Actuarial Summer Student Review

I very much enjoyed the internship. The work was interesting, my colleagues were friendly and helpful, and the atmosphere was the best of any place I've worked.

All of the work I was given was real, useful work for clients or internal projects, and my colleagues expressed appreciation for the work I did for them.

There was feedback on my strengths, and areas I could improve, both halfway through and at the end of the internship. People were also very happy to answer questions about specific pieces of work, or how they fitted into the business as a whole.

Workload management is treated very well, There are weekly meetings for everybody team members to discuss the work they have on and how it can be better redistributed. This means that there are plenty of opportunities to take on work, without getting overwhelmed. This is made easier during an internship, where I didn't have set obligations to clients.

The internship had lots of opportunities to take ownership of tasks. The intern project I worked on throughout my placement was primarily self-led with feedback sessions to discuss my progress, and after being given work I was free to manage my time and schedule as best to meet my deadlines.

The lessons I learned about communication and my approach with coworkers were invaluable. The knowledge I gained about pensions in practice will also be useful, both in my studies of actuarial theory i my degree, and in my career afterwards.

The atmosphere in the Birmingham office was one of the highlights of my internship. It's a relaxed, friendly place with a lot of professional respect - there's nobody looking over your shoulder to check how you're working, which seems highly effective for boosting both productivity and morale. It was also very sociable, with drinks or group outings after work, and plenty of people to chat with at lunch, either in the office or - weather permitting - in the sunshine outside.

The internship is well organised, with a Buddy (usually a 1st year student) to help get you settled and be the first port of call for any questions you have. You also have a Person Manager, somebody more senior who meets with you on a weekly basis to discuss how you're finding things and what you're working on / learning. As such, there's a good support network set up to solve potential problems early and provide help.

The internship was a very positive experience. I very much enjoyed both the work I was given and the company culture, so I was thrilled to get a job offer. I look forward to going back in a year's time.

The social scene was good. There were drinks after work several times while I was there. The Actuarial & Benefits team also had frequent group lunches out to celebrate milestone events, such as for team members getting their results from Institute exams. There were also other social events after work, such as mini golf, and a group outing to a cricket match.