PwC Senior Associate reviews

You work with motivated people. Mostly that motivation comes through fear, habit or ambition, rather than true appreciation for what you are doing, but it sure beats working with/for people who go to work to kill time until they get to leave. Granted, those people still exist, but the culture is such that those types of people are rewarded and will end up leaving the firm. I work with bright people on things that are interesting or intellectually challenging. So, the work is doable. Compared to other big 4 firms, I feel safer knowing that we had fewer layoffs and bigger raises than many competitors. Much of that is attributable to luck I am sure, since we lost fewer large clients to the financial crisis--PwC audited BOA and JMPC, not Bear Stearns and Merrill. Culture is conservative and focus is to perform quality work. I feel like we spend a good amount of time getting the right answer rather just a documented answer-which makes me more comfortable working here. I get great exposure to senior levels up the pyramid given my current level within my specific group--which is much more flat and avoids the more bureaucratic structure other may experience. My compensation is fair and I feel like I have people for whom I have worked that I can rely on to present my case at year end for reviews.

The level of politics is relatively minimal compared to investment banking and private equity. The people are friendly and treat one another with respect. The culture maintains a very high level of professionalism.