IT risk and assurance intern Review

The placement was made enjoyable by both the people around me and the variety of tasks that I was given. Not only the other interns, but also the EY staff and ACPs all were incredibly conscientous and thoughtful, going out of their way to find work and be as accommodating as possible.

I had the opportunity to work with a number of colleagues during my time at EY. All of these colleagues were incredibly caring, viewing me not as an archetypal intern who they could just chuck work onto, but as a valuable member of the organisation, providing feedback and insight to help better myself.

My supervisors gave a plethora of guidance and support throughout my internship. This was most clearly shown by the networking opportunities they gave me, as well as the chance to pursue a wide variety of work. They also gave me a great deal of support when actually performing my work, making time to answer any questions I had.

For the first week of the internship I was not very busy, and I spent a lot of my time using web learning tools and learning SQL. I soon learned that the onus to find work was on me, and I began to widen my network and pursue more work, where I stayed busy from then on.

My supervisor placed a good deal of responsibility for my engagement projects. As I began to do more work and get accustomed to the protocols, she placed more and more trust in me to carry out the projects assigned without constant monitoring. I was then able to provide good work to her which she appreciated.

The skills that I gained, both hard and soft, will prove invaluable in my career. My specific service line offers a wide range of skills that not all interns and graduates will have the opportunity to pursue, which will help me in my future, whether in EY or somewhere else.

The general atmosphere of the office was far more comfortable than my previous internship at a bank. The culture of EY is definitely one of the most favourable aspects which I definitely enjoyed. There is a good balance of responsibility and supervision in the company which contributes to solid work.

The overall organisation was very strong from start to finish. It was clear that a lot of time and planning went into organising this program and I appreciated this. From the networking opportunities and social provided to the graduates and seniors that helped me, everything felt open to me and I didn't ever feel like an outsider.

Throughout the program, I was offered a plethora of opportunities for self development, from web learning to networking. I utilised a web learning tool to verse myself in SQL and was able to network with a wide variety of seniors and ACPs to get a good understanding of many aspects of the company.

The only thing that puts me off future employment prospects is the initial starting salary. However, at EY there is clear opportunity for growth. The culture and people of the organisation also contribute to a healthy working life. I am very much considering staying with EY in order to further my career.

Among the interns as well as the graduates and specific teams, being social was highly encouraged. This helped build rapport between teams and employees and really helped to break any barriers that existed. This made it very easy to network with others and really feel as though I was a part of my team.

Being in London, the cost of living and socialising is not cheap. Living with family made it cheaper to actually live in London, but the costs of socialising are still quite high. This limited the amount I felt comfortable to socialise as often I tried to remain frugal given the salary we had.

The nightlife overall in London is very good, though sometimes it requires a bit of travel. Again given the cost of socialising and going out I tried to refrain from going out too often. However it was a great way to connect and socialise with other interns which I appreciated.

EY is a strong advocate of a work life balance, offering a range of extracurricular activities. This included a wide range including sports, team socials, language learning opportunities and more. Given my short stay I didn't get too involved, however in the future I would definitely look to join some of these.