Grace began her PwC journey whilst at university by joining us during her penultimate summer on one of our internship programmes. Having seen the potential of what a career within Data could deliver, Grace re-joined the same team on a full-time graduate programme the following year.
With an integrated Masters in Maths, Grace joined the then called Data Assurance team without a Technology focused degree but with a determination to learn, and passion to develop.
“I’ve always enjoyed logic and problem solving, and I’m passionate about maths. During my degree, we had an introduction to coding module, and I realised how much I enjoyed it. Throughout my years at university, I developed foundational skills in Python and R, through a mixture of introductory classes and self learning, and I decided that I would like to pursue a career in it. When looking for an internship, I didn’t initially realise how tech-focused the PwC Data internship would be, but it turned out to be perfect for me!”
Outside of work Grace likes to spend time with her family, including meeting up with her mum for Zumba classes, completing running challenges and challenging her fiancé to computer games in the evenings. She also runs a non-profit volunteering organisation, which aims to remove barriers to technology for people and organisations.
Grace is also a big advocate for raising awareness of technology careers for women and has taken part in recent Tech She Can events. Tech She Can is a commitment by UK organisations to work together to increase the number of women working in technology roles.
The Data team has come a long way since Grace joined in 2017, and she now works in the Innovation, Data Engineering and Advanced Analytics team.
Having spent the last few years upskilling herself through a variety of internal training programmes, one of Grace’s biggest achievements has been re-joining the British Athletics partnership as their Infrastructure and Development Team Lead, having originally worked on the project as a Junior Developer 18 months prior.
“Working with the British Athletics team has been incredible. We follow a clear process of identifying, collecting, analysing and presenting insights from all the recent and historical data available about its athletes, from health statistics to strength diagnostics, training and performance, all in one place. We know even the smallest detail can make the biggest difference.
Data is often talked about in terms of its value. But on its own, data has little inherent value. At PwC we know the real value of data comes not just from collecting it, but from using it effectively.
This isn’t about replacing the value of experienced coaches with incredible insights of their own. It’s about giving those coaches more information to make even better decisions that will ultimately help athletes improve performance and achieve more.”
Being part of such inspiring work from the start of her career was one of Grace’s initial surprises about her PwC career. Working with clients across a range of industries gives our people the chance to explore not only different technologies, but gives our people the opportunity to really find what intrigues them and ultimately where they can invest their passion.
“I was always surprised how much programming and technical work I had the opportunity to be part of at the start of my career. I’m glad I’ve been able to be a part of PwC’s technology journey and have been given the opportunity to continue developing my skills every day.”
Personal upskilling is at the forefront of our people agenda, with everyone encouraged to take advantage of the training available throughout the year. For Grace she’s worked towards certifications which have enabled her to develop some of the key skills she uses in her day-to-day role, such as the Python Certified Associate Programmer and AZ-900 Azure Fundamentals.
For those who don’t come from a technical background but are keen to explore the different areas of Technology that exist at PwC, remember that your training is supported by experts in their field and training begins at beginner level. Most of our graduate programmes require no previous experience but a passion to develop and explore learning.
We’ve asked Grace for her advice for those looking to start a career in one of PwC’s Technology teams;
“My top piece of advice is to believe in yourself. You don't have to have a computer science degree or be a whizz at programming to have a successful career in tech. It can seem like quite an intimidating industry to come into, but actually you’ll find people from all sorts of backgrounds with all sorts of different experiences.”
