Research assistant Review

I am really enjoying my placement as I'm getting a great insight into what's going on in the economy from a wide range of surveys and indicators. In these current times its interesting to see how the Bank is changing the way it usually operates to get a better grasp of activity in the economy depsite the high levels of uncertainty. It is then interesting to see how the data we collect and anlysis we do contributed to the shaping of monetary policy.

I was welcomed to the team with open arms. Depsite joining (and still currently working) virtually, I have still beeen able to get to know my colleagues and have regular chats with them. It's really made me feel like I am part of the team, despite not having been in the division for too long. We havee regular socials outside of work, which I thoroughly enjoy as it's a great opportunity to meet your team outside of a professional setting.

My manager has really helped me along the way and informed me of key things that go on in out business as usual. We have a weekly chat where I can bring up any queries or problems that I have faced, it's also a nice opportunity to get their take on currecnt economic events and form a bit of a discussion around it to further increase my judgement of the economy. I also have fortnightly chats with my head of division, which is great opportunity, again, to get such an experienced managers input.

My job is quite cyclical. I can be very busy on certain data release days and especailly when I'm helping out with forecasting. Someones I can get some quiet time, which can be nice to learn new skills on LinkedIn learning. So it really depends on wherether we are expecting many data releases or if we are coming close to the end of a round, there the policy decision is made and analysis is needed to be sent out to various departments.

It has varied a lot. My day to day work is quite important and it needs to be done in a timely maner as the economists depend on me to get the work done so tha htey can get on with their analysis. It's still early days but I've already had the chance to fill the role of the analyist once, which was a really nice experience and it made me feel like I was valued in the team.

This has assisted my degree studies to a great extent. i have a much greater knowledge of the marco economy and the different components that fall within it. Therefore I can see how policy is shaped in order to increase the health of the economy, based on past, present and future predicitons. I have also learnt how run codes, which is something I never had the opportunity to do at university, so that is a skill I will certainly take to me into the world of work.

I have been working from home so far, which is a shame as I was really looking forward to working in the Bank. However, even from home I have had the opportunity to see how the division interacts every week in our divisionals and I get to have coffee chats with other members as well, so I don't feel like I have miised out on the office chat too much! Hopefully I can go in soon to see everyone face to face.

It was really well set up. There was a transition period with the previous intern where they taught me as much as they could in that the time frame we had. This was so useful and I wasn't just thrown straight into the deep end and I was ble to ask questions that I thought may have been 'silly' at the time (even though everyone would understand nonetheless). From then on, I got a firm grasp of what my roled entailed and I am confident to carry it out myself.

I am hoping to enrol onto the graduate sceme once I finish my degree, I have really enjoyed my time here so far and I'm hoping I can carry on. There procedure depends on my performance review, if I do well in it, then I will have the opportunity to enrol onto the programme. Therefore, I'm hoping to make the the best impression that I can during my placement in order to secure the graduate role after university.

There was a good social scene, depsite being virtual. The division met every week to have a chat about whats been going on in the smaller departments, and it was a nce to time to have a little chat as well. We also schedule in bilateral coffee chats to catc up with eachother. We also try to have a social every few weeks, where we given a task in smaller groups and then we meet as a divison after that to discuss how we found it.

I have only been out in London once as I'm still working from home. But I had a great time, which is no surprise as London is noorious for its nightlife (also its steep prices). There's so much going on day or night, and I really enjoy going to different bars and enjoying the views. Hopefully I'll be able to move down soon to better experience the nightlife and get to know more people in the Bank.

There are a lot of opportuinites to get involved in a wide range of clubs and societies. The Bank his huge on diversity and inclusion, and everyone is dedicated to promote that. We get breifings from representatives of LGBT societies, BAME societies, etc. I am also going to be joining the cricket club in the summer, and I am really excited to meet people from different divisons of the bank and see how their day to day work is different from mine.