Life Actuary Intern Review

It has been a valuable experience so far and has given me good insight into the life of an actuary. The work has been diverse and interesting and my colleagues have been supportive.

I was always asked how i was doing, whether i liked what i was doing. I was invited to socials and would always have lunch with the students from day one. Everyone was appreciative of the work i was doing and this made the experience better.

I have had regular talks with my manager and with my mentor, where they have given advice and updates on my performance and how i should think about my career choices.

There has been a lot to do, and if i run out of work i simply asked and get assigned more work. But there was still time for breaks and meeting people.

I was responsible for all my work, and everything i modified and created was going to be used in the future, and for me this was vital because you feel like the work you are doing is worthwhile.

The skills are very transferable, for day to day communication, to more advance excel work and computer coding. I think i would be able to use the skills i have learnt in all areas of my life, now and in the future.

Everyone was sociable and happy to talk at anytime. Everyone was approachable and this made the day pass very quickly.

Other than a few issues with computer access for the first week, everything was well organised and structured. There was constant communication right from the application stage and this made the process much quicker and easier.

I had an induction and am scheduled to have a training day, but given the short period of time, there has not been scope for much more. All the questions i have asked were quickly answered and were very helpful, so on a day to day basis i was able to develop well. I was also given talks about the company and how the team and our part of the business operated which i thought was really useful for the internship. But in terms of formal training, there was no real need for this.

As it stands my manager is pleased with the work i am doing and has a record of the comment i have received from the other staff i worked for. But there is no fast track to a graduate job. Having said this i have been told that my email address will be kept and i will be invited to company events in the hope that i will apply for a position next summer.

People were often going out during the week and on Fridays and i was invited to many of the events, the actuarial students all had lunch together and were sociable and approachable.

I lived at home so this did not impact me so much, as for socialising; the Bristol prices are not too bad. They are far cheaper than London, but not as cheap as some places. This is of course dependent on where and when you go to places.

There are plenty of pubs and clubs and other places to socialise during the days and at nights.

There were sports activities and there is charity work, but i did not have time to do these due to other commitments. The charity work has not happened for our team so far in my placement but i have only been here for a month and a half.