Flying Start Degree programme - FS1 at Bristol Review

I am a flying start on my first placement. My daily tasks involve communicating with the team and the client. Responsibilities include completing EGAs on planning, payroll, cash, operating expenses and cost of sales. I have worked on a number of different audit clients and tasks tend to be consistent across all jobs.

I have applied knowledge and skills learnt from completing exams at university to the job and they have proved to be a big help. It has been good to apply this knowledge to the work as it makes it all make a bit more sense. The role has helped me develop my people skills and should hopefully give me more confidence in my exams when returning to university.

This programme is great as it gives a good balance of both working and university life. Through working, you are able to meet people of different backgrounds and abilities, and this networking can open doors for you. I have made some friends for life on my degree as we are all like minded people.

The programme is great in terms of the training and support that is provided both at work and at university. It is definitely a pressured degree as when at work, you tend to disregard studying, and so it does not leave much time before exams. However, we are being provided with 2 weeks of intense revision classes prior to exams, which we have been told from older years are very helpful and beneficial.

PwC were fantastic in providing us with a support system, including a Flying Start Champion, career coach, and buddy. This meant we always had someone to talk to in case of any problems or concerns. The Flying Start Champion was particularly helpful as they had been in our shoes and so could offer sympathy in a different way to our career coaches.

PwC have little to do with our qualifications as this is all done through the university. However, on joining PwC full time, they offer college classes and support required in order to pass the final 3 exams in order to become a chartered accountant. The university offer us endless support in order to pass our exams.

Through doing a placement in the middle term of the year, it allows us to apply what we have learnt at university to the job, and then what we have learnt on the job to our exams in the final term. By integrating placement, it gives you a hands on experience which is a different and for me a more effective way of learning.

Every month, office drinks are held on our social floor across all departments, allowing us to network and get to know more people in the office. There is also office days that are held, with group meetings and activities in your year groups. Quarterly social events are also held, again allowing people to get to know each other.

Yes

PwC is one of the biggest accounting firms in the world and ranks highly on graduate employers. The offer opportunity to move throughout the company in order to find what you are good at and enjoy, and offer competitive salaries. It is a great firm to have experience with and adds to employability.

Assessment days are difficult, so in order to perform well, it is best to relax and have confidence in yourself. In order to get a sense of what the course involves, it is best to attend open days and taster days as these give an overview of the degree and inform you of its demanding nature.