Risk Modelling & Consulting Intern Review

Overall I found the internship to be very enjoyable. The work I was given was both interesting and challenging, and the days never felt dragged out.

The atmosphere at Hymans Robertson is fantastic. Everyone is incredibly friendly and there is a good deal of camaraderie within the firm. During my internship I was able to work with people at all levels of seniority, and felt a noticeable absence of hierarchy. I felt valued just as much during my interactions with student actuaries as with partners.

My main project was for a partner based in one of the other offices, which meant that I would often have to go for extended periods with little guidance. However, I was also assigned a supervisor based in the London office who was always happy to advise me on the more technical parts of my project.

I always had work to get on with and rarely felt idle.

My main project was research-based and fairly open-ended, so I was given a lot of autonomy over the direction I wanted to take my work. Many areas of my work were unfamiliar to most of my colleagues, so I certainly felt a sense of responsibility for being entrusted with them.

My work involved very significant programming and statistical modelling elements, areas which I now feel much more confident in compared to when I first started. I also had to learn about sophisticated subject matters through academic and industry papers, an experience which will certainly help me in my future studies/life.

The atmosphere in the office is very sociable, everyone is very friendly and there are lots of jokes being thrown about. Things do get a lot more focused and quieter when important deadlines are coming up.

This was the first year that internships were offered in the Risk Modelling & Consulting practice, so understandably it seemed a bit less structured than the internship with Actuarial & Benefits. However, the firm seemed very keen for feedback on how the internship could be improved.

My people manager was very pro-active in listening to and acting on my requests. My colleagues also offered me a lot of their time to go through my questions and tell me more about their work. Some more exposure to client work would have improved my experience further, but the nature of my project (which was internal) meant that this could not be fitted in.

At the time of writing, I have not yet heard the outcome of my internship. However, the overwhelming impression I got during my time at Hymans Robertson was that it is an ambitious firm looking to expand. Risk Modelling & Consulting in particular seems to be growing very quickly, with several new people joining the practice during my internship.

The other interns were all very friendly and great fun to be around. We had lunch together on most days.

I interned in London so the cost of socialising is about as high as you can get in this country.

Central London always have things going on in the evenings.

During my internship I attended the annual SIAS Boat Party, a treasure hunt, a barbecue, networking events, team socials and several team lunches. There is also a football team that everyone is welcome to participate in.