Sales and Trading Intern Review

I really enjoyed the internship. I learnt a lot about the markets, banking and working for a big company like UBS. I met a lot of really interesting people, both in terms of the interns and the two teams I worked for. Everyone was really welcoming and I woke up wanting to go to work to learn more and get more done.

My colleagues valued me a lot. They gave me two tasks that were both challenging and interesting - they needed to do those things at some point and felt I was competent enough to give me the tasks instead. They supported me through the process and the end result was a project that could very well be used when it comes to implementation. They also gave me the opportunity to learn about a variety of things.

It was at a level I was comfortable with - we had formal meetings roughly once a week but I was sitting close to them and felt comfortable enough to go and ask for help at any point. They were very accommodating when I asked for help and willing to take time out of their work. They also made a point to involve me in the conversations and meetings of the rest of the team and show me things that I might find interesting.

This varied wildly. On some days, I was very busy with project work, intern events, trading games, additional tasks set by me team and sitting with other employees. This sometimes meant I had to stay in late to finish off presentations and other work. On other days, it was quite free with room to do some exploring, learn about the markets myself and read up on a variety of things. On average, I would say I was busy 80% of the time/

I wasn't given too much responsibility - the tasks were fairly open ended and very rarely was I given a task that needed to be done as a core part of the business. I was responsible for my work and ensuring the standard of the work was good and understandable by the rest of the team but not really in other ways.

This will assist me in a few ways. 1. I know a lot about the market and I feel a need to keep up with the news and see how it's impacting all the different asset classes. 2. It's taught me more about statistics and modelling that I will use in university. 3. It's improved my work ethic - away from the university standard of doing everything last minute and more towards a standard amount every day so I'm not stressed out on any day more than another.

The general atmosphere was very welcoming. I felt comfortable going up to people and asking for help. People enjoyed working with each other and would talk about a variety of topics. They enjoyed going to drinks after work together and interns were more than included in these events. It felt like they were friends as well as colleagues.

It was quite well organised - we had rotations in the first week that allowed us to see a lot of the business. There were lots of intern events that ran smoothly. There a few hiccups regarding computer setup and security access but other than that, the events and internship as a whole was run very well.

First week involved lots of training including a general introduction to a number of things. Some of this was particularly useful like the Excel Training. We also had further teach-ins that varied in quality from being extremely useful to completely unnecesary - this depended a lot on the quality of presenter and whether they were suited to teaching.

Future employment prospects are very appealing. They were very up front in telling me that they were strongly considering me for a job very early on. The business is on the up having made the necessary cuts after the Financial Crisis earlier and is growing in specific areas. They're very open and honest about which areas are growing.

The social scene of interns depended on which area you were interning in. One intern group was very warm and welcoming. They would help each other out on late evenings and go for drinks together regularly to enjoy each other's company. Other intern groups were more competitive and focused on the job so they didn't have time for a social scene.

Very expensive, as you would expect from central London - £5 for a pint and £8 for lunch. Rent largely depended on the area you were living in - there was decent accommodation for a cheap price not too far as long as you were willing to live in a not-so-great area.

There were a few clubs in Shoreditch but most of the nightlife was a bit further away. There were lots of good pubs in the area though around broadgate circle and exchange square. They had a lively atmosphere and were great to go in the evenings after a long day at work.

Only social events - team drinks, barbecues and intern events.