Flying Start Degree programme - FS3 in Birmingham Review

I work within the audit division in the banking and capital markets sector. Day-to-day this involves performing in-depth testing on the financial statement line items I've been allocated to (and being coached through this by a senior) and communicating/reporting back to the client with any additional information needed.

Yes - my technical capabilities surrounding various accounting treatments and standards has vastly increased through putting these skills into practice and learning on the job. My communications skills and project management skills have also improved through working in a team, meeting deadlines, virtual communication throughout Covid-19 with my team and client.

I have really enjoyed my programme as I've been given the chance to learn and develop, but also prove myself and take on more responsibility whilst being supported by my seniors. It has been challenging all being virtual due to Covid-19 but the firm has provided us with appropriate devices and support.

The programme is well structured - with 3 paid PwC placements included in our 4 years at University. This gives us the opportunity to apply our learning to a practical situation and develop this further. We have a career coach appointed to us and we also had a check-in with the placement coordinator midway through our placement.

PwC is always looking out for areas to support it's colleagues - both on a large scale through wellbeing practices and also on a smaller scale, through our teams/managers/seniors who in my experience have always been there for support. We are also often notified of any additional support we can access if we wish.

On the flying start programme we have performed our professional exams at University rather than through Kaplan. The University have given us a lot of support during our placements, often outlining expectations but advising in harder situations (/with harder examinations). The team know the pressure of performing this professional exams whilst at University but have supported us throughout.

I believe doing my qualifications alongside training has definitely helped me put the theory into practice and develop my learning. The qualifications are essential to be able to perform our job so this has definitely enabled me to develop quicker and perform better at the tasks that were allocated to me.

We have team socials - both in our office social groups and within the audit team we work in. These often take place every quarter and enable us to get to know everyone else better in a non-working environment. There are also work sports teams such as football and netball which have practices and matches. Throughout lockdown there have also been talks with professionals in different industries across lunch times (such as chefs, adventurers, sportsmen) which have proved really interesting.

Yes

I think PwC has been a great way to start my career. It's a large firm so there are a lot of other people at similar positions to yours, which you can learn from but also who are in the same process of their career and can be a helping hand or provide support. You are also exposed to an immense about of different working activities and therefore have the ability to learn in areas that you previously have not - including transferring internally.

You aren't expected to necessarily know everything prior to joining (especially if you are an entry level joiner) so don't be worried about this as long as you're open to learning but you are expected to do research on the firm, especially the working culture for employees.