Getting a job with one of the Big 4: my graduate career with PwC- AMA

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Hi Lisa, I have an offer from WBS in Msc Business with Accounting and Finance. I would like to know, how should a student go about in applying for interships or a job during their course and after it. Also what are some of the opportunities that a Msc Business with Accounting and Finance student comes across and what academic CGPA or in general do the companies look for?Thank you very much, and all the very best for your future endeavors.

Reply 21

Simonlxh

Hi Lisa!I saw in one of your replies that you stayed in Coventry. From google maps, that looks pretty far from the school. How did you travel to and fro from your accommodation to school?Also, I am currently looking at finance-related jobs within the big 4 after graduating Msc. Hence, may I know what your grades for your Msc were as a gauge of their entry requirements

Reply 22

Simonlxh

Hi Lisa! Another question, I will be graduating with an Engineering degree this year, how tough will it be for someone like me to integrate into an accounting and finance course?

Reply 23

rsj17

Original post by Tyron Troy

Hey Tyron, congrats on your offer! I haven't studied the course but being a big 4 Auditor in India already I know such a course can get you financial analyst, corporate finance, fund accounting etc kind of roles.
If you don't mind me asking, when did you apply for the WBS MSc. and what were your grades in undergrad? Where else have you applied to?

Reply 24

Tyron Troy

Thank you Lisa!
I received the offer in December 2020 which I accepted by the end of the month.
I have a 8.14/10 CGPA from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT University) India in my undergrad studies.

Reply 25

rsj17

Hi, any idea if giving a GMAT score along with application is compulsory this year?

Reply 26

Melvis99

Given Big4's grad programmes commence in Sept and MSc courses do not fully complete until Sept. How did you join their grad programmes and convince them during the application stage? Because I have been receiving feedbacks that we are not eligible to apply for grad schemes.Also how did you feel about doing a grad scheme with a postgrad degree when most under joiners are from undergrads?

Reply 27

Warwick Business School

Official Rep

Original post by rsj17

Hi, any idea if giving a GMAT score along with application is compulsory this year?

Hey @rsj17
If you mean when applying for MSc Business with Accounting & Finance, we don't require a GMAT score but a well-balanced score (700+) may strengthen your application.
Thanks!
Eleanor
WBS Official Rep

Reply 28

teresa1117

Hello Lisa,

May I know what accommodation do you live? Is the neighbourhood in Coventry safe? Where do you see all the job openings, linkedin or any other platforms?

Thanks

Reply 29

iBearHQ

Do you have any advice for someone taking the PwC assessment centre?

Reply 30

rsj17

Original post by Warwick Business School

Thanks for the response. I meant MsC Accounting and finance.

Reply 31

Garima04

Hi Lisa, I'm an offer holder for Msc. Business and Finance for sept intake this year. I would like to know of the career opportunities you came across except the auditing role? Is it easy to find roles specific to financial analyst or advisors after completing the course? Also, what is better out of on/off campus accomodation according to you?

Reply 32

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by Tyron Troy

Hey so large companies normally have a career page on their official website to show what positions are available. Before you enrol there will be a session in around Jul time with WBS career service team to go through options you may want to consider and how to apply for them. I also did my own research from websites like efiancialcareers. For internships Warwick career page was helpful cause there are a lot of postings. I also recommend going through your social network to see if you get one from family friends or graduates in previous years. Referral is highly effective especially in short term internship.

For academic grades, most companies ask for a 2:1, but you could argue with a 2:2, or even a pass if you already got the offer.
Hope this helps.

Reply 33

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by iBearHQ

Do you have any advice for someone taking the PwC assessment centre?

Two advice I have for assessment centre.
1, Search for recent experience online. People passing or failing it will give you a lot of ideas of what to watch out for.
2, Eliminate any potential but unnecessary incidents: go check the address in person ahead of time, book a taxi/uber to avoid delays, decide what you are going to wear, don't get on shoes you are not comfortable with. And I would have breakfast 1 and 1/2 hour before the starting time. It takes 1 and 1/2 hour to digest properly. This will make sure I have enough energy because it's gonna be a long day.

Reply 34

username3477548

Original post by TSR Talks: WBS

Hello! I'm Lisa, a Senior Associate at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), one of the Big 4 accounting firms.

I currently work in the Assurance Team at PwC with clients in a range of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, utilities, and education. I really enjoy working here, as there is so much variety and interaction with different clients!

After completing my BSc, I decided to pursue an MSc in Business with Finance & Accounting at Warwick Business School, University of Warwick. I believe business is a very practical subject to study, so if you only learn it from the classroom the benefit is restricted, and the course at WBS offered a combination of theory and practice. This helped me to stand out in the competitive application process at PwC and with support from the WBS CareerPlus team, I went on to get an offer from PwC UK.

Got any questions about how I got to where I am today? Ask me anything about applying and interviewing for PwC, life at PwC, what value my MSc has had during my career so far, and moving to and living in the UK as both a student and PwC employee.

I’ll be online throughout this week and look forward to your questions! :smile:

Hi Lisa!
Which A-levels did you do? Also, were there any examinations to get into Warwick? if so, how did you prepare? Also, how did you prepare for the interviews?

Tysm :smile:

Reply 35

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by Simonlxh

Hi Lisa! Another question, I will be graduating with an Engineering degree this year, how tough will it be for someone like me to integrate into an accounting and finance course?

The Business with Finance and Accounting are designed for student without relevant backgrond so you should be fine.

Reply 36

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by Garima04

A Warwick degree means you pass the school requirement for most financial analytics or advisory positions. After this point it's more about what you are good at. Financial analyst positions probably have higher requirement in analytic skills while advisory emphasises more on soft skills. They are very different direction, so how easy or hard would depend on what your strengths are.

I think on/off campus are both fine for me. I care a bit more about who I live with. Be prepared cause you might not get your first choice.

Reply 37

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by teresa1117

Hello Lisa,

May I know what accommodation do you live? Is the neighbourhood in Coventry safe? Where do you see all the job openings, linkedin or any other platforms?

Thanks

I think Coventry was fine, at least for the areas near the station. For job openings, I just think about what kind of job I wanted to do, find a ranking list of companies and just go from the top down, visit their official websites, find the career page and send out inquiries. Sometimes you can call them directly :smile:

I find this most efficient as I know I was going for large companies.

Reply 38

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by Melvis99

I joined in Spring. So some companies have Spring openings. I had friends who joined in Sep so it was not an issue when I graduated. I think Sep intake was actually late Sep, and our degree was done in early Sep.
I changed country so I think that 1 year with Warwick was essential for me to get used to the life here before starting to work here. I don't mind particularly that others are younger than me cause for me this is like overseas school and work experience.

Reply 39

TSR Talks: WBS

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Original post by Simonlxh

There's a bus that takes about 20 min from Coventry to the Uni.
Normally 2:1 is fine. 2:2 sometimes you can argue. I don't think they care that much about your grade cause they sent out offer before you get your result.
Check the companies' website to find out. If there's no info there maybe you can call them or email them directly. I think different companies will see this slightly differently.