Profile: Scope Leadership Programme for disabled students

Nikita Narayan spent 12 months on the Scope Leadership Programme, working as a trading assistant at Lehman Brothers in London. Partially sighted, she studied computer science and management at King's College London, and graduated in June 2005.

Q: What does a trading assistant do exactly?

A: I look at the trading strategies of traders on the desk, assess their profitability and make recommendations to management on their degree of success.

Q: What made you opt for a role in investment banking?

A: I was searching the internet for information on possible summer placements in financial services and management consulting, and I came across something saying that Employment Opportunities for Disabled People were promoting an internship scheme within the civil service. That didn't really appeal to me, but I contacted them and they steered me towards their programme at Lehman.

Q: So you started out as an intern at Lehman on the Employment Opportunities Programme?

A: Yes. That initial internship was in a completely different division: I was working as an operations analyst in the middle office. It was an auditing role which involved looking at accounts for completed trades. Before that internship finished I applied for another place on the Scope internship programme, and I'm now in this role for another 12 months.

Q: Will you get a full-time job at the end of this internship?

A: Perhaps - there's a possibility of staying on, depending upon my performance.

Q: Does your disability impact your ability to do your job?

No. I suffer from retinitis, which means I'm partially sighted, but it's a non-progressive condition - my sight won't get any worse. Lehman Brothers has also been fantastic in making adjustments to take account of my disability: I have magnification software on my computer which means I can perform my job as well as any normal sighted person.

Q: What three pieces of advice would you offer other disabled students interested in banking careers?

• Don't be nervous about applying. There's a definite misconception that investment banking is a fast-paced aggressive environment, and I think that deters people from applying. But this hasn't been the case in my experience. People have been very friendly, accommodating and approachable.

• Don't think your disability will necessarily affect your ability to do the job. Banks are good at making adjustments and with their help you may be able to easily overcome any barriers.

• Be open and honest about your requirements. In my experience, banks are willing to help.