Work Experience at PwC

It has been a long long time since I last updated my blog (the last time I updated my blog was probably when I was in US on hol last Dec). so, Beware! This is going to be a long entry!! Last Fri (7th July) was my last day of work at PwC. I was rather, or actually very, sad to leave (which I guess my fellow VTs find rather amazing, afterall in early april, we actually couldn’t wait to get out of this place!!) This past 6 months + 1 week have truly been a wonderful experience. It seemed so long ago since we first started work. Somehow, I feel like I have worked for years (even though it has only been 6 months + 1 wk). Hahaz. I still remember my first day at work. That very day, I was so so worried that I would alight at the wrong bus stop. I was trying so hard to recall which bus stop was the correct one. Fortunately I did alight at the correct bus stop. I reached slightly before 8am though, a bit crazy, but I didn’t want anything to go wrong on my first day. So I waited around china square until about 8.10am before gg up to the 12th flr. Then I realized that it was not so early after all, almost everyone was there already. I was rather surprised to find so many familiar faces on the 12th floor; dot, geraldine, jane & justine. It was a nice surprise though. I didn’t know of anyone gg to pwc. (maybe coz I just got back from US on 29th Dec & didn’t really get a chance to ask around). The first day was rather draggy though and I could almost fall asleep (esp since I haven’t fully got over my jet lag). We were waiting most of the time for the computers, our passwords and all sorts of stuff. Finally, towards the end of the day, shimin and jace taught us how to us how to use PeTS and GO. This part was really really funny. All of us VTs had absolutely no idea wad was going on (and I mean really really absolutely no idea). Only joyce knew wad was happening and I remember her asking a whole lot of questions which made us really worried since we couldn’t ask anything if we knew nothing. Hahaz (but after that, we found out that joyce was a tax consultant, so I guess it was not that bad afterall that we knew nothing). The basic personal tax course that we had was just as embarrassing. I remember Joyce telling the lecturers that maybe they have to explain to us wad is shares, wad does vesting, exercising mean before going through the tax implications (poor lecturers! They must have had a hard time trying to get us to understand even the most basic stuff). However, the great thing about this work experience was that there was a lot of hands-on. As we did the tax returns, things become clearer and soon we began to understand what our lectures at the course were trying so hard to teach us. As stef said, we are actually doing real work. Whatever we do actually goes out to the clients. (That was really the plus point of this work experience, for we had heard many things about temp jobs, being a waste of time, having to do boring photocopying and filing)

The first few months were rather slack (expect for poor Geraldine). Geraldine, grace, stef (who joined us slightly later) and me were seated at the fish tank. It was rather squeezy for the four of us, with the files flooding the little spaces around us. But that first 2 months was one of the best times we had together. It was whole lots of fun sitting so near each other, talking and laughing as we work. Sitting together at the fish tank was really one great start for it really helped us to bond together and it really helped fitting into the serious and quiet working life (especially when we began to face the hard facts of working life). I remember one senior telling a VT not to ask too many questions. That was a scary experience for us but we learnt the hard way that this is not school where our teachers are there to help us. We have to be independent and try to learn things by ourselves. But I guess these experiences really helped to build the excellent VT environment, one where we helped and learnt from each other, so naturally. I am truly grateful that we managed to click so well. We did crazy stuff together, exploring around during lunch, excitedly trying the fun of da-baoing and eating in the office) But, I guess we made too much noise at the fish tank and we were soon separated. It was sad that we were separated but fortunately we were still sitting nearby and the best thing was that we had more space.

That first few months was just so fun. I was beginning to enjoy the working life, wishing that I could just continue working forever instead of studying. There was just so so much freedom. After work each day, I had all the free time in the world. I could do anything I like, watched as much tv as I want, mad exercising or sleep as much as I want. The weekends were the best, I had absolutely nothing to worry about, no homework to do, just loads of free time. It was just too great. Work life was just so much more relaxing than schooling. I was either cycling, jogging or playing tennis after work and on weekdays. Nothing could be better than such a care-free life.

But all the fun of working started to die down as time passed (that was in early april). It was then that we realized how precious our schooling days were. Though working was so much more relaxing, more freedom, more time to do stuff we really wanted to, work life was just so dull compared to those days in school, where had so much fun and laughter admist those stressful studying worries. It was then that I really missed my schooldays and realized how precious my last 3 years of schooling was. We too started to wonder how we were ever going to survive years of working like in the near future. But I guess going out for lunch together with the VTs really helped. That one hr of getting away from the office really helped us to concentrate for the rest of the day. It is just crazy to have to sit in the office for 8 hrs, or actually 7hrs. And I am still amazed at myself for having survived that. I never ever did imagine surviving that 8 hrs a day. But I guess we realized that we had to do crazy stuff after work to make up for those boring lonely hours at work. And so we did. It was fun and crazy indeed. I still remember me and Geraldine rushing to my house after work for a few hours of night cycling. It was really cool. Those days of mad exercise really helped made life more interesting and bearable.

However, as one by one, the VTs started leaving, we began to treasure our last few days at PwC. Afterall it is only when u start counting down that you realize how little precious time you have left.

The last month at PwC was the most memorable period of my work experience. Though, it was the period when I was the busiest (before that, I was the least busiest and probably the only VT which had never been asked to do OT), it was also when I learnt the most and had the most fun (seriously!). After all, it is only when you have been through challenges that fond memories form. It was just a beautiful way to end this work experience.

Overall, it was one meaningful and unforgettable experience!! I am truly grateful for this opportunity to work at PwC, and to work with so passionate, dedicated and motivated seniors (who really made a difference to this work experience) !!