Company: PwC
Date: 2016-06-15
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: former

Are these other reviews for real???
Pros: Lol... there are literally no Pros to working at PwC. Yes, you will make decent money compared to the average American, but compared to competitors, pay isn't that great. The firm has many nice policies like vacation/sick days but good luck trying to actually use your days in practice. I don't know a single person who was able to take an unplugged vacation - you will still be working
Cons: This is absolutely one of the worst places to work at, partially because they tell you the complete opposite. I'm unsure if leadership/recruiting is in complete denial or if they know exactly what they're doing with their BS advertising, both before you join the firm and after, but there's a very stark difference in expectations vs. reality at PwC. 

First of all, let's list the cons:
1) No work life balance - varies, obviously, but in my case I was averaging 70-80 hour weeks. You won't be compensated to make up for this unlike i-banking. 
2) No ability to manage your career or do work you're passionate about. They arbitrarily put you in a group, regardless of what you tell them, unless you have years of experience in a particular field. There will be a target placed on your back if you try to network elsewhere. 
3) This place DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU. Look, to a certain degree, most companies don't care about you. But at PwC it's to the next level, because they tell that they care about you but then treat you like a cog in their machine. 
4) No job stability in Advisory. PwC Advisory is tanking, they hired WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE in addition to not being able to sell work. The Financial Services practice did a round of layoffs in February, and Advisory as a whole is laying people off again as I type this. Oh yeah, they will try to blame it on you, as if you did something wrong... but no one I know who was let go ever was told they had anything short of excellent performance. It's ridiculous. On top of giving no notice to those who are laid off, the severance they give is a joke. It's 2-6 weeks depending on years of service, so good luck if you're the sole provider for an entire family. They suck the life out of you, and the moment they realize they don't need you anymore, they will spit you out. 
5) EVERYONE IS MISERABLE. I am so baffled by all of these great reviews - unfortunately GlassDoor doesn't require any type of verification and I wouldn't be surprised if half of these were fake. I say this because nobody I know at the firm is happy. The layoffs and the ambiguity around them have made morale even worse, and even first years are actively quitting. It's so bad here that I know people who have actually repaid their signing bonus in exchange for their happiness. Also, before you take a job here, try to download Fishbowl (yik yak for consultants, requires linkedin verification) or ask a consultant friend to download it so you can see what life is really like.