Associate Review

I think this can depend on the team you find yourself in, I was in a team of great people and interesting work which suited my academic background. There are also plenty of opportunities to move around the organisation and shadow other teams for a day or two if you want to broaden your experience. In fact, you are actively encouraged to do this.

If you perform well the level of responsibility given to you, even as an intern, increases pretty quickly. Your performance is constantly assessed and reviewed, and if you do well you will receive plenty of positive feedback as well as constructive feedback. The work culture at the organisation is partially based on creating a friendly atmosphere which makes it easier to get to know your colleagues during your time there and truly feel as a part of the team.

There is plenty of support and guidance. You can always count on your team, "buddy" or other employees to help you out if need be. The organisation's structure is truly flat, i.e. there is no traditional power hierarchy whereby managers or heads of department are out of reach for interns. Everyone I met was accessible and friendly, and if you needed them to give you some advice they would happily do so.

The job is not as stressful as private sector internships, I did the odd late nights and early starts, but they were rare. The work is pretty well balanced and the organisation encourages staff to have a good work life balance.

I was given plenty of responsibility within weeks of starting, from managing my own cases, to liaising with multiple stakeholders on behalf of my team, presenting to senior management and so on. It really is up to you how much responsibility you get, if you feel you want more, I found that you can openly ask for it.

Given that my background is in banking and finance law, I think the experience at the FSA will prove to be a great contribution to my career in this sector. However, I think whatever your academic background, the FSA provides a solid internship for anyone interested in the banking, finance and insurance sectors. In addition you get plently of training during the internship, including on giving presentations, networking skills or the opportunity to attend internal lectures on a range of subjects relevant to the FSA.

Very friendly and easy going. The offices are open plan, so it's never too quiet. However this can also depend what department you are in, some are quieter than others.

I think this can depend on what team you get allocated to, as some line managers do invest more time than others in taking care of the interns. However overall, it was pretty well organised, plenty of events, training, paid on time, and so on.

The FSA makes a big effort to invest in your training and development, even as an intern, since you could be taken on as a graduate employee at the end of it. From chatting with other members of staff, they agree that the FSA does invest a lot in this area of your career.

You are told within a couple of weeks of finishing the internship.

All the interns were friendly, however, being spread out throughout the organisation (which is pretty big) did make it difficult at first to get a good social scene going. However after a few weeks it picked up and ended with a blast. It is true however that it is up to the interns to make this happen, there were not many "social" events organised by the FSA for the interns.

London is expensive. Fact. I was studying and living in London already so it was no shock. But for those coming from outside London be prepared for high renting costs, expensive transport and expensive bars (although this is England and a decently priced pub is never too far away, so it's really up to you how much you spend when socialising). However this is not an FSA problem, it's a London problem, applicable to all other London internships. On the plus side, the salary for interns is relatively decent.

Canary Wharf isn't notorious for a great night life, but good areas are by no means far once you get the hang of the DLR, Overground and Tube (Shoreditch / Old Street is no more than 20 to 30 minutes away).

There were some, I wouldn't say there were many of much interest to the interns.