Big Data Summer Camp Review

I took part in the Big Data Summer Camp, which was a weeks paid work experience run by PwC. There was approximately 30 students that got through the application process at the Leeds office where I completed my placement. We were given several talks by employees, as well as professors and students at Leeds University, covering areas such as Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence and augmented and Visual Reality. Throughout the week we learned about PwC and met employees in many of the different service lines at the firm, with the final task being a presentation of an idea we had been developing all week in groups. We presented our pitch to senior members of staff at PwC, where each team was then given feedback and a winner was chosen. It was a great opportunity to learn about PwC, their service lines and career opportunities, as well as developing teamwork and presentation skills.

From the beginning of the week we worked in teams, which was a great opportunity to develop both social and teamwork skills. We worked on various activities together each day, as well as developing a group pitch for the final task of the week. Each team was apponited a member of staff to provide advice on pitching and presenting. Doing practice runs for the employees allowed for the opportunity for them to give individual feedback which was very useful in developing presentation skills. I learned a lot about technology, big data, PwC itself and the financial sector.

I really enjoyed the week as I got to meet so many new people and learn about career paths that may be of interest to me in the future. I would have preferred to do more hands on work and gain real experience of what working at PwC would be like - instead we learned about PwC and technology as students like we may at school. In this sense, it didnt meet my expectations, however it was still a very insightful week at a well respected firm, which is a great opportunity to have gained.

The leader of our work experience, Laura, made us all feel very valued, and emphasised how much PwC wanted us to consider all of their programmes, whether that be the School and college leaver programmes, or degree programmes. It was made very clear that there is definitely a gap for technology minded people such as ourselves and that this was a sustainable career path to enter. PwC have lots of different opporunities for young people to enter the firm. As a group we were also praised many a time for getting through such a competitive and tough application process. It would have been nice to be trusted in doing real work at PwC, working with employees, rather than learning from them in school-like lessons.

I thought the the programme was mostly well organised. We had a timetable for our time at PwC and managed to get lots of talks and activities into just one week. They gave us all work packs that we worked through, with the tasks in the booklets alligning to the talks they had organised. Some of the talks were less organised than others (but that actually made the experience more fun and showed the employees as more 'human' and relatable). Overall, I thought the programme was very well run, with lots to do and a good structure.

As this was a weeks work experience, it wasn't necessary to be given training prior to the week. PwC provided everything we needed themselves. A lot of what we did within the week was learning, rather than working - so training wasn't really required. However, at the end of the week we learned about prototyping and pitching to give us sufficient preparation for our presentations.

Throughout the week, it was made clear who to go if we had any issues, as well having access to email if needed. During tasks, the speakers came around to ensure each group understood the tasks and gave some support where needed. Throughout the application process, within the week and after the work experience, we have been given lots of information on what the next steps are if we wish to progress further within PwC. The programme gives us fast track to an assessment centre if we now wish to take part in the School and college leavers programme.

As under 18 year olds we were given a very generous wage for the week (above miniumum wage). Personally, this more than covered my travel costs for the week (though I do live locally). Some of the other students there had travelled in from manchester, and were either travelling in each day by train, or stayed in the hotel. PwC did not provide any reimbursment for this, as might have been expected. However, as we were only students doing a weeks work experience, I did not expect any pay, so i think everyone was grateful for this, regardless of travel costs.

We learned a lot about life at PwC, which sounded very good. There are many activities that take place outside of the work place, including charity events and social events. As my placement was only work experience, we did not have access to these activities. We learned lots about the opportunities for joining Pwc after college/university. Experiencing PwC for a week made it a very attractive place to consider working at in the furture - with a very relaxed environment and seemingly fun place to work.

Yes

It was a very insightful opportunity to learn about jobs that will be in demand in the future, and what ut would be like working at PwC. It helped me settle my thoughts on what I may be inetersted in career-wise after university, and too where I may want to pursue my first job. Getting through the application process and having experience at a repected firm like PwC is an invaluable opportunity to write about on University personal statements and CVs. I got to develop many skills throughout the week and learned lots about PwC and the technology sector.

Prepare well for the application process - use the e-learn online to practice the psychometric tests, and learn lots about PwC before you start your application. You may be invited to an assessment centre or telephone inteview for the work experience programme - either way you should know about what PwC do and who some of their main clients are. Proving you know what and where you are applying to will make you a very attractive applicant. For the telephone interview, you should think about a recent business issue in the news that particularly interests you, as they might like to ask you about this. Also, it may be good to know your reasons for wanting to apply for the programme/job at PwC - I had to write a short essay on this at the assessment centre as well as 'Why PwC?'. I was quite nervous about the work experience, but there was nothing to be nervous about. All that is required is an interest in business and techonlogy - no previous knowledge on technology is requires.