Pensions & Investment Analytics Intern Review

My role involves developing existing company digital models and products, by adding desired features, as well as testing existing structures before their release. Once assigned a task, I work independently on this, but with regular check ups from my graduate buddy and plenty of opportunity to ask questions. I also attend department meetings, catch up, and drop in sessions, as well as regular training sessions specifically aimed at interns to improve our business and industry-specific knowledge.

Before starting this internship, I had never used the coding language C# before and have since been taught it from scratch. I now feel very comfortable using this language and feel that I have enhanced my knowledge of coding in general. We have also been given a number of training sessions on actuarial and finance topics, helping to boost my understanding of these business areas. Aside from this, I can feel my confidence in communication improving. Whether it be asking questions to more senior members of the team or presenting a piece of code I have been working on, there have been plenty of opportunities to improve this skill.

I have been given opportunities to work on code that is used across the company, adding new features to existing products the company has. I have also had tasks involving the testing of existing code and front-end products. Working on these real-world tasks was a responsibility I really appreciated and have, so far, had plenty of chances to do. The team has made a great effort to give us interesting, approachable jobs that contribute to the business itself.

I received a lot of support throughout my internship, most notably during the first two weeks where we spent this time learning to code in C# from scratch with help from the current graduates on the team. They also scheduled us in to the actuarial training sessions to help us gain a wider industry-specific understanding of the work we would be doing before we even started. Even once I was working on real projects, I had an assigned graduate buddy to support me throughout this, as well as a whole team of others who were available to ask questions to.

The company has a very relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. They organised a number of social events during our time with the team to help us integrate better, including a team meal out and a department sports day. There were also smaller things, like the number of team members who came to check in on us and find out what we were up to and offer their help. This all contributed to a great sense of community. The team also hold weekly drop in sessions for anyone to bring questions to, which helped show that this supportive atmosphere is present throughout the team, not just to interns.

I am thoroughly enjoying my internship. I feel that I have learnt a huge amount over a short space of time and got some very useful experience of working life. I have gained skills in programming and have grown in confidence thanks to the whole experience. I have felt supported the whole time and able to ask questions and get advice from everyone on the team. Overall, my experience has been very positive in all aspects of my internship.

Yes

You have to have a willingness to learn and not be put off by things you haven't seen before and don't know much about. It is important to show perseverance and dedication, because the work will not be easy and you will, at some point, get stuck. The support offered is excellent and the training is of a great standard, so don't be afraid to ask for help. The company works in a number of different areas so be sure to research which best suits your interests and look for opportunities in those fields.