Actuarial Intern Review

I got to engage with a lot of real client work near the start of the internship which meant I found out what it would be like to really work for the company. We received a lot of training and had access to good resources which helped with knowing what to do. The other colleagues in the office were also very helpful in answering any questions I had and also in giving me work to do.

The office had a very good environment where colleagues both junior and senior were always approachable and happy to give up their time to have a conversation with you or help you out with work. I got feedback on the work I completed which helped me to improve and do it better for next time. We had a few work socials which were very friendly and a good opportunity to meet people from around the office and from different departments.

We had a lot of training from the central team to complete which taught the actuarial fundamentals and introduced us to the processes in the company. Whenever I got given a piece of work, the person always explained it clearly either on a call or with instructions in an email. If I had any additional questions they would always respond and show me what I needed to do which meant I could better complete the work next time.

I had a good amount of work to do. Towards the end of the internship, I wasn't that busy but I had access to a lot of training materials which meant I could always be doing something useful.

People trusted me to complete client work from fairly early on in the internship. Someone always checks your work and if you've made small mistakes they give you feedback and it's not a big issue. I was responsible for getting the monthly yields which were required by other colleagues which was a good experience as I had to meet deadlines and prioritise which pieces of work I did first as some were more urgent than others.

I learnt a lot about the pensions industry and actuarial work which will be useful for any job in the actuarial industry.

The office has a very positive atmosphere and everyone is very friendly. We had quite a few work socials where I got to meet people from around the office who otherwise I wouldn't have talked to. This was particularly important with the internship being virtual so you don't have the same opportunities to bump into people around the office. People were also very helpful when I had questions and weren't overly-critical if I made a mistake.

Overall the internship was generally well-organised. There were quite a few IT issues and these took longer than would be ideal to resolve particularly because the internship was only four weeks long. Sometimes I felt the internship was a bit over-organised with the central team taking too much responsibility for what we would be doing with our time and as a result we had less time working with colleagues in the local office and less opportunity to get involved with client work.

We had a lot of training materials to read along with exercises to complete which were marked and we got feedback on. I was impressed by the amount of time people were prepared to take out of their day to either let me shadow their work or show me how to do certain tasks. I learnt a lot about the different types of work they do and how it all fits into the overall picture.

There is a good opportunity for career progression on the graduate scheme. They also pay for entry to the IFOA exams and give you 40 study days throughout the year along with paying for any training materials you need and for tutorials on certain topics. There are lots of opportunities to get promoted in the company and you have frequent reviews with your manager where you can work out what you need to do to get to the next level.

We had a work social every week which was a great way to get to know colleagues in the office. There was also a virtual pub on a Friday which was another way to meet people. We had to work on a group project with interns in different offices which meant I got to know a lot of the other interns well when perhaps if the internship hadn't been virtual I would have mostly just got to know the interns in my office.

The internship was virtual so I did not travel to the office however the cost of living in Manchester is relatively low compared to a lot of big cities. If you're working from home as everyone is at the moment, the company provides you with a laptop and monitors which means you can set up an office at home without having to buy everything for yourself. They also paid for expenses for me travelling to the office for the assessment centre last year.

Not really applicable because the internship was virtual so I didn't actually travel into Manchester but it sounded like the office has had lots of good night's out in the past.

WTW give you a volunteer day each year which gives you a good opportunity to go and do something in your community.