I work in the City of London, at a financial services firm. I don’t make a lot of money, but I manage. However, times are tough, and people are getting fired left and right, at my company as well. It’s mid-November, but it’s warm in London - I can still walk around without my coat, passing by groups of protesters outside, say, Legal & General and BlackRock on my way to get lunch. For me, finance is a meritocratic field, where hard work pays off, and no one really cares where you’re from. In a sense, Finance is London, as London is Finance.

I dream of one day becoming a trader, but I might be for the wrong reasons. It’s not so much the money as the feeling of all-encompassing purpose that comes from long, stressful days at the office. Traders are to me what astronauts are to other people - we all want to see the stars.

SUN ANGELS / DEC 2011