Company: PwC
Date: 2012-05-23
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

Pretty disappointed with PwC
Pros: Starting day one the firm showed how organized everybody is - truly outstanding and I give them credit for it.
Second, thing you will notice is that your training will be efficient and very interactive. 
The firm's true value is the people and it does spend a lot of money into employee's learning development which will be very beneficial to you. However that benefits you most if you plan on sticking with accounting. Keep in mind that if you are interested in working in an investment banking down the road for example, having pwc on your resume might not be the greatest thing. You will have to explain how come you end up in accounting and now you want to move to another field.
PwC has a fairly good benefits package. Keep in mind that they would match only 25% of the first 6% you contribute to your 401k.
You get coaching from seniors, you get assigned a coach who is a senior manager and you also have a relationship partner who is obviously a partner. Therefore you get some coaching from everybody.
There are a lot of summer events that should help you keep your social contacts in good standing. Those are important for you to find work and not be available. Being available might lead to your "bad performance" feedback.
PwC is a one of the big 4. Even if you decide you do not want to stay with them/change your career or similar, you know you made it to the top.
Cons: If you have not interned with pwc before, there is a chance they will let you go due to "bad performance". 
The busy season will drain all your energy as they will keep you at work until sometimes 2 am. 
PwC is a very competitive firm and that should be put under pros. However, that same competition might change your ideals. I met people who after joining pwc decided they do not want to have a family on their own. I met a few women who said they are not interested in having kids and want to make it to partner. People there live to work. It should be the other way around, people should work to live. You will see many people who have no family, most women have no kids. Why? Because if you do have a kid, then you will be out of the game. You cannot stay until 12 and "fight" with the craziness. Or you can, but you will have to hire somebody to take care of that baby. 
Most of the time you have no idea how long the day will be. You might leave at 7 but there is a change you leave at 12 midnight. Remember driving after long day is dangerous. Care for your health! Because they really do not care for it. Every company is a business. The purpose is to make money, not to keep the employees happy and healthy. 
You would not know if you have to work next weekend either. They might assign you on something in the last minute and you will have to cancel that baseball game you bought tickets for. Also depending on the department you are in, they might let you know you have to fly away tomorrow to Toronto, for example. You have to be ready for all that all the time.
Work-life balance is missing of the picture. They hold a meeting in which they tell you "oh, during busy season you may leave twice at 5pm" and similar trash. However if you leave at 5pm while others are working until 12, believe me, they will not like that. Also it feels uncomfortable leaving early. I personally never did it but other people did and everybody looked at them like "what are you doing".
PwC is a huge firm and people management is not easy in big corporations. However politics are a major issue within the firm. It really matters who you know and you are "friends" with. It does but at the same time it does not really matter how you performed. People are very very fake. They are kind and nice but come on, do you believe people are so kind outside of work? No way. So you have to follow that example in order to "stay in the game". Instead, they will kick you out. So unfortunately the advise here is - be fake and you will survive. And that's not only pwc, all big firms are similar in that manner. 
The PFFs (Feedback) Game has a purpose and it is to keep everybody unhappy and hating each other. That way people will keep having no rights. No rights means working until 12 midnight and getting paid for until 5. After 5pm you should consider doing community service. Also another very famous joke out there goes like "treat every day like the weekend because you will most probably work on the weekends as well." Fortunately, on the Old Continent Europe people do have rights - they get paid overtime.
Feedbacks are written in a manner like everybody else is perfect and you are wrong. Your opinion has no value.