Summer Intern - Structured Products Review

I think my internship was very enjoyable and had a good work-life balance. I was carrying out work which was mentally stimulating, and the work I did was varied, from writing minutes in meetings to getting involved with updating client records, to learning the technicalities of liability hedging. Having asked to do 3 presentations on topics of my choice gave me a chance of conducting my own research and ensured there was always something to do when I didn't have any ad hoc work. Together with the other interns and my very friendly Structured Products team, I had a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

I was always treated with respect and felt valued as a member of the workforce whilst working at Towers Watson. As time went on, I felt like I was given more and more client work which made me feel as if I was truly having a very real contribution to the company. I was trusted with carrying out T-reviews, and was given freedom in editing and updating existing computer code for numerous Excel spreadsheet models.

On top of my line manager and buddy, I had a few other graduates in my team who gave me a lot of guidance and set me lots of work. I had training sessions scheduled with nearly everyone in the team, where I could ask lots of questions related to the work they carry out and the instruments they use to do this. As my team was not too big, I felt like everyone gave me more than enough support when I needed it - it was always very easy to go up to someone and ask for help without feeling intimidated.

On the whole, I was kept quite busy everyday, however there were some periods every so often where the work I had was quite limited. However, as I was asked to do 3 presentations (as opposed to just 1 for the other interns), I always had research that I could do when I did not have any immediate work. At the start of the internship, I was kept busy with training slides and rewriting some computer code. The last few weeks of my internship, I was kept very busy due to Q2 Monitoring. It was just a few days in the middle of my internship mainly where I felt that work was a bit scarce, but I understand that as an intern there is only so much I could do, and these less busier days came as a nice reliever.

I was given a good amount of responsibility through the internship. When being asked to do a task, I was told the basics of how to go about doing it but they expected me to understand a lot of what was going on by doing my own research and looking up previously completed tasks and comparing details. I think this was very effective as it allowed me to learn quicker and better as I wasn't just spoon-fed information. I got involved with a lot of client work, with which comes responsibility, and so overall I was pleased with the responsibility I was given.

The skills I developed and the knowledge I received will very greatly assist me after university when I plan to do the Actuarial exams, but in the Investment division. I feel as if I have a head-start on the careers ladder with this invaluable experience; I know what I can expect when going into work now and so I can prepare myself from now. The skills of independent research I developed during the internship will come handy when carrying out my final year project at university.

The office had a strong work ethic, where client objectives were always the focus, however this was very nicely balanced with a calm and friendly work environment. People were always willing to strike conversation and help me out if I needed help; the atmosphere created was very nurturing and made you want to strive for excellence. The dress code in summer was not too strict and work hours were flexible.

I think the internship was well set up. There were specific events set up for us such as Question Time and the Technical Presentation, and we always had a person to go to ask for more work if needed The work shadowing in different teams was also very helpful but I feel the time allocated to that was too short - just 3 hours. There were also social events set up which allowed us to get to know everyone better.

I got a lot of training from my team - not only did I just have to go through a lot of training slides, but I was also allocated plenty of 2 on 1 training meetings, where I could ask anything I did not understand. There were a lot of examples and graphs used to make concepts easier to understand. After all 3 of my presentations, my team asked me lots of difficult questions which made me think outside of what I had researched. The fact that they were ready to take out time for me shows that the company and the workers have invested a lot into me.

I would love to work for Towers Watson again, I think it is an excellent place to start a career due to their graduate scheme. Not only that, I also think it is a great place to have your career due to the endless development and promotion prospects. Having that client focused environment, a strong work ethic, together with a good work-life balance appeals to me a lot.

There was always some sort of event going on after work or during lunch - be that a pub quiz, after work drinks, lunch at the park or the Intern party. There were many chances to bond with the other interns and the new graduates.

As it was London, cost of travel was quite high, as well as food/drink prices. However, as my family live in London already, I did not have to spend any money renting accommodation. Socialising was not costly to me being a non-drinker, but otherwise, I would imagine it'd be fairly expensive. However, this expense is a small price to pay, with the internship being paid and giving us a chance to build up contacts.

Nightlife in London - Holborn is known to be very good. Lots of pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants in vicinity so plenty of things to do. I didn't personally take full advantage of this but I know others who did. Nightlife is good, but can get expensive, especially due to the expensive rate of taxis.

There were some opportunities such as playing sports and bike rides etc, but I didn't get involved with any sports personally. Also, as we were only there for 6 weeks, any opportunities would only be a one-off. However, there were 2 in-house pub quizzes we attended which was good fun, with free drinks. There was also lots of leaving drinks throughout our internship.