I joined PwC Isle of Man only a month after my 18th birthday. I spent the next four years in audit while studying for my ACCA Qualification.
When I qualified in September 2020, I was promoted to Senior Associate. At this point, I started to consider what my next step should be, so using the firm’s global mobility programme I transferred to the Dallas office in November 2021.
There’s a big world out there, and I want to see and experience as much of it as possible
At the start of my teenage years, my mother found a newspaper article about the growing number of jobs available for school-leavers where you could work full time while also studying, the tuition being paid for by the firm. This was very attractive to me, and audit firms on the island were one of the main employers offering these programmes. I always really enjoyed maths, and was inspired by my teacher Mr Harding, so I decided to apply and gained a place on the programme.
The move from the Isle of Man to Dallas is a long jump, which was the whole point of it. There’s a big world out there, and I want to see and experience as much of it as possible. I moved away but staying within PwC meant everything felt strangely normal. It has already forced me to develop a massive amount, both professionally and personally, which can only be a positive.
I’m focusing on making this move as much of a success as possible. I have a long-term vision for where I want to go with my career and life, but I also know that things could all change, having lived and worked in a totally different place for a year. I’m just taking things step by step rather than thinking too much about future career plans.
What I enjoy most about my job are the people and the variety. People really make a place and both on the Isle of Man and in Dallas, I’ve loved working at PwC. As an auditor, you also get to see so many different companies, which gives you a breadth of experience that you wouldn’t find in many roles.
I have a long-term vision for where I want to go with my career and life, but I also know that things could all change
Texas’s main opportunities and challenges stem from the number of people moving here. This brings so much knowledge, capital and diversity that will drive the state’s growth, but it also means challenges, such as building the infrastructure quickly enough to keep up.
One of my biggest achievements was not giving up when I finished my first ACCA evening tuition session. I found that everything I owned was packed into three cardboard boxes in an apartment away from home, with the prospect of very challenging exams to study for while working full time with people I didn’t know. For a few days I felt as low as I’ve ever known, and I could have very easily decided to abandon it all. I’m so glad I didn’t because otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today.
When I was young, I wanted to be a pilot, but I think I would probably have ended up working with numbers if I hadn’t become an auditor. I liked politics at school, so perhaps I would have gone into policy development and communication.
Outside of work, I really enjoy reading, football – or ‘soccer’ as I must now call it – and Formula 1. I’ve booked to go to the Grand Prix in Austin this year. I love travelling and will use my new location as a springboard to see new places and cultures.
