Oscar joined the Admiral Undergraduate Summer Internship in June 2016 and was then offered a place on their 2016 Graduate Programme starting last September. Here he talks to us about his experiences.
Can you tell us a bit about your university background?
I actually studied Nuclear Engineering at university and was initially planning on doing a PHD. But when I finished my Masters last year I decided I wanted a change. I still wanted to work in a very mathematical field so I started looking at numerical roles, which got me looking at actuarial work – where do actuaries work? Insurance!
So why did you choose Admiral?
Living in Cardiff I knew about Admiral but I looked into other insurance companies as well. In the end I saw an advert from Admiral in the Western Mail, which motivated me to look at the website where I found the internship programme and it looked great, so I applied.
Did you find you were able to apply skills from your degree to your internship?
My Excel skills as well as knowledge of C++ were extremely useful, which I didn’t expect beforehand. Although Admiral doesn’t use C++ it was very useful to help me learn SAS and will be helpful to learning SQL or Java in the future.
What did you think of the Summer Internship?
Doing an internship is really different from being at university. It was hard coming from a really academic field into a business environment, but the internship is pitched really well and the training and support was great. Admiral invested a lot in us and we were given real insights into the company.
It was a good summer and a great alternative to spending it at home. You get accommodation and all the interns are housed together so it gives you the chance to discover a new city together. I’d definitely recommend it.
The other nice thing about Admiral’s internship is that there are no 80 hour weeks!
What convinced you to stay at Admiral at the end of your internship?
I like living in Cardiff and Admiral’s a really friendly company with great opportunities. I also really liked the idea of the graduate programme with the 6 month rotations where you can decide what you’re going to do. In many companies you don’t get this – the first 3-4 years can be very prescribed.
So what are you working on at the moment?
On the internship I worked between Pricing and New Products as I had asked for a numerical placement. I then stayed in this area on my first placement so that I could finish up my project. I’m still keen to go and explore the actuarial area though.
Did you ever think you’d end up in insurance?
I was more focussed on the skills I could pick up in a job rather than the industry itself, so I wasn’t too focussed on the sector. The job itself needs to be interesting and that’s what I got here.
Do you have any tips for somebody thinking about the Undergraduate Summer Internship?
It would be helpful to read up on insurance beforehand. Also - the internship is very flexible, so say what you want to do and steer it in the right direction for you. Make the most of it!
What do you like best about your job?
The people here are very friendly and it’s a good culture. The work/life balance is great as well. This is a really good first job, because no previous experience or knowledge was required. I’m happy I made the right choice to co me here and to stay at Admiral.
Watch our quick video to find out more about our Undergraduate Summer Internship:
Click here to discover more about graduates at Admiral.