Trustee Consulting Actuarial Summer Student Review

I really enjoyed every aspect of my work placement. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. I felt my work was valued and I was given plenty of opportunities to develop my professional skills.

At times I felt that my inexperience was a hindrance to others, but everyone was very accommodating and helped wherever possible. By the end of my placement I felt that I didn't need to ask as many questions, and could work independently on almost any task given.

My supervisor has moved to a different team, so is not as involved in what I am doing. However the other mentor has been really helpful and supporting, along with all employees.

Busy enough, but not overly stressed. I felt I was given enough work to be getting on with, and if I finished any work ahead of schedule I was always given more work to be getting on with. However, in quiet periods, I had plenty of project work to keep me occupied.

Due to the nature of the work, I had to have everything checked and signed off (but even student actuaries who have been working for several years have that!) so I didn't have too much responsibility. However, I felt that considering how little experience I had at the beginning, I was given quite a lot of responsibility regarding how I carry out the work I need to do. If I wanted any guidance, it was up to me to find the appropriate person.

I felt the training was particularly useful. I feel I have been able to develop my presentation skills (doing 4 presentations at the end of the placement). I have also developed my Excel skills extensively, naming arrays, running index matches etc.

Very friendly, but still work orientated (ie. not distracting).

Very well organised. We had regular training sessions and reviews to check our progress. We also were given plenty of project work to keep us occupied during quieter times with client work.

I felt a lot of time, effort and resources were spent on our training sessions. Particularly in the first couple of weeks, we had a couple of hours of training daily. On top of that, fellow employees were more than happy to help us with each task, if we got stuck, so we learnt on the job as well. We had 4 presentations to work on throughout the internship, which we had to give in our final week.

I would really love to continue working with Barnett Waddingham. I have really enjoyed my placement, and have not been phased by talk of the actuarial exams.

There are office drinks every Friday, and we were given tickets to the SIAS boat party as well, which was a good opportunity to meet actuaries both at BW and at other actuarial firms. There have also been plenty of other social events to get involved with including an Escape the room challenge, Treasure hunts, football tournaments, cricket matches and a trip to the Real Ale festival.

Unfortunately it was very expensive, particularly travelling into London (my salary during placement would have barely covered renting and living costs in London)

Very good. There are plenty of pubs near the office, and there are lots of clubs in the surrounding area.

Plenty of opportunities. There are office drinks every Friday, and we were given tickets to the SIAS boat party as well, which was a good opportunity to meet actuaries both at BW and at other actuarial firms. There have also been plenty of other social events to get involved with including an Escape the room challenge, Treasure hunts, football tournaments, cricket matches and a trip to the Real Ale festival.