Technology Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 12 month placement at Nomura. There were 16 of us in total in the yearly intake, this was a great situation to be in as there were 15 others in the exact same position as me. It was also nice to be incorporated in with the summer internship students over the June-August period as this gave us a chance to interact with others.

I definitely felt valued by my colleagues. Over the 12 months here I became an SME (Subject Matter Expert) in a particular process, which meant my peers and other senior members of staff were asking for my help, guidance and advice, which was great situation to be in - particularly whilst still being a student.

We had a mentor scheme which meant that another member of staff in a similar work area (but not the same team) would meet with us in an informal environment to discuss our progress, team, workload and future career prospects. I met with my mentor on a monthly basis and found it extremely useful.

I had a project management role, this meant that I was given the responsibility to manage my own time - this means if something needed done quickly, it had to be done - in my team in particular this sometimes meant days were very fast paced and busy - but this is what I thrive off of. Other days if I didn't quite get a task finished - I could just pick it up tomorrow. It was all about deadlines and managing your time efficiently.

I was given the most amount of responsibility possible - this included running a global project and interacting with important senior stakeholders. I couldn't quite believe the responsibility this entailed - I almost felt spoilt with it. I was also able to pick up a variety of different tasks/projects by just asking for involvement - this is encouraged.

In all honesty, I didn't have a very technical placement - but this is because I didn't really want one. I do Computer Science at University, however my role at Nomura was not technical, it was more about developing my soft/management skills. However I do think that skills learnt this year will become very useful in future work environments.

Business-like, it's a formal office environment. Some dress down casually on a Friday, but this seems to be team dependent. There is a relaxed feel about the people in the office though, you could speak to anyone at any time - which was a great way to get to know senior management.

In the summer months when we overlapped with the summer intern students it was extremely organised - from the training to the social events set up for us. As 12 month placement students we then had 3 month, 9 month and 12 month reviews - these were very structured and useful.

We often completed in-house compulsory training to ensure that we were up to date with current standards and regulations. This was useful however compulsory for everyone. I believe that as a permanent member of staff there can be opportunities for further training and or events, conferences etc, however this was not made clear over the 12 months.

I would love to go back to work at Nomura. I met all sorts of incredible people during my year here and I hope to keep in contact and work with them in the future. There are specific job roles that I would be interested in coming back to, similar to my placement role, other members of staff often ask about this.

In the summer months when we overlapped with the summer intern students the social events were often set up for us. A particular benefit of being an employee at Nomura is the roof terrace where they offer subsidised drinks on a Thursday. However during the rest of the year we were left to organise social events between ourselves (as interns). My own team however were not very sociable.

Very expensive! It is central London so you wouldn't expect anything else. Of course there are 2 for 1 nights around and happy hours - you just have to go on the hunt for them. Living is also very expensive, you have to weigh up travel time, cost of living etc.

Very expensive! It is central London so you wouldn't expect anything else. Of course there are 2 for 1 nights around and happy hours - you just have to go on the hunt for them. There are plenty events on at the weekend, however these tend to be aimed more at students.

There were many sports activities and volunteering opportunities. You also had the chance to set something up if you wanted it.