Research Assistant Review

Placement year was very enjoyable and even exceeded expectations. There was more responsibility, variation and social aspect to the placement. The Bank and my peers also had an interest in my personal development and gave so many opportunities to focus on areas of personal interest. This was particularly good during the conversion process to applying for the graduate scheme.

Well valued and treated like an adult.

Excellent management. They are looking to manage your time to prevent being overworked and ensure that projects at any given time are well balanced and varied to keep things interesting. We would also regularly discuss career development. This includes plans for university, plans for grad schemes and even more long-term possibilities. Management will be able to guide you to other people who have previous experience in any degree background or industry, if you were interested in a particular masters or financial industry then the Bank is a great place to surround yourself with contacts who can provide advice.

While it was my responsibility to tell management if I felt busy, I always felt I needed to take on more work in order to impress. Sometimes it would pay off but for me I was often very busy. There is certainly the infrastructure to have the perfect balance, such as flexi-time and understanding managers but for me I took on too much and did not raise this as a problem.

Responsibility varied depending on the colleague. You should be able to pick up work expected of graduates, and it is this work that you can use to impress.

The skills from the day to day job is more applicable to working life than university. For me the best skills developed was engaging with stakeholders and confidently working with seniors. There is however the opportunity to attend seminars and training which is of huge benefit to university. Seminars will introduce you to high level econometrics and show you some examples of what current economics papers are researching.

Atmosphere in my office was great, particularly because I sat near other placement students (although definitely befriend others). It is ok to swing by a friends desk for a short chat and then knuckle down for work. No floors are told to be completely silent however I know on some other floors the atmosphere is less good

Well organised and always looking to improve.

Thanks to management I was able to pick up some work that meant I could improve on new skills that are not much practiced in university. For whatever the occasion there is in-house training available. There is also lots of software training which can potentially be useful for university, particularly data work around dissertation

The Bank has a programme for placement students joining the graduate programme based on their performance for the year. You can apply to other areas of the Bank and the functions it has are so diverse that this is sure to be an option for everyone to apply for. The vast majority do apply.

It is what you make of it, with a large group joining every year of course there will always be a social scene. It seems that this years intake are more sociable than mine so it can vary. I think it is very important to still socialise with placements. Even from a career perspective you can find out more about the organisation which is important when it comes to choosing career options.

Cost of living is high especially compared to uni! Beware of this when budgeting. Lunches inside are more affordable and a good time to chat with colleagues or other placements. The people at the Bank are all so friendly! I personally think London gets a worse reputation for prices than it deserves just because the pints are extortionate. You can still have a good time every weekend

Amazing, Something for everyone

There are formal societies and sports clubs but they are not popular with placement students. I suppose these could be better but it is an organisation not a university so societies are a plus. This is central London, if you want to embrace a hobby still you can for sure find people outside of work with similar interests