Actuarial Trainee Review

I really enjoyed the work I was given during the placement. Although the work was challenging at times and I was expected to meet deadlines, I found that this made the average day a lot more interesting and less like a standard "9 to 5" job.

All of my colleagues were very obliging and always happy to help with any problems I had. However, I felt especially valued by the newer graduates since there were delegating me work more frequently, giving me the opportunity to get a true taste of the work involved.

Our supervisors set up regular "catch-up" meetings with us throughout the process which involved discussing what we were enjoying about the program and raising any concerns we may have. However in terms of the work we were doing, the guidance was mainly given by the new graduates.

During the first week I was asking around the office daily for work. I felt that more work should have been organised during the first few days. However during the second week workload quickly picked up and towards the end of the placement I was verging on being too busy, although this was due to me accepting too much work, rather than it being forced upon me.

Since I was doing work that could just as easily been completed by a new graduate, I felt that I was given a lot of responsibility during my time at the company. We were expected to manage our own time and meet deadlines given to us by other colleagues, I felt like a new graduate starting the company rather than an intern.

The skills acquired were very specific to actuarial work. Although they will almost definitely be an advantage to me if I decided to pursue a career as an actuary, they weren't very relevant to my degree studies.

The atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed in the office, with no feeling of office hierarchy. I felt like a part of the office straight away and everyone was happy to help with any problems I had with the work.

I think the first week could have been more organised since I often found myself with little to do. However, the general program was well organised and had a good structure, including the project work that we did with other offices

During the first week I was given several training meetings where the main pension schemes were explained to me and also an in depth training on how to use the computer software. There were also training programs available on the computer for when the workload was a little light.

Great! They offered me a job during my last week of work!

There were many social events including Friday Drinks, Qualification parties and a work BBQ. There was also a very friendly atmosphere during lunch hour.

Since I was already a student in the area I was aware of the costs of living which is fairly cheap, although the company drinks were often in very up market bars which were a little more expensive.

The nightlife was great, lots of bars only a short walk away from the office which we'd often go to on a Friday after work.

Other than social events, there wasn't many activities that I could have got involved in outside of work. This was mainly because I didn't know if I would be offered a job at the company and therefore couldn't commit to anything for longer than 6 weeks.