Summer Associate Review

I am thoroughly enjoying my internship at the FCA. The work is interesting and it feels like the company is definitely investing in their interns. They also promote a very healthy work/life balance and provide you with lots of opportunity to learn and see lots of different parts of the organisation.

My colleagues value the work that I do and are happy to provide constructive feedback. They actively tried to find work for me that matched my skills, where I could individually add value to the project. They are also always, actually always, happy to answer questions about what work they're doing or just to help you out with your day to day work.

I have weekly chats with my manager about my progress, as well as a halfway and a final appraisal. They are always approchable and happy to give out feedback on the work that I have completed. Additionally, my manager always tries to get me to attend high level meetings so that I can network and understand how the organisation works at all levels.

At the start you have to put yourself out there so that people can judge your skills and therefore will give you more work in the future. The amount of work you do is really up to you, but the more you do the better. I tried very hard to get some more technical work which my team happily accommodated, which has been good as I now have my own project to work on.

I was given my own project to work on and asked to do integral work to the project. Additionally, my managers actually used the work I did, so it was useful work.

The fundamental skills like writing professional documents, having deadlines and working in a team are all there. Additionally, real world experiences like office politics are also useful to learn. You will also get a very deep view into the sector you work in and see how firms actually operate in financial services, the good and the bad.

Everyone was generally easy to get along with and willing to have a laugh. And there always seemed to be someone who brought in chocolate every day!

I had prepared objectives from day one, knew which division I'd be in before I arrived and hence had some time to do some prior research before I joined. We also had a two day induction and a comprehensive handbook for the horror that is IT.

Learning lunches were organised as well as weekly chats with my manager. There was also a midway and final appraisal to check that I was on track to meeting my objectives. My manager also pushed me to visit learning presentations and shadow other departments. It's also clear that the internship is a pathway to the graduate scheme.

The company promotes a good work/life balance as well as offering really interesting work. The work is also meaningful as its centred around getting the best for customers and helping firms compete well. They also offer secondments inside the organisation and further abroad like to the EU commission and even the USA.

The interns go out every Thursday after work for Curry Thursday at Wetherspoons. It's now a ritual, which we hope you will continue if you get an internship at the FCA. Additionally, the interns have done trips together to places like Brighton and Norwich.

It's London so it's expensive, especially around Canary Wharf, where the internship is based. My rent ate up half my wages straight away

There wasn't much nightlife around Canary Wharf, but it's London so there's plenty but it can be very expensive.

There were lots of community affairs days that the FCA organises and encourages you to take time off to do these things.