Company: PwC
Date: 2010-06-29
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former

PricewaterhouseCoopers Review - Associate Level
Pros: Being a global firm has a lot of benefits.  Top of line training, technology, and resources are readily available and offered to all staff levels.  In addition to these, I worked with some incredibly intelligent people as this Firm recruits the best of the best.  Not only were my colleagues technically smart, but they had networking connections, a basic fundamental in today's environment.
It is a fun environment if you're on the younger side.  There was never a shortage of happy hours and after-work events.
Vacation time is untouchable.  2 years and over 4 weeks vacation was fantastic. 
If you're a high performer, this is the place to be.  There are opportunities available to anyone who wants to step up to the plate, you've just got to be willing to work hard for it.
The focus on coaching and development is fantastic.  They really do put  you in the driver's seat of your own career.  In my two years, I felt like I was mostly in control of where my career was headed.
Cons: Long hours and a long daily commute were my biggest complaints about PwC.  Granted, I could have asked for other client assignments, but from where I was living, it seemed like just about anything that interested me was going to be a hike.
Busy seasons are exhausting.  I spent over 12 days in a hotel for my main LOCAL client, simply because the hour commute home in bad weather was not feasible at 2 a.m. in the morning.  Additionally, the hotel expense was not reimbursed by the Firm.
The compensation was not bad, but frustrating.  As I continued to hear others my age and with my experience making anywhere from 10-20% more than I was making, it grew tiresome.  My level of responsibility did not correspond with my level of compensation, I felt.
The recent increase in benefit costs was a major drawback for me as well.  My health insurance costs were going to completely wipe out my anticipated salary increase, actually leaving me with a lower net income after taxes and health care costs were taken out.