1. Alice Chan, 29

Not having a clear idea what career path to take, I opted for something I knew my parents would approve of - in my case, advertising. It couldn't have been a more glamorous job, dining with clients in Smart restaurants, jetting around the world to film ads. But I just couldn't be myself. So one day I just handed in my notice and retrained as a social worker, working with kids from disadvantaged families. And I've never looked back. It's meant a huge drop in my income but it's a sacrifice I'm happy to make for the sake of doing something worthwhile.

2. Jon Golding, 32

I used to work for an IT firm. I was never interested in progressing within the company but I was too scared to let go of the guaranteed income. I was a keen guitarist in my spare time. One day I was on holiday with a group of friends and we were chatting about our dreams. That was a turning point for me and I came home and enrolled on an evening course in guitar-making. I quit my job, converted my garage into a studio and set up my own business building guitars. My company is now one of the UK's leading guitar-builders. Needless to say, I haven't regretted my decision for a moment

3. Felix Mason, 34

I wanted to do something useful with my life and my dad was a science teacher so I decided to follow in his footsteps. But it turned out to be a thankless job. I was putting all my energy into it but getting very little back, apart from increasing demands from managers and parents. Finally, after 10 years, I quit. I was quite keen on writing. So I took on a very junior role as assistant editor for a technology magazine. After just three months, I was made editor, and four years on, I'm publisher of the magazine. Much as I miss the students, office life suits me far better. Being able to just get up and get a coffee whenever you want is amazing. You can't do that when you're teaching until the bell goes.

4. Debbie Fielding, 27

I'd been working as a veterinary nurse and the routine nature of the job was starting to get to me. I didn't get on with my boss, so when I was made redundant last year it came as quite a relief. I'd often dreamt of starting a company which provides specially trained animals to the film industry and it seemed like the right moment to give it ago. So I retrained and researched the opportunities available to me. It's taken a while to get the business up and running. I'm building up client contacts slowly and I expect things to take off properly within the next few months.