Actuarial summer intern Review

It was a very enjoyable experience. Not only did I learn a lot, but also met with experienced people in the sector, greatly expanded my knowledge within the actuarial world and was given the opportunity to show my growth to the team by presenting a summer project at the end of the internship.

Even though I was here for an 8-week period, I felt integrated within the team. Conversations with colleagues were not them just giving me instructions but rather a two-way discussion which hopefully left them with some food for thought.

Everyone was extremely supportive and tried their best to explain concepts and ideas in an understandable way. They were all happy to help and made sure that they start from the beginning and do not assume extra knowledge.

Some days were busier than others but there was always something going on in the background to keep me busy if client work goes quiet. Furthermore, there is always more to learn and my manager had given me some carefully selected materials for me to read through. It was a bit daunting at times digging into technical details but I saw all of them applied in the job and appreciated it in the end.

I was entirely in charge of my internship project. Furthermore, I was involved in pieces of work that were later used in work with clients. I was also given some open-ended tasks which required me to do some research. Then I had to present my findings and explain my approach to some senior members of the team which felt really fulfilling having my opinion valued. I had to make sure that I was aware of the topic as much as possible which made the tasks more challenging.

I was involved in a statistical modelling project which was a direct application of some of the knowledge and skills I have acquired at university. I was able to further develop them and learn more efficient ways and approaches of dealing with big data from professionals in the field. These skills will be highly valuable for my upcoming dissertation in Statistics, and most probably in my future career. On the other hand, I was able to develop my soft skills, which are useful in pretty much every aspect of life, not only career-wise. More specifically, I had some further practice in explaining statistical analysis to non-specialists, which is an extremely valuable skill.

Overall very amicable environment with places for socialising or just having a break such as kitchen. People were friendly and approachable, eager to help a full-of-questions intern. At times it would get busier and more intense which made it even more interesting and challenging! However, as the company operates an open-office space and communication is key in the business, it would get quite loud when people are on the phone or discussing things at their desks.

It was evident that great amount of work and planning has been done to accommodate the process of fitting in, adapting to the environment and getting up to speed with what is going on at the moment. Different sessions were organised where people across all the practices of the firm would show what their work is. This gave great insight into how the company operates on the whole and the variety of work you could be involved in.

More experienced colleagues would frequently give up some of their time to help me reach answers to my questions. In addition, I got quickly introduced in some of the training sessions for actuarial students which showed me how my career would potentially look like in a few years' time. I was also invited to some of the ongoing seminars and trainings for some current issues in the market.

Enjoyed working here and hopefully get an offer!

Yes, we were 8 interns in total across all practices and we bonded quite well. We would regularly have lunch together and explore interesting places to eat after work. We would share our thoughts on the working environment and comment on the everyday work we are involved in. We also found it extremely beneficial to practice the presentations for our projects with each other as it was a valuable source of feedback and also gave an overview of what people are involved in.

The City of London is not well-known for its affordability..

A variety of pubs and clubs within walking distance, although a bit expensive.

Friday nights at the pub with occasional team socials.