Equity Strats Intern Review

My most enjoyable internship so far. The social scene is great - I've made good friends. There is a friendly networking culture. GS has a ton of teams doing everything you can think of in finance, so asking people about their role is a great way to learn what finance is really about. The internship scheme is very well established and managers are encouraged to help us in our project work. I was given real responsibility to add to the codebase.

I was encouraged to go for 'catch-ups' with people in my team, and to network with people outside of my team to understand other parts of the business. Most people I spoke to were very friendly and happy to talk to me. There were one or two exceptions but that's life.

I got the perfect level of support. I was expected to work things out on my own, but my manager often gave me the beginnings of the code, for things that I did not have the knowledge for due to not being at the company for long. I feel a real sense of accomplishment.

I was on the less busy side. I think I completed my tasks quicker than was expected. I filled my time by learning about finance/coding online while waiting for new work. However, the full-time role is very busy. My lack of business in the internship is due to the fact that it is in general difficult to find much work that is an appropriate level for an intern, and because my manager was often busy with his own work.

I was given a good deal of responsibility: I had to understand the logic in some existing scripts that were linked to each other, and add code in the correct places. My manager would then review the changes. After making adjustments based on the feedback, I would push the code to production.

I have learned a lot. I have a much better overall understanding of the finance industry. I can code better, because I have seen how maintainable code is written at a large organisation. I have more confidence to network with people and build connections which may help my career in the future.

Surprisingly, the atmosphere was very chill - at least for me. 'Face time' was not a thing in my team - as long as I got my work done, I was all good. Everybody I saw was friendly to each other and there was good teamwork. Often people would have to cancel last-minute on meetings however because some work had suddenly popped up, so it is clear that everyone is very busy.

The most organised I have witnessed / heard of. GS is a big firm with a strong history of internship programs. So they've gotten the hang of it by now. There are many events scheduled for the internship group as a whole. There is a systematic mid-term and internship-end performance review.

My manager would often sit down with me, with pen and paper, and explain to me the function of my team. We received lots of talks from very senior people in the business, including the CEO, giving us advice on careers and how to succeed. It was clear that employees throughout the business were keen to talk to us.

The employment prospects are appealing. There is a massive variety in the type of work that you can do at Goldman, so you're bound to find something you like. The difficulty is in networking enough to explore the different options. But overall, GS is a powerhouse in the finance industry and a great place to work.

100% the best social scene I've experienced / heard of for an internship. I made a great group of friends. We spent time almost every weekend. This was enabled by the amount of time we spent together at the start of the internship, where lots of events were scheduled for the intern cohort as a whole.

It was expensive - typical central London prices. But we got paid enough to cover those costs. Just don't go out a ton and you'll be fine. I went for drinks about 2 times a week in my area. Typical high end price: £12 for a cocktail at a nearby rooftop bar. Or you could just go cheap in Spoons.

I never actually went to the club near my work office so I cannot comment on that aspect of the Nightlife. But I frequently went out to bars in the nearby area, and there is a ton of choice in this regard. There are at least two great rooftop bars nearby.

Yes. There is a fantastic gym in the office. I often went to the gym during the working day as a break. (I still have to make sure I'm getting my work done of course.) The gym runs lots of sports classes like boxing, yoga etc. after work too, which I went to with my friends.