Erin Camlin

Host Organisation: FD Technologies
Job Title: Financial Engineer

How did you become interested in a Year in Industry?

At the time of applying to universities, I applied to some that offered a placement year, so it was always on my radar that a year of experience would be beneficial. Two of my university friends were on courses that included a placement year (from the Management School) so I was able to get some information from them, plus I knew I would still have people in Liverpool on my return to final year.

What did you hope to achieve from a placement year?

A year of professional experience in a workplace/ real world setting. Also increase confidence with presenting and interviewing.

How did you go about searching for placements? When did you start doing this?

I started searching in September of 2nd year. I used Handshake a bit but mainly just Googled companies that I was interested in and applied through their websites.

Could you tell us a little bit about the organisation you worked for while on placement?

I worked for FD but was placed on a project for a Japanese investment bank. I worked on this project for the full year in an application support role. FD is a capital markets consultancy firm who are headquartered in NI. They work for all 20 of the top 20 global banks.

Why is mathematical work important to the host organisation?

The technical mathematical skills are important when working with different systems that the various banks use. Also FD pride themselves on providing "problem solving" which is a key mathematical skill.

What were some of the main projects / tasks you were involved with while on placement?

I was involved in the daily business support, dealing with urgent and high priority queries, sometimes as the sole point of contact/ the only team member logged on and available to assist. I was also involved in developing and deploying an automatic robot in one of our systems.

What were some of the main differences between studying at University and working on placement?

People relying on me and the work I complete — university is very independent. A set routine and the fact that you can't just choose to take the day off if you don't feel like working. Being able to switch off at the end of the day — once I left the office I wouldn't do any more work until the next morning when I came in again (better work/life balance than uni).

What was the biggest challenge you faced while on placement and how did you overcome this?

Feeling inadequate/ under qualified and getting stressed about the amount of responsibility that had been given to me. I overcame by speaking to my team leader who reassured me and confirmed these feelings were normal for any new job, not just placements. Speaking to other uni friends who were also working for the first time helped too.

Has the placement made you think differently about your degree subject?

Yes — I see that it's not always specific mathematical knowledge that is essential in the workplace, it's the skills developed through my degree — this surprised me.

Has the placement made you think differently about your future?

Confirmed to me that I want to work in the corporate world and enjoy working with people/ clients. I know a little bit more about the type of career I would like.

In your opinion, what were the main benefits of taking a Year in Industry placement?

Lots of benefits!!! Mainly increasing my confidence and developing my interpersonal skills. Also corporate skills such as Microsoft systems and email etiquette. Seeing how beneficial a good work life balance/ switching off at the end of the day is, which I hope to apply to my final year. Also earning money so now financially independent, got to meet lots of new people and expand my network and plenty of experiences/ examples to talk about on my CV and interviews. Through the application process I also had to do a number of tests and interviews so I know what to expect when applying for graduate roles.

Do you have any tips or advice for Maths students who are interested in a Year in Industry?

Don't apply if you don't actually want it. I applied to loads of roles that I didn't even want to do, which wasted a lot of my time !! Also keep up to date/organised with uni work because the application process is very time consuming.