Account Manager - Prime Brokerage Review

I really enjoyed it - I was surrounded by people who always had time for me and were always keen to teach me. It was exciting and challenging and every day was different. I was never bored and always engaged and had a great support network around me too. Full marks for enjoyment.

I felt extremely valued. The team I was in would not be able to function without an industrial placement student. Although this seems quite daunting, it actually meant I was really needed and by the end of the year, there were actually things that other people would need to ask me about rather than the other way around.

During my placement year, I had a Manager, a Dean and a Mentor who all played different roles in my development. My Manager was the head of my team, so the one who tracked my performance. My Mentor was more pastoral and then my Dean helped me with all the bigger picture discussions like where my career was going.

It varied somewhat but generally I was extremely busy. This was a good thing though because it meant I just had to get things done. If I were less busy then it would have been easier to procrastinate and waste time. The fact that I was so busy also made it a great environment in which to learn.

Far more responsibility than I was expecting! I got to take on my own clients very early on which made the learning curve very steep and I was also constantly involved with all the big clients meaning I got exposure to some very senior people. Again quite scary, but a brilliant opportunity.

In terms of soft skills, I have learnt so much on my placement. My placement does not directly relate to my degree so in terms of content there are not many parallels. My confidence has grown massively - the training provided was also incredible and I feel puts me in a good position moving forward in my career.

Everyone was extremely friendly and always willing to help. Most people seemed to really enjoy their job meaning the office always felt happy and buzzing. Of course everyone was always busy too but as well as the stress, everyone was running on adrenaline. It seemed like people were friends as well as colleagues.

Very well organised. There was lots of training that was directly relevant to my role, but also plenty of talks and sessions that were just interesting. Various social events were organised too. The whole thing was very slick and you could tell that the placement had been running for a while.

I feel that the firm invested heavily in me - both time and money. No expense was spared in providing the placement students resources to do the best job they could. Everyone was very generous with their time too and no matter how busy, they would always find time to sit down with you if you needed it.

Very appealing. Everyone seems so happy in their job - I think that Morgan Stanley would be a wonderful place to work. There is definitely a focus on work life balance too, so the work doesn't become all encompassing. Management are very good at communicating and making sure all employees are satisfied in their jobs.

Yes - we had a great bunch. We would regularly go out together and would also attend any events put on by the HR department. I think I will stay in contact with lots of the other placement students for a long time - we have all become really good friends.

The cost of living and socialising was very high but the salary we were paid took that into account. That meant we could live somewhere reasonable and not be worried that our entire salary was being taken up by paying the rent. Socialising was expensive but also depended on where we went.

The nightlife in the actual area was not great but there were really good transport links to other areas that had a better nightlife. Having said that, there was no lack of bars and pubs which were more casual, but perfect for a few pints with colleagues after work. We went quite often!

In terms of opportunities, there were a lot out there, it just depended on how involved you wanted to be. If you wanted to do absolutely everything then that was great but equally, if you wanted to pass on a few things, that was also acceptable - no hard feelings.