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I really enjoyed most of the projects I got involved with during my internship - there was a range of areas I could explore and there was opportunity to steer the internship in a direction which suited my interest. I was also able to explore other lines of service within the firm and meet with colleagues to talk about their work.

Everyone I met at PwC was really welcoming and friendly which was really helped by the open plan office environment. Although, I was well respected as in intern there wasn't a massive amount of projects on going as summer is a quieter period for the industry and lots of people were on holiday. Interns are given laptops with all the same software as normal staff so are prepared for any task really. The work people did give me varied from more interesting, complex things to putting documents/slides together.

When you start your internship, everyone is assigned a people manager and a buddy. Your people manager oversees your internship and you meet up with them regularly to discuss your targets, progress and any issues you may be having. Your buddy is more of a day to day role and is someone you can ask any question to whether it be about travel, the office, work projects or even something basic like directions. The open plan office environment was also really good for support - I regularly found myself asking people on my table for tips or help on a project and everyone always did their best to help me. The office also meant that I was sat with and chatting to senior managers/directors without even realising! 

As summer tends to be quieter, I wasn't overloaded with work but I wasn't sat doing nothing for days on end. I never really stayed outside office hours (9:00-5:30) but always had enough to be getting on with throughout the days. I sourced pieces of work for myself and balanced my time to ensure I was suitably busy. A lot of interns are also assigned projects to do during quieter periods.

I was given a reasonable amount of responsibility at the firm which included producing reports that could be fed back to clients as well as going out to a client site. Sometimes I was repeating previous years work but this was all a learning curve.

A lot of the skills I learned were softer skills to do with team working, networking and working collaboratively. I was introduced to new pieces of software and techniques at PwC but I'm unsure how useful these will be outside of PwC or at university.

The atmosphere in the office was generally very good (better than some of the other offices I visited). Everything is laid out open plan with lots of work spaces to suit anyone's preferences. Everyone I spoke to (including senior managers, directors and partners) always asked me how my placement was going, if I needed help and some suggested work I could help them with or shadow. Everyone in the office spoke to one another with regular lunch time meals out and events.

The level of organisation varies in between lines of service. For example, core assurance's work is booked in advance and is well planned out where as risk assurance's work tended to be smaller projects which would come with shorter notice. This isn't a good thing or a bad thing but sometimes makes getting stuck into certain projects more difficult - although resourcing did their best to accommodate requests. There was a week's worth of induction in which we were taught a base of the skills we'd need during our internship and our time overall was structured and planned.

The firm made sure that interns had the chance to ask as many questions and learn as much as possible. We received a three day residential induction paid for by the firm which included line of service specific training and social events such as informal dinners with partners and a world food buffet.

Everyone who takes part in the internship has a chance of a grad job at the end depending on your performance and how well you clicked with the firm. The career prospects within the firm generally seem positive with steady career progression as well as opportunity to change areas/offices.

Interns were encouraged to socialise with one another both at the induction and then with colleagues at the office. The firm put on an away day during my time with them which saw the whole team from the north coming together for a presentation, team building day, meal and then going out for drinks afterwards which was really good for meeting all of the interns as well other staff.

Leeds is generally quite a cost effective place to live which is helped by the big Î÷¹ÏÊÓƵ populations meaning lots of deals and 2-4-1 offers at bars/restaurants.

Decent mix of bar chains with local venues - there were two bars opposite the office which were always busy after work on a Friday too

I know a few of the interns got involved with the teams football league and the firm also puts on regular events such as a sports day, away day and a summer type ball.,