Intern Review

I really enjoyed working for the Financial Conduct Authority. I was placed in my first choice of department - Strategy and Competition - and liked my time there. I felt that the work was challenging and that I was being stretched and pushed to excel. The offices are a really good environment to work in.

I felt valued by my colleagues. I went to several after work events with them and they always made an effort to include me. They gave me the confidence to speak in meetings and encouraged me to do so. I also felt that I could ask any questions to them and they always did their best to answer.

I was given feedback constantly throughout my internship both by my line manager and other members of my team. When I needed support they always made sure that I was helped. I always felt that I could ask any questions that I needed to and that I was supported in my work.

I was fairly busy on a daily basis, however there was points where the work was on the quieter side and I wanted more to do. I never felt bored though and on the times where work was quieter my manager always found something interesting and useful for me to do.

I was given a project of my own to do which contributed to a wider team project. They allowed me to steer the project that I was given in the way that I wanted and go in directions that were not necessarily in the brief but that I found interesting.

I learnt soft skills, how to present properly in an accessible way and how to write succinctly. I feel like these will be important skills that I could take to any other career in the future. Writing up my project was very good practise for writing my dissertation, which will be useful when I go back to university.

The atmosphere in the office is really relaxed and everyone is very welcoming. The emphasis is not put on quantity of time you spend in the office, but rather on the quality of the work produced. Everyone in the office is very keen on collaborative working and are always willing to talk to you about their work in detail.

The assessment centre process was well set up and once I was here everything was well managed - from setting up mid term reviews to learning sessions. However, it took 3 months to get my contract sent through when they told me it would only take 3 weeks which I found extremely stressful.

The Financial Conduct Authority set up lunch and learn sessions which were aimed at developing networking skills and learning about other departments. I also attended competition law lectures. On the graduate scheme you have the opportunity to do the CFA, a masters degree or accountancy qualifications which is a really good perk.

Within the Financial Conduct Authority there is a graduate scheme that you can go on straight after finishing university the year after the internship offering specialised areas such as data science, economics and actuarial graduate schemes. It seems to be a good platform to launch yourself into any public sector or financial sector career.

There was a good social scene and the interns went out for drinks very often. As well as this there was often team or departmental drinks after work. The Financial Conduct Authority also have a social club which offers pretty much any activity you can imagine. They have several sports teams too.

The FCA is located in Stratford which is cheaper than most other parts of London. Going out after work in Stratford is fairly cheap, however London as a whole is really expensive and central London is a very expensive night out. Rent is high, but living costs are about average.

There is several bars and pubs around Stratford that are quite reasonably priced. Stratford is also a 15 minute tube journey from Canary Wharf which has really lovely bars. It takes 10 minutes to get to London Liverpool Street which has more nightlife. Overall, the nightlife that you can access is good.

There were many opportunities to get involved with activities outside of work as the Financial Conduct Authority has many clubs and teams that you can join. They send around a monthly news letter detailing all of the after work activities that you can get involved in. They are often well subsidised too.