Actuarial and Risk Intern Review

The work has been interesting and relatable to my university degree and the people have been wonderful. The large intake of interns made socialising very easy outwith work and my colleagues were helpful and friendly from day one.

I felt very valued by my colleagues. I was given ownership of my work and the opportunity to add my own insights as much as I could. The work was also work that would have been completed by my manager had I not been there which gave me a greater sense of purpose in the role. The also treated me like any other colleague, letting me get involved in social events and even giving me a birthday present!

The internship itself was very structured and well organised. The work I was given was decided in advance and my manager was on hand to help if I needed it. Even when he went on holiday I was able to find help easily because the team work so closely together.

Throughout the internship I was very busy. It was a very busy time for the team and they were behind schedule before I arrived, which meant the work I did was really valued by them. While finishing my initial project I was already being briefed on the next thing I could help the team with.

I was given a lot of responsibility with the work itself as I completed two necessary annual papers and then updated a tool used by the team regularly to analyse data. Of course, as part of business procedure this was checked regularly on multiple levels so I never felt I was going to make a huge, costly mistake.

The projects I was given are directly linked to my degree studies and I was able to apply knowledge from previous years to the work. I will also be able to apply what I learned about the business and it's practices to my forthcoming studies and also developed technical skills (Excel) which will be very valuable during my final year of undergraduate studies. I also developed my networking skills and learned how to operate efficiently in an office/ business environment i.e. who to speak to and how to approach conversations with them to get what I need.

Very relaxed and friendly in comparison to other financial services firms. Everyone enjoyed a laugh when appropriate and the team ethic throughout my team was very strong.

Could not have hoped for more. Organised well in advance so I had an idea of the work I'd be doing, everything from day one to my last day went smoothly, even external team building exercises, development sessions etc. There were planned learning events set up for all interns in advance and others specifically for my stream (actuarial). I was included on the trainee actuary and department mailing lists from day one which meant I never missed out on any opportunities.

There were various development sessions across the 10 weeks for all the interns to attend. As a group of four actuarial interns we met with over 20 senior members of staff from across the business who were vrey welcoming and keen to share their career experiences with us, something I found particularly valuable when thinknig about the direction of my own career.

Very appealing as a prospective actuarial trainee. The company offer a brilliant study package and because of this have a very high pass rate for proffessional exams in comparison to other firms. The breadth of different opportunities and experiences, and scope for movement across the business also make it very appealing.

Excellent, all of the interns (except those who lived locally, including myself) were put up in the same block of local apartments which were of a good standard. This meant people were always keen to mix and socialise together over the ten weeks, especially during the festival (Edinburgh).

It was standard prices for living in the city centre, accomodation for most interns was taken care of by Standard Life which helped a lot. Prices of socialising increase in some areas during the festival but you can always budget and find cheaper alternatives.

Nightlife is excellent in Edinburgh, the whole city is thriving due to the Fringe festival. As well as standard bars and clubs there are a lot of pop up venues and live shows of all kinds to go and see.

There are lots of sports/social clubs at Standard Life, although it can be difficult as an intern for quite a short space of time to get involved. There are opportunities to go to career development events such as FASS (Faculty of Actuaries Student Society) networking events along with trainees from all of the companies in Edinburgh.