Business Analyst - Finance Summer Intern Review

I really enjoyed the wide expose given to us on the placement. We had two 4-week placements each, and they were in very different Finance divisions, The people were very friendly (both team and other interns), and the hours were very reasonable, the location was great, and I really learned a lot.

Once I have build some rapport/trust, my colleagues started to value me more and more. At first it was a little slow, and there's only so much you can do in 4 weeks, but soon the teams were giving me some genuine responsibility. This really depends on your team, though.

Though this depends mostly on the team and manager, I felt that the two-rotation system makes sure that you have plenty of learning support and variation. It is very important, though, that as an intern, you must communicate your goals and learning objectives clearly to your HR and line managers.

This varied a lot. Sometimes it's up to you to manage your own workload/find ways to make yourself helpful, and sometimes you're busy all day. At no time did I feel pushed to my limits with respect to hours in the office, though. Which team you end up in also has a very big impact.

As mentioned above, this depends on the amount of trust you build with your teams, but by the end of the 4 weeks in each rotation I was given genuine responsibility. It is important to realise, though, that with 4 weeks of knowledge, your role in any organisation will not be critical.

Not really. I study economics, and the experience at DB did a very good job of framing the finance I've learnt in a 'real world' situation, but the work I do at uni tends to be a lot more on the theoretical side (and a lot less relevant). I would say that uni helped me in my interview.

This depends on where you are sat, but I have found that everybody is up for a chat and a coffee if you find a time that suits. There is a genuine sense of camaraderie among the team, and the atmosphere is really nice. I may have been lucky with the people I was with, though.

Generally, the HR department did a fantastic job. There were a couple of small IT teething issues at the beginning (it wouldn't be an internship if this didn't happen!), but during the 9 weeks, we've had several very senior people come to talk to us, panel discussions, division-specific networking, and more.

As above, the internship included many very useful talks and skills sessions. The first week tackled a lot of soft skills training, and the technical skills were generally learned on-the-job. The main investment, though is that the internship is a gateway into the grad scheme, with many interns being offered grad roles.

When I started, I wasn't sure if the industry was necessarily right for me, let alone DB. Having almost finished my 9 weeks, I have changed my mind completely - the banking industry is really interesting, and I really like the people-centric culture at DB (sounds corporate-speaky, but really, I think the culture here is far less aggressive than other, particularly American, banks, and it's much easier to get along with people).

The social scene was good, though aside from the first week and the last day, interns in different divisions had no organised events to meet up. I saw a lot of the other Finance interns (mostly because we made a point of seeing each other), and caught up with a few others outside finance. Really, it is up to you to get in contact.

Unfortunately, this is based in the City of London - there are ways to circumvent the crazy-high prices around, but generally speaking, expect high prices. That said, DB pays interns very well, and I have many friends working around the same area with far less compensation, or even being unpaid.

I'm putting down an 8 because (shamefully), I didn't go out at all during my internship. That said, it is not because you can't do it, but because I'm an old man at heart. Of course, mid-week benders are not advised, but the area is full of some very well known clubs (XOYO, etc.), and many of my fellow interns did so.

There weren't many - most of these are organised for full time employees, and so they fell outside the summer (during holiday period). That said, there was a very enjoyable CSR day hosted in Clapham Junction (and other locations) for all of the interns, and it was very well organised and catered.