Technology Degree Apprentice Review

While at university the daily tasks are mainly just keeping on top of uni work and all the modules as well as occasionally partaking in PwC events. There were a lot of online talks in first year however they do not have any in final year. Day to day on placement can vary but it would often be working on a project as part of a team and undertaking whatever tasks were needed to be done that day.

I have learnt a lot about Agile ways of working and working as part of a professional team. I also got to develop a lot of 'real life' development skills, however the lack of programming on our placement meant a year away severely impacted my coding fluency and is impacting my final year performance - the placement could have been more degree relevant. There have been lots of opportunities to gain certifications.

The team I was on placement with were great and I really enjoyed working with them. The tasks I were given were sometimes a bit boring and not necessarily in my field of interest but it was all work from home so that may have had an impact on my enjoyment. As for the actual program, I do not particularly enjoy it. It is very clear that it is a new course as there is a lot of disorganisation and lack of communication between all parties and I feel very disposable. The teaching on the course is okay although as with most university courses some modules/lecturers are great and others are awful.

Separately the elements are okay but the degree apprenticeship 'mesh' is awful. There is very little communication about the requirements and any communication is often very late. For example for final year projects they asked what we might want to do but never got back to us about our responses, didn't directly offer help (like reach out about our projects and discuss how it could be related to the business) and only said it needed a business case in out tripartite meeting in the last week of first term - i.e. if your project wasn't related you would have lost half your time. Some people knew due to having emailed after the initial survey however there was no groupwide communication - this is a similar case for a lot of the issues.

On placement the support from the team I was with was great - they were super helpful. With regard to the degree apprenticeship team and when we are at uni, as stated before, the communication is pretty bad and I don't feel like I can reach out to them as they make me feel like I'm not important or are stupid for not knowing something.

University degree course - lecturers can be mixed but often are helpful if you go to them one on one. They can be good at explaining concepts in office hours so if we are stuck there is support there. Degree apprenticeship side - again, bad with communication, not really sure how the two mesh together

I think it gives me a good understanding of the basics but that could have been achieved from A-level. The content is not particularly relevant to the role as PwC has very little technological capabilities and so all the programming and in-depth concepts are wasted in PwC roles. Some of the concepts apply on a very basic level - could have learnt it all the relevant content in a 4 week crash course, if not shorter. I do, however, believe the qualification will be useful in other roles/companies where tech is more important

There have been a few company social events over the years however they have mainly been when we are on placement with our teams. With regard to the course there have been a couple christmas socials and a couple of others but they started late (due to first year being first year of the course and the others being affected by covid) and so I haven't attended many as there is not much point in final year. When I am not working I tend to do things on my own/things related to uni and not work organised events.

No

For a technology role, no. They are not a tech firm and do not really seem ready to invest in tech. For an accountant/actuary then I cannot comment. The people I have worked with in my team have been lovely so, for them, I would recommend working at PwC if the people you work with is the most important factor but in terms of the work we get, expectations and salary, I would not recommend it as a first choice.

Be prepared to know about the company and their values. Most people are super lovely throughout the process and you can always ask questions and clarify anything you don't understand. There are lots of opportunities they provide but do your research before and make sure it is the kind of work you want to do - at the end of the day, they are not a tech firm and so if you are doing computer science for the tech focus, it may not be the company for you.