Post Internship Experiences

Previously in January, an article on the Interview Experiences for Internship was posted, this article serves as a follow up to the post. Recently, the first batch of Sunway University Actuarial Studies third year students who underwent a 3-month internship between December 2014 and March 2015 have returned to the campus. In this article, we have compiled the post internship responses of 3 students who were attached to companies in various industries. The first student is Hazel Hiew who was attached to Actuarial Partners. Next is Megan Tee who interned in an investment bank, Hong Leong Investment Bank. Lastly, we have Queenie Woon who went to ML Reinsurance, a reinsurance company. They were required to answer 4 questions and their responses are as follows:

        

                 Hazel Hiew                             Megan Tee                             Queenie Woon

1) How do you feel about your internship experience?

Hazel:I feel that this experience gave me useful insight into the actuarial industry, as far as consultancy firms go. I was exposed to real-life insurance products and actuarial asset management, and I got to see how actuarial and financial theories are applied in the real world.

Megan: The internship experience was very rewarding in terms of exposure and life experience. It was a precious chance to be able to work in non-actuarial related industry (investment banking) and got exposed to the real world financial market and meeting top managements of public listed companies. I have learned a lot of soft skills throughout my internship.

Queenie: It was a great experience for me. I’ve improved my software skills and learnt a lot of new things from my internship. My internship experience made me a better one. Last but not the least, this experience will definitely be useful in my future.

2) Does internship help you in determining your future career path?

Hazel: Yes, because the internship allowed me to experience a portion of work life in the actuarial industry.

Megan: The internship did not really help me to decide where I really want to be but I have at least 'tested waters' in the investment banking industry and know what it takes to be in that industry which is useful for future consideration.

Queenie: Internship offers me a chance to experience a prospective career path. By the time of graduation, I will have confidence that the degree I am receiving is the right one.

3) What is the difference between study and working environment?

Hazel: In terms of the work itself, the main difference is the fact that in university/when studying, all the relevant information is provided to us, ready to use. However, in reality, most of the information needed to do actuarial calculations and analysis is not easy to obtain. So, there is a heavy reliance on assumptions when modelling.In terms of environment, university students have much more freedom as they usually have breaks in between classes. They are not required to stay in an office for most of the day. Overall, student life is much more easygoing than that of a working adult.

Megan: Study environment is more relaxing compared to the working environment because as a student, we have more free time for various activities. As for working environment, it is more mentally and physically exhausting as you would need to be in the office for at least 8 to 9 hours a day assuming you don't need to go out for meetings with clients/field trips. You'd have lesser time for personal matters and you'd appreciate your weekends more.

Queenie: In real working environment, we couldn’t expect to have full supervision on certain task. Most of the time, we have to solve the problem by ourselves.

4) Does internship motivate you to study when you are back to campus?

Hazel: Yes. Through this internship, I saw how the theories we learnt were applied. This shed a new light on the actuarial studies subjects. Also, there were some new theories and assumptions that I learnt of during the internship that pique my interest.

Megan: Internship does motivate me to study more in uni to build up more knowledge and well equip myself for workforce. Furthermore, internship does motivate me to do more readings regardless of subjects/topics to enhance general knowledge.

Queenie: After experiencing working life, studying is better and easier compared to working. Hence, I will appreciate my remaining time as a student and it motivates me to study harder.