My name is Bob Dickens. I currently work for the investment bank, for the settlements and services division, in an IT based role. I applied to Société Générale following an advert I saw online. The advert said I could learn a lot about the investment bank, I could learn a lot about the IT side of the investment bank, and also, if I could see any areas for improvement, or suggest improvements, then if they were good enough they would be implemented. I thought this was fantastic way of pitching a job to someone and sounded like a real challenge, so I applied. Luckily I was given the job and for next year or so spent my time going on training courses, learning a lot about the business side and also the IT side of the settlements division in the investment bank. That gave me a really good exposure to both the business side and the IT side, which are quite different, but obviously work together. During this time I decided that I was leaning much more towards the IT side, rather than the business side, so I was given the opportunity to move roles into a technical role, which is where I currently still am. I now work for the infrastructure support team, responsible for all the hardware and software for the settlements system and its auxiliary functions for the investment bank in the UK. Recently I was promoted to be team leader, which is a position of huge responsibility. One of the best things about working in the area I do is that although I’m part of a wider team, I myself don’t come from a particularly financial or IT background, and a lot of the other people on the team have a vast knowledge and considerable experience in all the systems we use, and they’re very willing and happy to spend time training me and teaching me how to use the various different systems, which is absolutely brilliant for someone like me who is looking to learn these new techniques. I wouldn’t say it was an easy job, but if it was an easy job, it wouldn’t be so interesting.