Company: PwC
Date: 2010-07-28
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

An overall great experience
Pros: At a very macro level, all Big 4 firms perform the same services.  Therefore, the differentiator has to be the people.  The people on my project teams have historically been very intelligent, driven, and knowledgeable on both process and technical matters.   The firm's expertise in Advisory, Audit, and Tax has led to successful, cross-functional projects and our name has allowed us to win large projects across the US and world.  The review process, whose end-game rating may at times be questionable, is very through and automated to allow for high frequency feedback.  My time here has allowed me to be ready to succeed in other fields or companies.
Cons: Since joining the Advisory Group, I feel like our high level strategy changes in a very big way each year, including the Firm leadership.  Our recent expansions into higher level strategy and implementations projects have not been filled internally, rather through multiple acquisitions and whose integrations have been handled interestingly.  This, along with a shortage of technical, not "consulting" training, has led to Managers and above with a broad knowledge of products and experience, but Seniors and Associates with only on-the-job training while trying to take on bigger pieces of the project.  Other pieces are simply outsourced to boutique technical firms that then leave after the project is finished.  There also seems to be a timidness to remove weaker talent, but an aggressiveness to remove great resources who are paid too much.