Research Assistant Review

My role provided the opportunity to take on a wide range of work, particularly within policy. The work I experienced throughout my placement was very interesting, working on various policy issues that had real impacts on UK regulation, this meant my placement was extremely enjoyable. I had a lot of fun working on these assignments as they required a lot of analytical and communication skills, resulting in great job satisfaction. There were occasional quiet periods where work would not be as interesting or pressured, this gave opportunity to try an learn new/different aspects within the division.

As always when starting a new job, it took a while to understand all of the information that related to my job role. However, once I understood what was going on I could then focus on developing great working relationships with my colleagues and participating more within projects. Everyone was always willing to spend some time ensuring that I had fully understood the details of the task.

My line managers were very approachable and happy to guide me during the initial months. Once I developed a better understanding of the role, I was able to undertake tasks without great amounts of supervision as my managers trusted my ability. In the latter stages of my placement, my line manager was guiding me through a complex project that I was undertaking, this helped greatly as I learnt a lot about drafting long analytical notes and how to position/portray the information as desired.

The majority of my work related to projects or notes that were being developed to analysis real life issues. This meant that my work often varied significantly, when there was an urgent task my workload would be extremely high with multiple deadlines. However this contrasted to quieter periods, in which the project had finished or when more senior individuals would be reviewing work.

Within the first few months, understandably, I was not given much responsibility as I was learning my job role and had learn a lot about the different aspects of the capital regulation. However, after the initial few months my responsibility and workload significance increased vastly, where I was working alongside my team colleagues and others across the division and organisation. Once my team trusted my ability and understanding I was then given huge responsibility in producing several notes and supporting lead analysts on important projects that were sent to senior individuals across the Bank.

The skills and training received where excellent, I learnt vast amount about the UK banking sector, the various risks that banks are exposed too and develop my employability skills. My experience from undertaking a placement at the Bank of England will definitely aid in my degree studies as many of my final year modules related directly to working at the Bank of England. Additionally, due to being exposed to a professional environment for such a long period of time, I will have the necessary professionalism and employability skills that will help excel my future career.

The atmosphere in the office was very relaxed and welcoming. The office at times could be a little quiet, but this is mainly due to the work pressure of important notes or projects that have deadlines coming up. Although at times it was quiet, everybody was very friendly and was always willing to take a little bit of time out their day to talk to you, so you could ask questions about their job and what they do.

I was very pleased with the level of organisation throughout the placement. Although I was the first placement student in my division, my line manager had planned sufficient work (mainly data and excel) and time for reading/learning. This time was vital to understanding the job role and what my team and division did. There was a three day induction from human resources which explained the general working of the Bank of England and all the different aspects as to how it related to the economy. This was very interesting information but was slightly too much sitting and learning.

The Bank of England would provide any necessary training that would help me understand my role and perform at a higher level. I received training ranging from excel courses to more technical training such as Bank financial analysis, Bank financial accounting and an introduction to financial markets, macro-economic environment and risks.

There were roughly 35 placement students, so there was a lot of fellow placement students around the organisation, we would often arrange social events after work and on weekends. Due to the social scene with fellow placement students it made the experience even more enjoyable as you had plans that would let you explore London. The vast amount of placement students particularly helped me as I had never lived in London and did not know many people who had placements in London.

The Bank of England is located in London, so you should expect it to be costly, especially if you're not from the South of England. Regardless of this, the salary was more than sufficient to enjoy some of the London lifestyle.