Summer Associate Review

I had an incredible 10 weeks. The FCA is a very warm and welcoming environment to be a part of and everyone is eager to help and see you develop. Everyone was willing to involve me in any work they had, all of which was very interesting and insightful as the work is so unique to the organisation. I had something different to do every week, sometimes every day, which made it an exciting place to work.

My colleagues were a delight to work with. They were incredibly supportive, taking time to involve me in any of their work, helping me to learn more about the industry the team were regulating and answering any questions I had. They also gave great feedback throughout the internship which continued to make me feel like a valued member of the team.

My line manager, despite her very busy schedule, made time every week to check how I was getting on and to make sure I was making the most out of my internship. She got in contact with other teams, departments and even divisions, to make sure I got as much exposure as possible to the work that the organisation does.

At the beginning, as expected, I spent most of my time reading and developing my knowledge on the industry my team works to regulate. Once I had developed a sufficient amount of knowledge, I was involved in many different aspects of my teams work, as well as surrounding teams, which mean't that I was never really short of work.

Due to the nature of my teams work it was hard to be given a considerable amount of responsibility, such as solely taking on a case. However, I was given responsibility by getting involved in certain elements of the case work. There were also several projects I worked on where I was tasked with doing research and providing analysis on the research, which also held a level of responsibility.

Having had not previous experience in a professional work environment, The very unique time I had at the FCA and the skills, knowledge and confidence I built throughout the 10 weeks will provide invaluable to any future career and also in the work I do in my final year of university.

The atmosphere was very accommodating, warm and supportive. It is clear that everyone wants to work hard to add public value and to protect vulnerable consumers. To add, there is no sense of competitiveness in the work place, with a lot of work being collaborative. This spans from a team level over to a division-wide level.

Ultimately it is up to you how much you want to get out of the internship. HR does provide Lunch and Learns (roughly 4 throughout the 10 weeks), however other than that you are placed in teams and if you want to go elsewhere you discuss that with your manager which you organise. I enjoyed this set up as it enables you to tailor the internship into what you find most interesting and want to explore instead of having to follow a rigid structure.

Initially I found it difficult to source training to help me develop my knowledge of the industry my team worked in. I think it would have been more beneficial if HR could have helped set up a few training sessions (or even enrolled us on online training) in the initial weeks to help us settle in quicker.

I hope that I will be successful in attaining a place on the graduate scheme. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 10 weeks here. To be able to see the benefits of the work you do is very rewarding and the work/life balance that the FCA can provide creates a great environment to work in.

With a large cohort of interns, there were always people to go for a drink with or to organisation meet ups on weekends. We had a large group chat so if anyone wanted to grab a coffee or head up for lunch there was always someone to come and join you.

Prices were as expected for London. Whilst Stratford has a few bars, most people would head into the City, such as Shoreditch area, for drinks or food in the evening which can sometimes be more expensive. However the salary received throughout the internship felt more than proportional to these costs.

There are a limited number of bars in the Stratford area which are mostly proportional to the price in the City so most felt it was better to head there as there is also more choice. For a good night life you would also have to head into the City.

There are lots of sports clubs run through the organisation, such as Badminton, Rugby and Netball. In additional to that, they have social clubs as well as offering discount codes for various activities in the city, whether it be painting sessions or comedy clubs. Also the gym at the FCA runs classes every weekday.