Actuarial Intern in Retirement/Benefits Review

Overall a fantastic insight into the Actuarial profession, I really felt like I was part of the team. The office was fantastic and the people were very welcoming and I was given a great insight into the work you would do, not just as a graduate but all the way to the senior level. There was also fantastic training sessions that gave you a great overview of all the important areas of the profession in case in the 6 weeks you didn't get enough of an overview with the work that you were doing, and right up to the senior staff everyone was there to answer any questions that you might have about anything.

The Leeds Office was fantastic, everyone was really friendly and the office atmosphere was really fun and interesting. From the lower levels to senior management everyone was really approachable and had time to answer questions and get to know me. Colleagues also gave me interesting work and went that extra mile to explain and give background to any work that I did. The work that I did also felt important and I was given plenty of feedback on any work that I produced.

The support from the management and my line manager was also great, they were always there to answer any questions or concerns and always checked in to make sure everything was going well.

Although there were some quiet days, there was always work to do, and people really made an effort to give you work but always ask how busy you were so that you weren't overwhelmed. There was also weekly workflow meetings which meant that you could communicate with the team whether you could pick up some extra work or needed to pass some work on as you were to busy. On a daily basis, when times got quieter there was always project work that you could be doing and information to read through from the training sessions, so you could get a better understanding.

Considering I was only a intern for 6 weeks, the responsibility that I had was fantastic. I had my own email and phone line, which I had to manage myself and deal with calls and emails. I also had responsibility on the work that I had, in managing my work load and taking on work from people, as well as managing my time with the Project work that I did. With the work itself it was really well explained and I had real responsibility in that it was up to me to complete it, although as with all work at Towers Watson it is checked by other staff members before going to the client, so you knew that you weren't going to damage the reputation of the company through an error.

I was given numerous training sessions, going through all aspects of an Actuary's work and although the skills may not initially assist my degree studies they definitely will help me going forward after my degree. There was also lots of training on Excel and working with Outlook and Powerpoint as well as the other Towers Watson Programs, meant that the skills have vastly improved in these programs over these six weeks, which will help in my degree studies and beyond that as well.

The office atmosphere was really fun and relaxed and I felt like I could talk with any staff member about any questions that I had, even when people were busy, there didn't feel like there was a divide between senior managers and staff members.

Very well organised, work was available from day 1 and I attended 3 days in the London offices, 1 at the beginning of the internship, 1 in the middle and 1 at the end, which really allowed you to get to know the other interns around the country. The project that you worked on with 8 other interns around the country was also really well organised with conference call lines and emails set up. All training sessions and meetings were also well organised and overall everything ran smoothly.

As mentioned before there was loads of fantastic training sessions throughout the internship on all the areas of pensions, and all were really helpful and insightful. There was also lots of training when work was given to me, in terms of not just what was required but also lots of background to the work as well. Overall training was fantastic.

Both interns last year in the Leeds office were offered permanent jobs, and although I have not yet heard back the job prospects look good.

There was another intern in retirement in leeds and 2 other interns in investment, there was various trips to the pub and the other retirement intern and the retirement team and I, always went for lunch together. The interns around the UK were also very sociable and in the trips to London we caught up and went for drinks.

Leeds is a really cheap place and nights out and meals were very reasonable, it all depended on where you went. On some of the early nights and events with the office, drinks were bought on a tab or by fellow colleagues as well.

Really varied, lots of great bars and pubs with a variety of prices. I didn't really see all of Leeds so cant comment entirely, but what I saw was great.

There was loads of activities outside of work, we had regular weekly ultimate Frisbee, which was great fun and really accessible. There was also a five-a-side football league team to get involved in. There was also events on during the internship, and with the world cup on trips to the pub after work happened a lot. Alongside these activities lunch time and in particular Friday pub was always a great way to get to know everyone.