Actuarial Assistant Review

I enjoyed every aspect of my placement. The work was very interesting and challenging, and I learnt a huge amount about the pensions sector and actuarial work. I was given the opportunity to take the first exam towards qualifying to be an actuary. I got on with all my colleagues and I also enjoyed taking part in various socials and sporting events.

Even though I was a placement student I was always treated the same as all the other staff. I had the opportunity to work with the majority of the actuarial team in my office, and I felt like a valued member of the team.

The students have a weekly meeting to discuss work loads and this ensured that everyone was on track for the week. It was easy to approach anyone in the office for help. My supervisor also dedicated a large amount of time to complete my university placement reports, and helped me to set and complete relevant targets.

The majority of the time I had the correct amount of work, enough to keep me going but not too much to stress about. There were only a very few amount of times that I felt like I did not have enough work, and whenever I was too busy it was easy to shuffle work around the team to take the pressure off.

I was treated the same as any other graduate and took part in many important tasks and projects. As is the company policy all of my work was always checked by a senior member of the team but I was still expected to complete work by myself. I was also given the opportunity to work on 2 non-standard projects that required a lot of intuition.

My placement has 100% confirmed the career path I want to take and a years experience in the actuarial field is invaluable to gaining a graduate position.

Everyone at my office was polite and easy to speak to. I made many firm friends in my office and found I could talk to anyone.

I always felt like a permanent member of staff and my supervisor took lots of time to help me with my placement requirements for university.

I was given full training when I started, and attended regular top-up training throughout my entire placement. I was given the opportunity to study for and take my first exam. In addition my supervisor made sure I was completing tasks relative to my objectives and I also had the opportunity to improve my presentation skills on numerous occasions.

I was offered a graduate position.

Many of the team were keen to socialise and we had various exam-related socials and went to the pub at lunchtime most Fridays. The only downside was that because it was a rural office not located in the middle of a town or city, it made it more difficult to arrange socials.

The area I lived and worked in was a lot cheaper than places such as London. However it wouldn't have easily been possible to live there without a car which did cost more to have. Also socials were often costly because of paying for taxis home.

The office was located in a very rural area without much nightlife. However it was not far to travel to the centre of Birmingham where we had many socials.

As well as usual socials there were inter-office sporting events and sporting events with the Birmingham Actuarial Society. I competed in the inter-office netball and football team and represented my company playing in a dodgeball tournament, and a uni-hockey tournament.