My name is Francis and I'm from the University of Waterloo studying Actuarial Science in the third year. I'm a Business Analyst here at the Technology Application Group. I think one of the reasons why I returned to Scotiabank, is because of my really good experience in the first term and I just want to build on that.
As a Business Analyst, we gather requirements and add enhancements to the trading system. Our projects center on enhancing the speed and the efficiency of the trading programs. We can work with different number of traders, front office users and back office developers. Most of our job is very analytical, as we analyze a lot of the software needs but at the same time we get to work with a lot of different teams. Theres a lot more resources and the projects are usually big - we get a more in-depth sense of project management skills.
The full time employees here at Scotiabank, treat their students as full-time employees and assign them meaningful real-world work. One of the most appealing things here is the work culture. What I would normally expect from a big company is that everyone is just really serious about their work. But, here at Scotia, we have a lot of different activities, which are very social and often very fun. We had a Thanksgiving food drive with a contest and a prize at the end for the team that collected the most food. We had a potluck, where everyone brought some food in, and here at our office we actually have video games and a TV to enjoy at lunchtime. So it's a good balance between work and play.
Theres actually a lot of value working as a co-op student at Scotiabank. Working here and making a difference out in the trading floor gives me both a sense of accomplishment and an edge in my career.