PwC reviews

Congratulations, you are moving on to the next phase of the interview or you have already gotten your offer and you are contemplating... Is CSDC the PwC I've been dreaming of? Why is the recruitment procedure different? Here is a word of advice from someone who has been there! You are reading this negative post thinking: 1. This post is old, things must have changed 2. The author of this post is not a bright, motivated individual and I can do better 3. Regardless of the reality, I can move through the rankings really fast and transfer to "core" so I can endure the two years of misery 4. It's something I want to put on my resume. Here is my rebuttal for all. 1. This post is outdated: I am writing this post as of 6/14/2016, as long as Norm Brower is Managing Director, culture and system won't change. Mark my words 2. The author of this post is not a bright, motivated individual and I can do better: I graduated from a top 20 university MagnaCumLaude, I am a pro exam taker (never below 99th percentile for SAT, ACT, AP, MCAT), extremely motivated and driven. I know 'stats' don't correlate to how smart a person is, but everyone around me probably agrees that I am at least book smart. So yes, you can do better but I am not dim witted either. If I am book smart, then why did I take this job? Because there were no posts to properly guide me, like this one. Some things no one told me when I accepted the job: a. Most undergraduates enter the firm as associates (exempt). But you will enter the firm as a senior analyst, analyst, or specialist (all non exempt). b. People who are at core (those exempt associates) look down on you and treat you like second class citizens. c. The work is dull and mainly copy/paste (that is if you do have work to begin with) d. This didn't happen to me, but you might end up "on the bench" for 3+ months, which is a nice term for "wasting your life staring at the monitor for 40 hours a week." Now this is a problem for those who want to grow and learn e. Performance evaluations (snapshots) don't matter. You have to be on Norm's radar. It takes a lot of politics to be on Norm's radar (which leads to point f) f. Too much focus on "internal" projects: These are projects that rarely add value, people fight over and just for the sole purpose of getting on Norm's radar. 3. Regardless of the reality, I can move through the rankings really fast and transfer to "core" so I can endure the two years of misery: a. It takes two years to be able to apply. If that two years doesn't fall on August or January, you wait two years + extra months until August and January. b. Even after you wait until 2 years + August and January, a transfer is not guaranteed. Most people don't get it unless they have connections in core c. You can't move through the rankings fast even if you work assiduously on a client engagement. Believe me, I've taken calls at 6:30 p.m and the director wanted a deliverable by 11:59 p.m of the same day. Even with this attitude, you won't get promoted if you do not have a technical background (which is how you get on Norm's radar). Bear in mind, the director asks you these not because he thinks you are competent, but because he has no respect for CSDC employees 4. Companies you want to go to (MBB, Deloitte etc) know that the CSDC's employees are second class citizens. Your resume boost would be equal to that of an office assistant's at core. You can't hide that you are from the SDC because of the title analyst. Lastly, I would like to add that even if you do get a promotion and become a senior analyst, your salary increase is $2000/ yr, non negotiable. If you transfer to a new office (even NY), you take your salary with you to New York. Transfer does not mean pay raise. Bottom line, still high turnover rate and management makes you think you will have amazing work, but they can not live up to their words

Simply put, you are expected to be a mindless minion. No one has any respect for a work/life balance, whether or not they know about the commitment, you come in extra early, get your work done early or on time, and get compliments from the client. If you book vacation ahead of time (despite being available when you book), you will most likely be "asked" to change it, and if that is not possible, you will have to make up the hours you are taking as vacation. People will consistently throw you under a bus and be two-faced. Rumors, trash talk, and gossip are prevalent, even among Managers, who also partake. I've had an associate tell me (when the senior was not in the room) that he will help me with an assignment, and when it came due and I asked him for his part, he said, "I never said I'd do that. That was YOUR responsibility." (to me in front of the senior) I've also had an experienced associate tell me to do controls testing, and then, when I did it and the manager asked why I did, the experienced associate said they had never told me to do the testing in the first place. Those are only two of many examples in my short one year term here. Senior Associates and Managers do not think for themselves either; they are the ones that clawed their way to the top, but never really knew or understood what they were doing along the way. You do something because it was done last year (even if excessive, unnecessary, and time consuming). If you bring up the fact that a procedures may be any of the above, you will do it if only to satisfy the person's power trip and if later, the Manager or Partner calls it excessive, you'll find that the Senior and/or Manager will put the blame on you, saying that you mindlessly followed prior year. And by the way, you will be considered "difficult" for having ever questioned a procedure in the first place, regardless of whether or not you were right or how sweetly you bring it up. Another thing to note: people do not leave PwC having loved the firm. People leave PwC because they hate it. It's not just the work they hate, but the people that make the work that much more unbearable. One final point: NO overtime pay. If you work 8 hours or 16 hours, the firm doesn't care. You are booked for engagements knowing that the number of days you have to complete the engagement is not enough and instead of adjusting resources properly, the idea is that it will get done no matter what (normally, excessive overtime). You are also told to keep your hours within budget (i.e. eat hours) and you are unappreciated if you are honest about your hours.