Flying Start Degree Programme - FS3 London Review

My role in PwC as an FS 3 trainee/intern is one similar to an associate. I perform testing over balances on a sample basis to confirm that the total balances on my clients financial statements are with no material misstatements. I assist my senior associates in their testing and on my current role I also had a chance to coach other more junior associates.

Yes, I have learnt various new skills including but not limited to: how to engage with multiple different teams from PwC and how to merge their testing and queries together to form a coherent plan for our client. I have also developed my existing skills in communicating with various different departments in my clients business such as HR and Finance.

My programme is very beneficial in terms of getting both work experience and learning highly technical skills in a controlled environment. However, it is quite stressful as there is very limited down time, specifically we get in total 4 weeks holiday whereas other courses get almost 2.5 months off including easter, christmas holidays and reading weeks. Apart from first year you don't get to experience the full extent of student life due to working and then right after work exams.

I believe my programme is very well structured but it could use improvements. We go on work placement on years 2 and 3 from December till end of March and then on year 4 from November till the end of March. Unfortunately right after busy season in audit where lots of downtime needed we are only given 2 weeks off until lessons start and from those 2 weeks most of us only take 1 week off as we need 1 week revision to remember what was learned in Semester 1 back in November.

The support received from my employer is amazing both in terms of mental health and career advancement. For example this year with the war on Ukraine we were constantly offered mental health support and counselling for any employee that was affected. Furthermore, we also had the choice to work from home due to Covid even though UK legislation permitted you to go to work.

I receive a decent amount of support form my training provider when working towards my qualifications. Lecturers are always happy to help you understand their courses better by offering 1 on 1 teaching and staying late after class to explain the lesson to you. We are also offered mock exams which as I understand most courses don't have the capacity to offer. However I do believe that they could strive to provide more support around exam times in terms of stress management

My qualification helps me perform better in my role since the courses I take in university are directly related to the work performed. I have used principles learned in Financial Accounting multiple times to understand policies and methods used in my clients financial statements. They have also helped me develop my critical thinking on testing approaches.

There are a ton of extra-curricular activities to get involved in at work such as sports teams, social activities and professional networking events. All employees are separated into social groups since it would be impossible for all employees in Pwc in London to attend one event and the each social group can choose what activity they want to do. The most recent activity that was offered to my social group was a day out in the Greenwich Driving Range.

Yes

PwC is a great place to start your career since you learn a lot of things in a short amount of time. You get to develop your leadership skills as well as your team working skills. You also get to expand your business and global acumen as well as your technical capabilities.

My tips to others applying to PwC would be to be confident and try your best to display how you implement PwC core values in your personal life. You should also take under consideration in what way you as an employee can add value to the firm. Furthermore, you should also take under consideration that during busy season you might end up working really late and therefore you need to be prepared to put in the work to succeed!