The McGladrey Experience from an Intern’s Perspective

Written by Kelly Austin
Tax Intern
Seattle, WA

Interning with McGladrey has been an amazing experience. I started out in January with my new suitcase on my way to Chicago like all the other winter interns. I soon found out that Chicago really meant St. Charles, about 1.5 hours outside the city (depending on if there is a snow storm on your way to the airport). The accommodations were the best you would think about receiving in a converted college campus. Restaurant quality food was everywhere. Every night I could not leave the dining hall without my frozen yogurt, strawberries, and almond sundae. I think I still have dreams about it.

I also had some of the best training I have ever received. I was so glad to have Brandy Burns as one of my instructors. She is great at explaining tax to someone who has only taken one tax course! What I loved most about the training was the opportunity to meet all the other tax interns from across the country. It was so cool to meet all the different interns with different backgrounds, all learning tax from a different perspective. I really felt like I could fit into the McGladrey culture.

I returned from my training to meet my “buddy” who really took the time to help me get acclimated to working at McGladrey. She was always there for me whenever I had questions or just needed to talk to someone about how things were going. The people here are phenomenal. I feel so lucky to get to work with fun, smart, and funny professionals every day. I will have so many memories of the associates and directors around me quoting funny lines from movies every day.

I really enjoyed the opportunity I had to get to know the partners. The culture here is such that I can go talk to anyone about anything. They were all very open to talking to me and helping me through my internship. Even the Northwest Tax Lead Partner knew who I was! Working with the people I aspire to be, allowed me to see what it takes to be successful. I will always take that with me throughout my career.

Besides all the great fun I have had with the people at McGladrey, I really enjoy working in tax. Helping clients save money and helping the company succeed is a very rewarding feeling that I wish everyone could experience right out of graduate school.

Interning during busy season is like a rollercoaster. It starts out really slow. I was learning at my pace and looking at the different aspect of tax. Then busy season hit, and it is like going a 100 miles an hour trying to get returns out the door and then it is over; quiet and calm and relaxed. I can’t speak for what tax is like during the other 8 months of the year, but this internship has been a great ride that I would love to ride over and over again. Or really just once, maybe twice a year :-)

Learn more about internships at McGladrey: Click here.