Summer Internship - Data Analyst Review

I really enjoyed the whole experience of working for the Bank of England. The first week or so was slow (naturally), as I was reading about the internal processes of what my team does and how to approach my project. After this, the workload picked up and I was busy doing my project and other business as usual tasks. The work I was given wasn't busy work or menial tasks created especially for me - it was something had would've otherwise been done by a full time analyst. This was great as I felt useful throughout my time.

Although my team was mainly senior employees at the Bank which didn't offer the chance to connect with recent graduates/joiners, I was made welcome and everyone was offering to answer any questions or queries throughout the internship. It really showed that they valued my presence as well. Highly valued in that my opinion was considered and listened to in various meetings, at times being actively asked to share my thoughts. My work contributed to the general output of the division, as well as my own research project which my colleagues got engaged with as well.

I had regular meetings with my line manager with a lot of opportunities for feedback. My manager also arranged for me to go on a course to learn to use statistical software which was very helpful in working on my project. Weekly meeting with line manager, whether it was administration or some questions about work. Friendly, helpful, and made it comfortable to ask any questions.

In the mornings I would rush to complete my daily task which had a midday deadline, and in the afternoons I would have work to do about 50% of the time, so often I'd read the news online, or I would go for meetings with bank staff - this was actually really interesting or fun, and was encouraged by my manager. I actually met some people quite high up in management, and gave them the same complaints I write here.

My main project was something that my team had to produce regardless of whether they had an intern or not. The other tasks I was given were also pieces of work that the team needed to get done. I was treated like a proper analyst and given a good amount of responsibility (bearing in mind I was completely new and only there for a number of weeks). There was no hand-holding, but at the same time if I needed help support was always there.

I would say the work I did is not directly relevant to my degree as it is very technical and sector specific. I would say, however, that the skills I have learnt would be directly transferable to any similar role within the financial industry. Additionally, the soft-skills which I have developed will definitely be useful going forward.

Friendly, but not invigorating. While in other areas of the Bank people were extremely passionate and interesting, in financial accounting people did not seem to love their jobs. My supervisor eventually admitted to me that they disliked the menial nature of their work, that when they applied they had thought it would be a financial analyst role, and that they were leaving very soon.

While I was meant to have a research project and a presentation, because the final presentations were not HR audited, myself and many other interns were never given a project, instead being used like operations interns. This year's winners of the Banks blockchain competition, all highly skilled developers, were asked to update descriptions the banks internal website, having been promised an exciting technology internship. HR displayed an impressive inability to place people effectively, and often ignored emails and questions. My request to return to my old team, who wanted me back, was entirely ignored.

The Bank encourages personal development hugely with weekly events/ seminars /talks across the Bank. As an intern this was really useful and training was offered where needed. The scope of the training available was quite diverse. However, on some courses, numbers are limited which can be quite annoying if you can't sign up in time.

Really good. The interns are rated on an internal scale, and if we receive a good rating by our managers we are considered for a graduate job (without having to apply again). It is worth remembering that the BoE is public sector, and so pay is not comparable to investment banks/private sector. This being said, the work-life balance is hard to beat whilst still working for an extremely important organisation at the forefront of the economy.

A good number of other interns were up for going out after work and meeting up. There are always going to be different types of people, but I felt it was easy to get along with at least some of the other interns. People are friendly and happy to grab a drink or two most of the time, and there was a limited feeling of competition for a graduate place.

It's the City - drinks, food and everything costs loads (especially if you are at university outside of London and not used to London prices). I wouldn't expect to save a lot from the pay, especially if you have to rent a place for the 8 weeks. But its all part of the fun. The Bank is in the financial district in central London, so it is unlikely to be cheap.

There are a lot of pubs/bars nearby which are always popular on Friday nights. I went to a few of these with the other interns. The nightlife seems to be very good in this area, but I wasn't there long enough to experience a lot of it personally. From Bank, its easy to get anywhere around London so meeting friends who work at other places isn't too much trouble. Overall a good nightlife.

There is a gym on site. The Bank also has a sports club at Roehampton which interns get free access to. This has a wide array of sports teams rugby, cricket, football etc and a variety of teams which play for fun or competitively. However the focus of everything was in the work place, which is how I think it should be.