My Internship Experiences

It's almost one month since I started my 6 months internship in PricewaterhouseCoopers Kuala Lumpur. So sorry for some of you who have been wondering why on earth I'm not updating on it. Well, busy-lah! Weekends? No~ sleep time ma....Honestly, working life is tiring. I can't lie about this, right? Everyone knows it. But so far, it's not as bad. I see it as learning opportunity.

I'm going to state my opinion and stand on why do I do my internship in one of the Big 4, instead of any other middle firm. You see, there's a taboo that goes like; if you do your internship in big companies, you'll learn lesser and you only do photocopying. I beg to defer.

Exposure to multinational corporations.
Being stuck in a dusty hidden office isn't my type. I want opportunity to expose to the wide world outside. Middle/small firms are unable to bring me this opportunity as much as Big 4s do. Currently, I'm in the audit team for one of the world's largest computer manufacturer and consulting firm. I get to understand bits about the company itself. Who knows I might be working for the company one day? You have the experience there already, an additional point for you to start your career well.

Internship-easiest road to Big 4s?
According to one of my seniors, it is easier to enter Big 4s during internship period, compare if you apply after graduate. I'm not sure how true it is, but I believe that Big 4s take in interns quite leniently, as some of them take interns in bulk. It is an opportunity if you have experiences in Big 4s, and it'll be an advantage if you want to apply for Big 4 again or any other middle/ small firm (I'm sure they're more than happy?) after you graduate.

It is not about photocopying!
4 weeks down the road, I've been doing photocopying for once. In PwC office itself, interns do not have the access to photocopy machine system, unless provided by seniors. In contrast, I did hear some of the ones in smaller firms do administrative jobs instead. Therefore, interning in Big 4s is not about photocopying only! It is a taboo that all of us should clear off.

The first two weeks, I was in the office, and I learned to do financial statement review or castings. Basically, it is making sure financial statements are prepared correctly, without any conflicts and minor mistakes. The 2 following weeks, I was at the client's place, getting my hands on, bit by bit, on the audit process itself. However, the process itself is at the final stage, which is hard for me to understand more on the whole process. Basically, I am helping out the team with the final reviews and agreeing on numbers.

Of course, middle/small firms has their own pros as well. I still believe those doing in middle/small firm gets to grasp more on audit processes, and they get to go outstation (yeah we don't =.=")!

I have so much more to learn on audit field. It is a very stressful job, no doubt. Auditors never leave on time. Official time is 5.30pm but they usually leaves around 10pm. I myself as intern goes back after 7 or 8pm (I don't even dare to go back on time =.=") It's not even a peak period. I guess I'll take another 5 months to explore this field and ask myself do I really want to be in this field. Really requires a lot of sacrifices and mental preparations. And making sure I do have a car that time to drive cause it's freaking stressful and tiring to travel by public transport, with a heavy laptop, everyday. I'll be lying like dead meat when I come back around 10pm and still feeling swell the next morning ='(

I'm really looking forward to the next 5 months in Assurance- Consumer, Industrial Products and Services department. It's a relief I don't really (okay I admit, sometimes I do!) have to drag myself out from bed and whines about going to work but I do feel Monday Blues though! =S So far, so good!=)