Actuarial Consulting Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship at Aon. It gave me an opportunity to find out what it is like to work at a large company within London. I went into the placement knowing very little of the day to day job of an actuary but by the end, I had a much better understanding of what was involved.

It was apparent how much the work I was doing was valued by my colleagues. At the time of the internship, the office was very busy so having me help take on some of the workload helped make sure that the work got done. The jobs I was doing were what my colleagues would have had to do had I not been there which shows the value and trust that was involved.

My manager and team were very supportive throughout the internship. There were a lot of calculations and small details within the work I was doing which meant I had a lot of questions to ask. Throughout, my colleagues were willing to spend some time ensuring I understood what I needed to do.

Most of my days were fairly busy. Though the jobs I was doing were small and never took more than a day, having a large team meant there were many little things I could help people out on throughout. When the workload got short, there was a charity project that we had to do as interns which kept us busy.

During the placement, I was given a level of responsibility I would expect as an intern. The work I was doing was important and I did handle confidential data which meant that I was trusted not to abuse my role, but at the same time I was not asked to interact directly with clients.

What I have learned during my internship will help me understand how the theory I learn at university is applied in real life situations. The communication skills I developed throughout will also be essential in the modules I’ve taken that involve, for example, presenting in front of an audience. The internship has also helped me organise myself to ensure I get all my work done in good time.

The atmosphere in my office was friendly. At the start of the internship we had our own individual desks, but after a couple of weeks we moved into a hot-desking environment which meant sitting next to different colleagues each day. This meant that I got to interact with a lot of people, most of whom were friendly and helpful if I had any questions.

The internship was well organised. From the start, the interns were split into groups and given a charity to support. This ran throughout the internship and was balanced with the day to day job. I was given work to do quickly after settling in and colleagues knew to ask if I was available to help on pieces of work they were doing.

At the start of the internship, I was given some technical training to help me understand how to do the calculations that were involved within the job. After that, there was constant feedback throughout on how I was doing and also support from colleagues in ensuring that I had the skills and information required to do the job.

I was offered a place in the company which I have taken. The company gives support throughout your exams to qualify as an actuary, including time off work to study. On top of that, the people within the company are friendly and helpful, which provides a good environment to work and learn.

I enjoyed socialising with my colleagues. Before I had even met them, I was invited to go play football with them which I ended up doing on a regular basis. There were frequent bar or pub nights as well as events such as rounders which made it possible to get to know my colleagues outside of work.

I commuted to work so apart from the cost of the train, I had no expenses. Colleagues paid for drinks at the pub.

NA

As mentioned in the social scene, there were opportunities to play football and some other activities.