Actuarial Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Punter Southall. The office had a great atmosphere and throughout the internship I really felt that I was part of the team.

My colleagues were always willingly on hand to offer help and answer any questions. Frequently I was asked to assist them with their own work and I honestly felt they valued my input to tasks. Everyone on the team seemed to sincerely want me to get the most I possibly could out of my experience. It was a pleasure working with them for the six weeks.

I had a total of three meetings with my manager whilst at the company to discuss my progress. In addition, it was made clear that he was available at all times if I had any further questions.

Unfortunately due to my level of technical ability there was sometimes a lack of work available. Having said that, other members of the team definitely tried their best to make sure we always had something of benefit to ourselves to be doing, for example, we were pointed in the direction of interesting articles to read for when work was quiet.

I was encouraged to take responsibility for my own work and ensuring that it was always completed on time, to a high standard, and that any information I used was correct. The other intern and I were also given full responsibility for the presentation we prepared in the final two weeks of the internship. How we organised our time and approached the task was completely left up to us.

During my time as an actuarial intern at Punter Southall I improved my basic understanding of the actuarial profession. I developed a holistic understanding of working in a corporate environment and client interaction. The role helped me to increase my commercial awareness and understanding of the pensions industry. On top of this working in a team environment helped me to develop my softer skills – something that will be incredibly useful in any future career.

The atmosphere was very welcoming and friendly. There were a number times where I was given the opportunity to socialise with others in office.

The internship was reasonably well organised. I was always clear on what was expected of me and what my main tasks were. However, there was still some room for improvement.

There was ongoing training throughout the internship on a number of different topics, each ran by different members of the team. We were also invited to attend a number of companywide training sessions along with the rest of the team.

From my experience Punter Southall would be a great organisation to begin a career with. The study support package is good, the office had a very friendly feel, and I heard very positive things from their current employees. I am currently waiting to hear from the company after applying for the graduate role.

I got on really well with the other intern in the office. The team even organised a social event at the end of our internship which was really fun and it was lovely how many people made the effort to attend.

The cost of living was reasonable considering that Edinburgh is a major city. I had no trouble finding affordable accommodation.

The night-life in Edinburgh was fantastic. Being in Edinburgh during the festival was a great experience and really added a buzz to the city.

We were invited to the summer event which was to take place after the completion of our internship however I was unable to attend. There were also a couple of after work drinks but not much else.