<p>New here, I'm a sophomore, majoring in Finance, and Accounting. I was wondering how is PriceWaterHouseCoopers regarded, I know it's a top 5 firm, but it's the only major accounting firm that recruits at my school(University of Southern Indiana). What kind of GPA, and EC, Leaderships do Top Accounting Firms look for? Right now my GPA is a 3.4, what to look for as far as obtaining an internship.</p>
<p>Your school placement office or office of internships/fellowships should have all of the info you need. Have you asked?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.usi.edu/careersv/parents.asp%5B/url%5D">http://www.usi.edu/careersv/parents.asp</a></p>
<p>I don't like our Career Service Center, and at the very least would like some other people's perspective, I could go to IU's Kelley, but I like the school here, and the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Ask away.....if you are in accounting and you are looking at Coopers then you will likely do an audit stint.........what is it you want to know?</p>
<p>What can I do while im In school, to maximize my chances at getting an internship, and eventually a position. What GPA should I shoot for, I'm need to start getting involved on campus, what type things that are interesting that I can do ie. Accounting club, do they have case competiton if so how do I get involved in that. Also what can I expect to make when I get out, how intense is the competition for these well known firms? How is the enviorment for minorities, things like that.</p>
<p>PWC is a top 4 firm, and is well regarded. However, my friend who works for Ernst and Young in Boston said that PWC pays less and works you harder than the other 3 top 4 firms. Just from his experience in the recruitment process, but i'm sure there are other opinions out there.</p>
<p>here's a good hint to PWC's philosophy on work:</p>
<p>Work Hours
"There are no standard hours. Work isn't the same day to day. Hours beyond client service are also part of PwC life (training, recruiting, office meetings, social activities, sports teams, community service, travel time, etc.) Schedules are unpredictable and can change frequently. Deadlines and client demands can drive long hours at certain points. Longer hours, which is part of our business, will vary by person based on client assignments throughout the year. PwC bills clients for the hours worked by our people. Goals are set for you based on expected hours worked for clients."</p>
<p>Flexibility
"Your needs for flexibility require communication and agreement with team members. Our business is serving clients. Client demands can limit flexibility. WorkLife is measured in the long-term (yearly/monthly), not the short-term (daily/weekly)."</p>
<p>Basically, what this says to me is: "When you work at PWC, we own you! If we need you to work 24 hours a day, we will have you do that."</p>
<p>311Griff:</p>
<p>You're way off. ALL FOUR of the Big 4 make you work ridiculous hours. It's the way the industry is. The hours do not change much from firm to firm--your group and your location play a much larger role.</p>
<p>PwC, in fact, has been a bit ahead of the game in managing the work-life balance of its employees. During the last two years (when everyone had to work extremely long and hard in order to keep up with SarbOx), PwC literally closed down for a week in December. Everyone--from associates to secretaries--got a free paid week of vacation. None of the other firms have done anything remotely as major as that.</p>
<p>As for pay differences--I can tell you that there is very very little difference between the salaries offered by each of the Big 4. I have never spoken to someone who made their decision based on salary. They all pay well.</p>
<p>mssales:</p>
<p>You'll learn that there is very little difference among the Big 4 when you look at the firms as a whole. The job is the same, the hours are the same and the pay is the same. You'll need to look at the offices in your area specifically--what industries does the office serve? What clients? What are the people at those offices like? You'll find that everyone you come across always says that they made their decision based on the type of people who work at each firm (and I'm no exception).</p>
<p>You'll generally find that the firms require a minimum of a 3.2-3.3 GPA to apply. You'll need higher than that to differentiate yourself. Extracurriculars don't play the same role in college as they do in high school. Honors groups and accounting clubs (like Beta Gamma Sigma and Beta Alpha Psi) look good, but aren't massively important.</p>
<p>There's a bit of an art to crafting a good resume and cover letter and you need to put a lot of effort into that (hopefully your career center can help you with that). Learn as much as you can about putting together a good resume--many people make the mistake, for instance, of listing their work experience and then including bullets that essentially provide a job description (i.e. helped customers/filed papers/managed receivables). You don't want to do that.</p>
<p>The individual compenents of your resume/cover letter aren't as important as whether or not you can convey that you can work in a team, can communicate effectively, can work under stress and can manage your time well. I didn't have any real "extra-curriculars," for instance, but that was because I was taking 20 credits a semester on top of working two part-time jobs (one of which was at a small CPA firm). I can't tell you what exactly you should do with your time, but perhaps it would be a good idea to contact PwC's recruiting office and ask if you could schedule an informational interview with an employee to learn more about the firm and what they are looking for.</p>
<p>As for how competitive these jobs are...it depends on your location. It sounds like you'll be competing against all of the accounting majors at your school to work at PwC, though, so I'd keep that in mind.</p>
<p>As for what you'll make...that depends on the office. Generally, $45k-$53k, depending on the cost of living. Add $3-5k if you have a MAcc. Keep in mind, however, that most people do not go into public accounting for the salaries--after three years, everyone will want you to come work for their firm (whether public accounting, investment banking or manufacturing) due to the experience you gain.</p>
<p>I forgot to add:</p>
<p>Make sure that you have a plan for fulfilling the 150 credit hour requirement. Firms will only hire you if you have fulfilled it or have a plan to fulfill it within a reasonable time.</p>
<p>ryanbis, who do you work for?</p>
<p>I'm just relaying information from a friend who was interviewed and sought after by all 4 of the big 4 after getting his MAcc at BYU. He had them competing for him with signing bonuses, etc. He told me that the offer from PwC was the lower of the 4.</p>
<p>Right now, I work for a small CPA firm part-time. After graduation, I will be at PwC.</p>
<p>One of the CPA's at my work spent about 10 years at PWC, and he was their recruiter for the school I go to for the last 4 of those years. I currently work in the Information Systems department, but plan to do a summer internship in the accounting department, so I'll probably get to know him pretty well, and for sure he's got connections in case I want to consider PWC later.</p>
<p>311 griff,</p>
<p>u work in IT and yet want to intern in accounting? Do you have an IT based major (i.e. engineering/C.S.) or an accounting major?</p>
<p>accounting major... IS and Accounting are somewhat related, I really want to do forensics in the future.</p>
<p>does the PwC xAct competition come to you school? that is a great way to meet recruiters</p>
<p>I'm not sure, but I'll look into that. I know they do have case-competition, they took first place this year.</p>
<p>Yes, I figured if I can get my GPA up to a 3.6, and work as a public accountant for a few years with a well known firm, I'll be able to get into a Top Business School, which will eventually let me work in IB, which is eventually goal.</p>
<p>I did the xTax contest in the fall and it was a good way to get to know people. I am not sure if the internship process is the same for every school, but for me it involved three steps. The first was to apply for an interview at school at which point the firm only granted interviews to those who had the academic qualifications they are looking for. If chosen you complete your interview at school and then wait to see if you are chosen for an in-house interview. If chosen you go to the office you apply for and interview with 3-4 people usually manager to partner range. Then the last step of waiting to get picked for the internship happens. </p>
<p>I would recommend that you contact the other 3 big firms because they are all really similar aside from the firm culture. I have been to countless recruiting events and did first interviews with all 4 firms and so far have finished 2 of my in-house interviews and you will def find a firm that you like better than the others. As far as pay goes they are all competitive with each other and pay is much more dependent on your service line, educational level and location.</p>