Actuarial intern - retirement Review

The internship was thoroughly enjoyable. I really didnt know what to expect coming into the internship but the opportunities we have been given have exceeded my expectations. Additionally so much help has been available and even working online I was still able to meet a wide range of senior colleagues through the video calls that were set up. I have learnt so much more about the actuarial world through this internship and it has given me a great insight into a potential future role.

I felt extremely valued by my colleagues. I was worried that we wouldn't be given too much client work due to the size of the company and the importance of their work, however as time has gone on we have received more and more opportunities to take part in different areas of client work. Additionally, I was worried that colleagues may become frustrated at having to provide help, distracting them from their own work, however this was not the case at all.

The level of help has really surprised me. I thought that since this is essentially a 4-week interview we may be left to it to see how we would cope under pressure, but everyone has been really supportive. I really enjoyed having a buddy who was always eager to help with any problems and it was good that they expected you to make mistakes and so were there to help. Also, my manager couldn't have been more helpful along with other colleagues who were only ever a phone call away.

Business definitely varied day to day. Some days I would find that I had lots of work on causing some levels of stress, and even having to work through lunch hour or stay late on a couple of occasions. This was rare though. On the other hand, sometimes you would be slightly stuck for work however my manager always said just to message him if this was the case so this didn't usually last too long. It is hard in a virtual world to judge how busy somebody is though so overall I wouldn't say this was a massive issue.

We were given a good level of responsibility during our placement, definitely more than I was expecting at the start of the internship. We were able to complete various client work which was great, and there wasn't too much pressure since help was always available and we knew our work would be checked before being sent off. The only reason I wouldn't score this higher is because obviously we couldn't be doing absolutely everything due to our lack of knowledge on certain areas still.

I think it has been invaluable in terms of how much I have learnt around the work of being an actuary. I came into the internship feeling that I probably didn't know as much as i should about pensions or actuarial work, however i feel like i have a really solid knowledge of the basics now and beyond. The training was so helpful and being able to work through the actuarial fundamentals at our own pace really did help.

The internship was done online due to the pandemic, so we of course weren't able to get quite the atmosphere had we been in the office. We got to meet people however it is definitely harder to form relationships online and often speak up in larger group calls. However, everyone was so friendly and I really enjoyed the 'muddles' that were held each week as a chance to relax and then get to know people.

Yeah really organised. Each week we were given calls, training etc. in our calendars to give us a real idea of what we were doing and then our free time could be used for client work, self-study etc. Having a calendar full of meetings before we arrived was really helpful. In addition, we had meetings at the end of each week which reviewed what we had done and helped prepare us for the week ahead.

You could really tell the company cared about improving our knowledge and skills. We had technical training sessions each week, with further sessions to discuss these, and post-course exercises to consolidate our knowledge. Additionally, we also had the e-learning to complete whenever suited which really helped. We got to speak to so many different members of the office to ask questions about their role and see if it was something that could appeal to us.

I would love to have future employment with the company due to how much i have enjoyed the internship. They have made it very clear that there is potential for this and we are aware that we will be informed after the internship whether they would like us to work with them on a permanent basis. I am unsure of whether I will receive this offer yet, however i am optimistic given the good feedback we have received.

This was difficult due to social distancing etc. Because we were working at home this meant i wasn't living near anybody so didn't have the opportunity to meet any other interns in person. However, we have definitely still had the chance to communicate through video calls and group chats and have helped each other out through the process. It's a shame we coudn't have done this in person since i'm sure we could have formed some good friendships but it is more difficult to do this online.

So i have been staying at my university house which is around £90 a week without bills. Birmingham is relatively cheap to live in and there our pubs nearby which are relatively cheap. Train to the city centre is less than £2 so it isn't expensive to socialise at all.

Due to the pandemic clubs are closed, however there are a few really good pubs nearby and also so many great bars etc. in the city centre which have been great to visit during the 50% off food period

Due to working from home this has been difficult, but we have been able to attend a exam results celebrations with drinks and we have also hosted a social event of our choice to end off the internship, however this obviously would have been better in person.