Summer Analyst Review

Highly enjoyable internship that teaches me a good deal about financial knowledge, financial engineering and computer science. I had the honor to work with really intelligent people in a line of work that really excites me. You are constantly challenged to think critically and carefully to solve difficult problems elegantly.

As mentioned, colleagues were extremely helpful whenever you ask. They are always busy and often have to stay way over business hours to complete their tasks. Despite this, they are very willing to devote really large amount of time to answer even the most whimsical questions. I found it to be really respectable and impressive to devote so much to an intern.

Plenty of support is provided, as long as support is requested. There were multiple instances where busy colleagues sit down with me for hours to go through various concepts and even debugged my code together with me. There were plenty of timely feedback on my work to ensure I am on track,

This is a self motivation issue. There are infinite amount of knowledge to be learnt and limited time. You can definitely choose to complete your work at a leisurely pace. I think it is a perfect balance of busyness - that is it is flexible and individual dependent (you can be as busy as you wish)

An important project was given to me. I was in entirely in charge of my own project. I had to independently request for help when I face difficulties. There was a significant amount of independence to implement the project, careful thinking of software design was required prior to engaging in coding exercises.

Internship taught me many aspects of finance as well as industry standards for various methods. You get exposure to the many asset classes and each of the asset classes has its interesting characteristics. I had a better grasp of various software engineering skills (encapsulation, lazy evaluation, scalability) via on the job training.

A very relaxing environment. Majority of the people in the office don't wear ties or blazers. On occasion, even casual clothes are not uncommonly seen in the office. There seems to be little to no corporate hierarchy, people talk candidly without malice. Regardless of their seniority, they are very friendly and willing to talk to you.

A lot of effort is taken to ensure people who do not have the necessary background is "brought to the same level". There were elementary talks and finance workshops for all interns to attend. These opportunities allow people (like me) who do no study finance related subject to get a glimpse of the complex financial world as well as learn from our peers.

I think this is one of the best places to work in if you wish to push career to the limit. I will without a doubt strive to be able to work for Goldman in the future. Beyond the compensation, I think the work is extremely intellectually stimulating and the constant adrenaline rush is what I am specifically looking for in a job.

Unfortunately, London is an extremely expensive place. Accommodation may well take up a good 25% of your compensation and likewise food. If you wish to go out often (which will be highly unlikely on a regular weekday), it will be likewise a huge strain on your bank account. The majority of socializing is talking to other interns, which are delights to talk to.