Summer Intern Review

The internship was enjoyable on the whole. The projects I was working on were quite exciting and have an impact on the wider public so you feel like your work makes a difference in making markets more consumer-friendly. I also met a lot of interesting people over the 10 weeks who were always more than happy to talk about what they do.

I was invited to all the relevant project and team meetings and my opinion was always sought despite my lack of experience compared to more senior colleagues. The atmosphere is very relaxed and you are expected to manage your own workload. People across the organisation always up for meeting up with interns and explaining what they do. The FCA definitely values its interns and grads.

My manager was very supportive and approachable. We had weekly bilateral meetings to discuss my progress. My manager went out of his way to find out about my career goals and aspirations right at the start of the internship and then arranged for me to meet colleagues in different areas of the organisation who could give me advice. He was always available if I needed help and was very patient and clear on what was expected from me.

The workload tended to vary quite a bit. The first couple of weeks were mainly spent doing lots of reading and getting an understanding of the kind of work that my team does. However, it soon picked up and on occasions I had to stay behind when there would be deadlines approaching which was not a problem for me. When I felt like I had spare time I approached colleagues in other teams and helped them with their projects.

I was satisfied with the level of responsibilty given to me during the internship. The FCA deals with a lot of market sensitive information and you have to familiarise yourself thoroughly with the code of conduct before you are given access to restricted documents. You are expected to work independently but help is always available if needed. My opinion was given due consideration throughout the internship.

I developed a wide range of both technical and soft skills during the internship which I feel will be applicable to my further studies as well my career in the future. I also obtained a high-level understanding of different financial markets which I am sure will also prove to be very valuable.

The FCA has a very appealing grad scheme.