Benefits - Actuarial Intern Review

My internship was a great experience. The TW scheme is so well-established and you get to see all different parts of the job. I got exactly what I wanted out of my time there as they try really hard to show you the whole career progression and get you involved in as much as possible.

I never felt like I was just doing a job for the sake of keeping me busy, there were deadlines for all my work and it felt like it was important I got it done and when I did they seemed genuinely appreciative.

We had a catch-up with our managers when we were halfway through our internship and were fully briefed in what was expected of us at the beginning. They kind of throw you in other than that though, which turned out to be great. You aren't there very long and to get the most out of it you really just need to get stuck in and not be guided through everything. Our managers set up a lot of meetings with various people throughout though, so they made sure that we heard the opinions of a wide variety of people.

I was in general quite busy, which is good when you're there for such a short period and it was nice to not be sat trying to find something to do. It did vary though and some days were quieter than others, but you have other projects to be getting on with, so you can dip in and out of those aswell.

Everything I was given seemed to be important to the team, for example I was involved in producing a couple of quarterly funding updates and I was left to get on with the work and was expected to hand it back so the others could continue with their parts. It was nice to feel like I was responsible for that section, but everything at TW is checked by several other people so there is also a safety net incase it does go wrong.

The technical aspect of it is not very relevant to my degree, but in terms of skills I have developed it felt like a crash course in how to deal with having a lot of work at once! I will definitely be able to prioritise work better and know to finish one thing completely before moving onto the next, rather than trying to do everything at once!

It was a very relaxed office, everyone was open so that you felt comfortable asking anyone for help. It's also all open so there are no closed doors and the senior members of the team are mixed in with everyone else, which helps make it a lot less intimidating! Everyone was up for a laugh and there was general chat most of the time, it wasn't just silent with everyone working.

I received an email from my manager the week before I started to welcome me to the office and to see whether I had any questions. This kind of summed it up really, I felt as though everything had been thought of and they were trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible. My computer didn't work for the first part of my internship, but other than that everything was set up and organised for when I arrived.

I was surprised at how much time they did invest in us considering that we weren't there very long. They set up WebEx sessions so we could learn about all the different business areas; we had lots of sessions on different topics (exams, pensions, mortality etc) and my colleagues seemed willing to give up their time to explain things that I was unsure on.

I was offered a graduate position at TW the week after I finished

There weren't many interns in the Leeds office, but there was a nice relaxed social scene with the recent graduates.

I was living in York during my placement, but the cost of socialising in Leeds didn't seem too bad.

I didn't really get chance to experience the Nightlife as I had to get a train home in the evenings, but I think that Leeds has a lot to offer as it's a big student city.

There were lots of socials whilst I was there, there were several results celebrations and I was invited to lunch with the people I worked with, so there are lots of opportunities to talk informally with people and ask any questions you have. There was also a whole team race night evening organised which was really fun, lots of people attended and it’s a very sociable office. Every week we also played sport on a Wednesday which was often ultimate Frisbee which really made you feel a part of the team and get involved.