Company: PwC
Date: 2009-10-09
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

You can come in for a long haul - just do it with eyes open
Pros: The typical line on PwC is it's a great place to start, build your credentials for a few years, then move on to greener pastures.  It doesn't have to be that way.  A long career here can be very rewarding - professionally, intellectually, and financially.  But understand what kind of environment you're getting into.

Some straight talk to describe life at PwC: Hard-working, ever-changing, demanding, and conservative (at times in the extreme).  And also intellectually stimulating, team-oriented, flexible, and fun (if you are on a good team, which most are).  

You are working for the best and will be expected to bring your best every day.  You need to get yourself noticed, yet do so in a way that is collaborative and team-focused.  If you are a lone ranger (in reality or in perception), you will fail.  Not everyone is able to bring that "mental balance" between ambition and great teaming to work every day.  Ask yourself if you can.

My PwC cohorts are, collectively, the most intelligent community of people I've ever been around.  Every person who sticks here is capable, diligent, and for the most part, more than willing to share their knowledge.  The spirit of achievement and top-quality delivery to our clients is really something special.
Cons: Did I mention demanding and hard-working?  Hours can be off the charts at times.  The perpetual challenge has been that Work/Life Balance, while truly regarded as an important initiative, has always only addressed half the equation.  You can offer all the time off and schedule flexibility you want, but until you make workloads and expectations more reasonable, you will never be able to achieve the "balance".  They have never quite gotten that part.  Over several years, I have never been able to take all my vaca time while remaining a top performer - and I am not the workaholic type by nature.  It's the way the system is built.

Did I mention conservative?  Understand this is still an accounting/audit firm at heart, no matter how big Advisory becomes.  The hoops one needs to jump through - whether to initiate a project, establish a teaming relationship, handle admin tasks, or address personal financial independence requirements - are off the charts.  After a few weeks/months, you will "get it", it will become normal, and you'll stop considering it ridiculously burdensome.  Or not, in which case this probably isn't the environment for you.  This is a "culture of compliance" taken to new heights.

Final thought: If you perform and progress, compensation can be excellent.  Real wealth is possible.  BUT - you will max out after a handful of years as a director.  Consider that the partnership is basically a sign-in-blood-for-life proposition, and political x 1000 (which certainly isn't for everyone), and you may start face a career crossroads.