Pros
As a rather new intern at State Street, specifically a fund accounting and custody intern working in the former Investors Bank & Trust (IBT) division of State Street, I have found my experience to be helpful in opening my eyes to the world of financial services. As a part-time intern and full-time undergraduate student pursuing a Management degree, I found the internship helpful in several ways. Over the summer, I applied for the State Street Scholars internship program at my school, and having been accepted into the program, I happily ended my three-year part-time career in retail sales to pursue work related to my field of study. The internship not only paid more than any salary I had made prior, but I was also able to get some real hands-on experience in the workforce, work among recent grads in the same age bracket, and gain some inside knowledge about how State Street runs its rather successful business. The eight-month internship will allow me to train alongside fund accountants, officers, and managers, and insofar, I have found much of the staff both friendly and helpful in guiding me through their workday. By May, I, along with a number of my fellow students, will be expected to receive job offers for entry-level positions in the company, giving me a subtle edge over many undergrads with little or no experience in the financial sector. The work is fairly straightforward, employees are typically laid-back and amicable, and the atmosphere remains fairly casual throughout the year.
Cons
Obviously, and as many others have pointed out, the work at State Street can be described as anything but exhilarating. As a Management student, I find myself debating whether or not I would like to continue in an Accounting and Finance-related field, such as the one I am engaged with now. I find most of the fund accountants in my department, despite being friendly and easy-going outside of work, entangled in a monotonous web of cash projections, verifications, repetitive daily routines, and intense, 15-30-minute cycles of frantic work and boredom. The job, especially as an intern, can almost drive oneself to slumber, when there are few other tasks assigned except for observing the depressing work of a checklist-programmed employee. Throughout the day, one can witness employees and managers alike surfing the web between crucial moments of the day (pre-pricing, pricing, etc.). In fact, some employees even nod off during the extensive "breaks," and to make matters worse, most of the employees in my group work several hours overtime almost every day of the week. For example, I have noticed some employees simply waiting around without work from 2:30PM until about 5:00PM, when they can actually start end-of-day work, which takes them an additional 2-3 hours to complete before they can go home. Perhaps this is commonplace in the realm of fund accounting, but as a part-timer about to graduate in the Spring, I want little part in such a job for very long.