Summer Student - Actuarial & Investment Review

As an intern, I took on various tasks from the different departments. This involved collating data, populating spreadsheets, generating reports, and more creative work like improving slides or charts. It also included staying up to date with financial and pensions news, and giving presentations. I was able to balance my workload between the different departments, and take on projects that I was particularly interested in.

I have hugely improved my excel skills, my understanding of pensions and investment, my communication skills to new audiences and my analytical skills when encountering problems.

I was given responsibility immediately as I started the internship by getting put on client work, which gave me exciting new independence in a professional setting. I always felt supported in this and that there were people to help me along. I felt that the work I was doing actually mattered, and contributed to the company.

There was lots of support and guidance during the internship. Whenever I had a problem, I didn't feel afraid to ask for help and there was always a friendly face to guide me. We each had a personal mentor, as well as a supervisor for each of the departments. There was lots of initial training to help you through and a summer student pack. When joining new projects, people were ready to help you answer any questions, as well as guide you more generally through your actuarial/investment career.

The company culture is amazing, and so many people genuinely enjoy working there with their teams. There was a good work-life balance amongst everyone, and it felt very welcoming and friendly.

I really enjoyed my internship at Barnett Waddingham. I would recommend it to anyone looking to go into pensions or investment, or even just someone who likes maths and doesn't know what to do. The work is interesting and informative, and you gain a lot of skills like excel or presenting. There is so much support and wellbeing is a huge priority, which meant that joining a professional workspace for the first time didn't feel so daunting. It was well organised, with structured training and support systems in place. Even the fact that most people who join the internship stay on at the company is a testament to their treatment of their employees, who genuinely love the company. It was a great opportunity and I feel very lucky to have had it.

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Make sure to read up on pensions news, and what's going on in the world at the moment. Don't feel like you have to get everything right or know everything - it is okay to say "I don't know!"