Operations Intern Review

This placement at Morgan Stanley was a very beneficial insight into the company culture and the industry. I got a real sense of what it would be like to work full time for the organisation and I developed a number of core skills on the placement. Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience and I learnt a lot.

From day one, I felt valued by my colleagues at Morgan Stanley. My team was very warm and welcoming and encouraged me throughout my placement. They treated me as a valued member of the team and I was assigned a good deal of responsibility, which made me feel valued. My team was very appreciative of the work I was completing.

I always felt very well supported during my time at Morgan Stanley. I was provided with a good level of practical training and my line manager guided me through all the systems and processes. My team were more than happy to answer any questions I had and a weekly one-to-one with my line manager meant I always knew what I needed to be doing.

This tended to vary throughout the placement. At the beginning of the placement, I was less busy as I was still getting to grips with the systems and processes. However, as I was assigned more responsibility, I gradually had a heavier workload and therefore my days became busier. Most days, I was able to leave the office by 6pm.

As the placement went on and I became more confident with the processes, I was granted an increasing amount of responsibility. During the last several months of the placement, I was managing my own projects and workload. I was pleased with the level of responsibility I was granted and I was always treated like any other employee at Morgan Stanley, rather than ‘just an intern’.

As my first proper job role, this placement was extremely beneficial in terms of personal development. Although it was challenging at times, it was also a great learning curve. I feel that the skills and knowledge that I learnt will absolutely benefit me in my degree and future career path.

There was quite a serious atmosphere in the office and tended to be quite quiet. However, everyone was very friendly and I would chat to my team throughout the day.

As a long running and established programme, I found the placement at Morgan Stanley to be very well organised. There was an induction week at the beginning of the placement that introduced us to the company and I found this to be really useful. Throughout the placement, there was an array of talks and training sessions organised for us.

I felt that Morgan Stanley invested a great deal in our personal development and training throughout the placement. There were a variety of sessions organised, which ranged from communication skills, personal branding and LinkedIn and a number of Q and A sessions with senior members of the bank, which was beneficial for personal development.

This placement programme offers a direct route onto the graduate scheme, therefore this placement offers very strong employment prospects. Following the completion of the placement, I was offered a place on the graduate scheme, which I am planning to accept. After completing a year at the organisation, I got a good feel of what it is like to have a full- time role at Morgan Stanley and I am excited to begin my career here.

As mentioned before, the office generally tended to be quiet, however, there was a good social scene amongst interns. As many of us were in a new city, we made the effort to social in the evenings and on weekends. Many of us shared accommodation, so we formed a close bond.

After previously completing internship in Central London, I found Glasgow to be very reasonably priced in comparison. The cost of rent was relatively low and socialising after work wasn’t too expensive. However, I did have to spend a fair amount on travel if I wanted to go home on the weekend as Glasgow is far away from my home town.

There is a good social scene in Glasgow, with plenty of bars near to the office.

There were a number of sport teams, however aside from this, there wasn’t much else to get involved in.