Systems Analyst - Summer Internship Review

I enjoyed that during this placement I was truly treated like an employee and not a coffee maker. I was able to help in important work and get in so much training and development. I was able to work with externals and lots of other teams internally. I had daily tasks that were important to the functions of my team.

My team was really nice. We lots of socials like pubs, sports days and treasure hunts. We encourage discussion and people are always happy to teach and share their knowledge. I would often be asked to help out in analytical work, this was good for my skills and it gave me the chance to try different types of work.

My first two days were an induction explaining the culture and safety aspects of the office (exits in case of emergencies, drills etc.). Once I joined my team I received a manual which had all my key tasks in them and how to do them. This was really helpful. I had weekly chats with my manager to see what I was doing and what could be done if I was too busy or not busy enough.

I have peaks and troughs because some of my tasks are part of a cycle. So there might be a few days in a month where I take long lunches or leave early. Then other days where I work super late or have no lunch break, but I don’t mind this as it only for a short period of time and I always take my time back in a quieter time.

I was able to do the charts and slide deck for Pre-MPC and Pre-FPC, This is was really exciting for me as it was going to meeting we always spoke about in my degree. I also have checked charts for the inflation report and I can say I have daily tasks that add value because if I am off sick or not in someone has to do them.

I have learnt a lot about being critical and connecting dots. This will definitely help me with my analysis in final year. I also improved my excel skills and ability to find data so it should help me with any module that means I have got to get data.

The office was quiet but when there was banter it was really funny. I liked that it had permanent dress down as this meant everyone was quite relaxed yet switched on. We also used to have coffee randomisers, this meant that by the end of my placement I had socialised with nearly everyone in our directorate.

It was very organised. I had lots of tasks from my first day so that I wasn't busy but I was also given room to pursue things I was interested in by fitting them around work. I had objectives and a plan of development from when I started that meant I always knew what I needed to be doing and if I was unsure there were no qualms about me asking.

I felt really invested in, I did 3 levels of excel courses, I have had Bloomberg training, I know how to source data from a range of data providers and I can also nearly write at bank standard thanks to the training courses they have supplied. They even let me go on secondment to another team for a few weeks to gain skills and learn about what they do.

They have a graduate programme which means I can convert my placement into a grad offer. To do this I need to do an assessment centre and get really good feedback from my manager. I am glad this exists and it didn’t used to and placement students would have to apply the same way as externals. The graduate programme is very organising and on completion of it you get a promotion to analyst.

There were regular socials or meet ups for drinks after work most Fridays. We also used to meet up for lunch regularly, so it was quite nice as it built up a community amongst us. This was really important because most people on our teams are quite older or quite senior in comparison to us. It could be quite cliquey at times as Bath gets a lot of placement students here.

I lived in London already so I had a lot of free cash (which I chose to save for a car). So I didn’t socialise very much, but there were lots of opportunities for drinks. I personally prefer lunches as I feel like there is a better chance to learn about my colleagues. It wasn't too expensive but I have definitely seen cheaper.

The nightlife was okay, as the average age of people working in the City isn't 21 the events are ofen ping pong, foose ball or bars or eating out. However, this is not a bad thing because it means afterwards you aren't totally smashed and can make it in to work for the next day. I think that there is a lot of choice of pubs if drinking is your activity but not extreme choice of anything else.

There are a range of clubs and societies to join. I joined Christian union, the BAME society (BEEM) and there are lots of team initiatives like wellbeing champion or diversity champion or green champion. This is a chance to get a responsibility outside of your role that you can organise activities/ competitions to raise awareness for your relevant championship.