An International Experience

It all started during my time at Penn State over three years ago. Being fortunate enough to land an internship with PwC in the Pittsburgh office in the assurance practice and then full-time employment following graduation, I journeyed through my senior year looking forward to graduation and the commencement of my career. Throughout the year, I continued networking with several PwC professionals around the region as they visited Penn State for recruiting events through my involvement in Beta Alpha Psi. Two such alums, from PwC-Pittsburgh, approached me with an interesting proposition - the chance to travel to Guinea, West Africa for two months during the year to perform a financial statement audit for a client in the Pittsburgh office! Many thoughts jogged through my head during this time. Would it be safe? What would it be like? Would I miss the luxuries of home? After careful consideration, open communication lines and a little persuasion by my friends and the PwC staff I accepted the opportunity of a lifetime.

In November 2006, as part of a group of six PwC professionals, I left Pittsburgh headed to Paris, France were we met up with a colleague from PwC-Montreal. This would only be my second time outside the United States besides small trips into Canada. As it was and still is a fall trip tradition, our team used a week of personal vacation time to tour Budapest, Hungary and Vienna, Austria before commencing our work in Guinea. During this time I bonded with my colleagues as they quickly became some of my closest friends in the firm. Finally after a little fun and sightseeing we headed into Guinea.

We flew into Conakry, the capital city of Guinea. From here we had to fly on a small turboprop owned by the client to Kamsar an hour north of Conakry by air. What an experience! The poverty in this part of the world was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and is truly indescribable. The three weeks I spent there that first trip plus three more trips of a month each over the next year and a half would prove to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life. I met PwC professionals from Montreal, Canada and Conakry, Guinea. My client contacts consisted of individuals from Canada, France, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa who all had varying backgrounds and perspectives. What a truly Unique People Experience!

Although not the norm for first or second year associates within PwC, my international experience was the building block of my career with the firm. Similar opportunities have occurred for other individuals over the past few years. One of my closest friends in my start class spent a few weeks in Slovakia as part of PwC exchange program for his multinational client. Other professionals in my office have spent time in England, India, Italy, Brazil and many more far reaching locations within the global economy. One of my colleagues who I traveled with to Guinea and who started with the firm almost five years ago recently started a two year rotation in the Energy and Mining Group in PwC-Moscow! I talk with him on a regular basis through our internal instant messenger program to see what life and work is like in Russia.

At PricewaterhouseCoopers professionals from all lines of service are able to seek opportunities to rotate temporarily within the global network of PwC firms, usually in two to three year segments. The Early PwC International Challenge (EPIC) offers high performing professionals the chance to complete an international rotation early on in their career. The program presents our staff the chance to acquire and expand critical skills that will help them to succeed in a truly global firm while experiencing a new culture, making new friends and enjoying new life challenges. Those in the higher levels of management also participate in rotational programs. Several senior managers and partners from the Pittsburgh recently completed or started their international experience in places such as Russia, Budapest, Prague, and Germany.

We hope this attitude and approach to the global economy aligns with your professional and personal goals. Check out more about what PricewaterhouseCoopers has to offer at www.pwc.tv