade than I actually am - resulting in me being given work of a difficult standard.

We have different contacts both at PwC and at university. They are often willing to help when there are issues. We have at PwC our People Managers, Flying Start champions and our buddies. I have noticed that the buddies do not even contact us to meet or introduce themselves. The FS champions are helpful at first but as placement goes on we don't really hear from them. People Managers, however, are supportive and provide guidance during placement.

At PwC the managers on your teams are often very busy and unable to provide a great deal of support especially during stressful times around deadlines. You are often expected to just get on with your work. However, there is some peer support from those on the same grade as me. Also, as stated above, the People Manager's are helpful.

My daily travel into London is very expensive. I do receive an allowance from PwC for living at home, however this does not cover the cost of travel across 4 months, let alone other living costs or social costs. I feel we are underpaid for the work we do especially considering many people at PwC treat us like Senior Associates and give us the work of a Senior Associate.

The most common activity is after work drinks or meals, there are also audit meals which happen after a busy period of work. There are also Christmas meals organised and some Flying start events (during the non-busy periods). There are some sport clubs. Most events are located in central London.

Yes

Although it can be stressful, there are many opportunities available to you. Being able to work with high profile FTSE 100 companies has been very interesting. Also, people are willing to help you and teach you anything you do not know or understand. Sometimes there are long hours but you always work with a team.

The assessment days can be difficult so make sure you prepare. There are interviews, reasoning tests, group assessments etc. If applying to this sponsored degree programme, be aware of how difficult and challenging it is. It is very hard to complete ACA exams alongside many other university exams and having to get a high grade in them in order to achieve a 2:1 or above.