Postgraduate Intern Review

Although there were a couple of small pieces of what felt like typical "intern work", the vast majority of the 8 weeks I was there were spent on a proper research project, where I had the opportunity to contribute as an equal member of the team, and in some areas of the project I got to lead and make the decisions about what to look into.

My manager was brilliant in supporting me. She wasn't overbearing or micro-managing, she explained to me what I needed to do and then trusted me to get on with it as I saw fit, which really suited me. She was always there to answer questions and give advice when I needed it though, it wasn't that she didn't provide support, just that she didn't impose it.

It was pretty perfect to be honest, especially because it was one project for the whole 8 weeks, so I could work more when I was feeling productive, and then have the time to take it easier when I wasn't feeling up to it. There were always more things to look into as part of the research project, so I was never bored.

Far more than I expected, it was brilliant. I was treated as an equal member of the project in a team with 3 full-time members of staff, and on the sections of the project that I was responsible for, I was trusted to sort them out by myself, without any interference from the others, only advice and suggestions when I asked for them.

Really useful, especially on the research side of things. I got a lot of practice doing data work and regression analysis in STATA, and I learnt a lot about the processes involved in carrying out an empirical research project, which will be incredibly valuable for my postgraduate studies and future career.

I would say the main characteristic of the atmosphere was focused, especially because it was a research department. Everyone seemed to get on, and would go for coffees in the afternoons and that kind of thing, and there would be occasional chatting through the day, but mostly people would be working when at their desks.

The Early Careers team were brilliant, and offered us so much support. Personally my manager was also great, but there did seem to be a problem in getting the information they needed to them, because a few of the other interns didn't have as much of a structure as I did.

It was only an 8-week scheme, so I'm not sure you can really expect much in terms of training and development. There were lots of research seminars that I could attend which were really interesting, but their training stuff is much more for the industrial placement students (13-month placement) and their graduate intake (27-month scheme).

Very excited to come back on the graduate scheme after completing my Masters degree. Their graduate scheme seems brilliant, and I've learnt so much from the researchers that work here, even just from a summer internship. They provide a lot of training for their new recruits, and there's a really strong structure to it.

Pretty expensive, it's central London...

There were quite a few, but I think to get involved in them as an intern rather than a placement student or a grad is more difficult, just because you aren't there for very long. It's still possible though, there's a lot of charity work and social networks in the Bank.