Research Assistant Review

The Bank of England run a 13 month placement, and I still have 2 and a half months left, but I have really enjoyed it so far. I work in Monetary Analysis, and where you are placed has a great impact on your experiences. I expressed an interest for Monetary Analysis during my interview. I have enjoyed it because I've felt that my work has had an impact of this function of the Bank, I've been involved in or able to experience high-level decision making and meetings within the Bank, and because of frequency of which economic theory is used. Therefore I would highly recommend a placement at the Bank for someone who is truly passionate about economics, because I was constantly working with important various economic indicators and variables, and our team held many in-depth topical discussions about economics and the various models. Although the amount of economics you use depends on where you are in the Bank, it is because of this use of economics that I feel like the Bank is the best place to work for economics.

My team was very inclusive and initially gave me the space and support I needed to learn my role and become comfortable. This is eased by a month handover process from the previous placement student. After that and as my skills and confidence were built, I was made to feel like a real member of the team, and they valued my contribution. As you will encounter when working in a team in any organisation, you will occasionally work with awkward colleagues who may abuse their position somewhat, but if you take the correct steps in reporting these concerns it will be dealt with. There is also a real mix of ages, and to a lesser extent, backgrounds, so it is easy to make some great friends.

My management were always on hand to support me, and I had weekly catch up sessions with each of my supervisors to ensure I didn't have any concerns and that I was receiving all the support I needed. My manager was very friendly and I would never hesitate to raise an issue with them. However you must remember that effective support from management and supervisors is a two-way street - you must keep them in the loop and inform them if you have any concerns or problems.

In Monetary Analysis, there are many tasks and events that occur every month. Therefore we have a monthly round (as well as a quarterly round) which guarantees you will be busy on certain days/weeks of each month. You will also receive various ad-hoc requests to keep you busy. However I did occasionally get some quiet time, and as you progress you can use this time to work on a more advanced project or analytical piece, which I found hugely rewarding and stimulating. Sometimes the less-frequent busy days can be incredibly busy, which other members of the team may not fully appreciate, but it is generally work that you need to do yourself. Therefore it is important to be good at managing your time and your tasks, and you will have to work the occasional overtime hours, but you are compensated for this.

The amount of responsibility I was given varied throughout my time at the Bank. For example once you are comfortable with your day-to-day jobs, it is your responsibility to do these and your team relies on you for this support. As mentioned above, as you progress and manage your time effectively you can get the opportunity to produce extra analytical work, either independently or in a team, which is very satisfying. However, you may occasionally find that if you are receving many short-term ad-hoc requests, particularly if you work with a colleague who is prone to asking you to do many things, this can actually get in the way of you getting involved with analytical work and increasing your responsibility. Overall, I felt that my level of responsibility grew over the course of my placement, but how much extra work you can get involved in also depends on what area of the Bank you work in.

Working full-time at the Bank has helped me to develop a professional attitude and productive mindset which is often absent in many students. I have also learnt so much more about Excel, as well as some limited Eviews and Stata skills. On top of this I am now more comfortable working with economic variables and analysing data, and know what is important to policymakers. I believe that seeing how these data and economic models are used and interpreted in the real world will help me with my final year at University as it has given the variables a greater meaning.

As mentioned before, my team was very friendly, so there was always a safe and happy atmosphere in the office. The office was usually very quiet for concentration reasons, but if people are free they are always happy to talk. The team would often eat lunch together, and occasionally we went out for drinks after work.

The placement was very well structured with a few days of induction at the start and various catch up and feedback sessions throughout. My management would ensure that I got enough support and knew what I needed to do to succeed. The tasks required of my position in the team were also set at a good level - accessible, but not so easy as to not stimulate you or hold your interest.

As well as the mandatory induction programme which mainly consisted of basic training and health & safety information, my managers were more than happy for me to any training course I wanted to. The Bank holds loads of courses within the building. I went on a few different Excel courses, as well as an Eviews course and a VBA course for advanced macros, but they also hold courses on soft skills such as presentation techniques, writing for busy readers, and the chance to do the ECDL or AECDL qualification. I didn't do either of these IT qualifications as although I am sure it is useful, I chose to use my free time complete analytical research-based work instead.

I am hoping to return to the Bank as an economist working in Monetary Analysis. You currently need a Masters qualification to work as an economist, but they are currently in the process of changing the graduate scheme and potentially relaxing that requirement. But having worked closely with economists in my team throughout my time here, I can be confident that I am interested that I want to work as one in the future. If they do still require a masters, they do run a masters sponsorship scheme where they pay your fees, but this is very competitive to get on to.

After work socialising would also probably happen more if you are prepared to actively plan and encourage it! Working in the city, there are of course many interesting and exciting bars/venues/events to go to, but do be prepared that drinks are of course more expensive in the capital.

I didn't live in London, and commuted by train each day. Although the season ticket was expensive (though the Bank do provide an interest free loan for it) it saved me a lot of money in the long run due to high London rents. While I think I made the right choice by doing this, I was constantly tired and it did limit by ability to socialise after work, so I don't think I could do it for longer than a year. Socialising in London is of course more expensive, with pints generally costing at least £5, but there are many interesting bars and pubs around the capital which in my opinion make up for the higher cost. Most of the placement students rented in London, so it is obviously affordable, but I know a few of them also took out the (reduced) student loan from the government to boost their disposable income.

I only went out a handfull of times but as said above, there is a great variety of cool bars/pubs/clubs/venues/events in London. The majority of the bars and restaurants seem to be individually run, rather than being filled with huge cheap chains, which is nice. An example of the interesting bars is Bounce, a table tennis bar, and Swingers Club, a bar with indoor mini golf. Clubs unfortunately have greatly inflated prices, with many of them charging more than £15 for entry.

The placement students planned occasional nights out, and I went out to eat with my colleagues a couple of times in the evening. If you are in the Threadneedle Street building, there is a subsidised gym, which I went to most days after work. The Bank also has a handfull of societies you can get involved in, such as Netball, and you can pay for subsidised access to the full sports facility in Roehampton which contains tennis and squash courts.