Summer Analyst Review

Great office to work in (Canary Wharf). Surrounded by dedicated and talented people wherever you go. Demanding work that tests your metal, you are treated as a full time hire and given appropriate responsibility.

Everybody has their own deadlines and project work, so it can be difficult to make a dent in someone's calendar. But, this is the most demanding and most ruthless industry in the world, so I was not surprised.

Could always approach my manager, his manager, my mentor or anyone else with my questions and they'd be happy to answer them. My manager encouraged and had me take business skills training, which proved invaluable as it's an area I've never been exposed to before in my life. However; nobody here will do your project work for you. You have to deliver on what you promised.

I worked 10-12 hour days on average, but this is not expected from an intern. If you like the work you do, time flies, so this was a non-issue for me.

I felt I started out doing less critical work but established my skills after a week or two and was able to take the projects further - putting code into production, delivering software that the business actually had asked for. I was not doing my manager's pet project or anything like that.

It taught me a lot about work ethics and responsibility, not to mention having meetings with very senior staff where I am expected to demonstrate my work and convince them that I am valuable employee.

Fairly quiet due to not being on a trading floor, but I prefer it that way.

HR did a really good job here.

Full access to online training facilities (some needed to be cleared by your manager, however). With this internship, your training as a full time employee begins to them - they will invest in you rather than exploit you for 8 weeks.

I was successful.

Often met for drinks and other occasions.

London is expensive and I did not really care to make friends outside of work.

Canary Wharf has mostly bars and restaurants, but if you feel the need to go clubbing after work, the tube is right there.

Several events hosted by HR, including an involuntary charity project which was cancelled due to scale exceeding capabilities. It was replaced with a smaller, voluntary charity project. I felt some events were a bit too much.