Are you in your 30s and making a career change? If you are, you're not alone.

Demographers say the trend of young professionals ditching the nine-to-five work life to start their own businesses is one that's growing.

Erin Bingham is 32 and has left her job as a public servant in Canberra to pursue her passion for screenwriting full-time.

"I did the nine-to-five, I bought the apartment because that's what you do and I saw my friends doing the same thing and I thought, 'OK, these are the things that you follow in life'," she said.

But when she turned 30, something clicked.

"It was like this realisation that I didn't have to do what was expected of me," she told Lateline.

"I didn't have a family, I don't have kids, I can really do whatever I want."

Erin has sold her apartment and moved back in with her mum to fund her new career change.

"People think I'm crazy, possibly because this is Canberra and everyone in Canberra is a public servant," she said.

"I have this opportunity and I have the time and I thought at 32, I would like to try it now and try it for two years, three years, fail spectacularly and come back to the public service and at least say I tried it and at least say that I gave it a go and followed my passion."

Qantas pilot-turned-energy drink entrepreneur

Steve MacDonald and Marty Spargo, founders of Reize energy drinks. ( ABC News: Sarah Whyte )

Childhood friends Marty Spargo and Steve Macdonald grew up in the beachside town of Shellharbour and had a similar realisation when they turned 30.

Marty was a pilot with Qantas and Steve was an accountant, but they left their jobs to start an energy drink brand.

Marty said the change has allowed him to spend more time with his family.

"For me, I was taking a bit of time off work because I had recently lost my mother to cancer and I wanted to be closer to home and to the family," he said.

"I was relatively young and it just made me realise you only live once."

What do the experts say?

In 2016, about 126,000 part-time roles were created in Australia, while full-time jobs fell by 34,000.

Liz Allen, a demographer at the Australian National University, said the increasing casualisation of the workforce has created a greater risk-taking culture among young professionals.

"I think people are taking more risks because of the uncertainty in the labour market," she said.

"When there is insecurity, we innovate, and those that can't innovate don't fare as well in terms of adjustments in the labour market.

"So while there is that insecurity, there's nothing to lose if you like. There is that freedom."

Housing affordability a factor

Mark McCrindle, principal of the social demography company McCrindle, said the state of the Australian housing market was another reason people in their early 30s were taking career risks rather than settling down.

"If we look at the previous generation of young people, they were saving up for a deposit by the time they were even in their mid-20s, they were getting a foothold in property and that means they had a mortgage they had to pay down," he said.

"But now housing affordability is pricing this generation out of the market which means they end up with more money that's disposable to spend on lifestyle pursuits such as to start up a business or to fund a new training opportunity or a new career."

Mr McCrindle said the Australian economy would win from a generation that was nimble and innovative, but he warned there were risks if things did not work out financially.

"So while it's not as exciting to join the career ladder, it does have the benefit of long-term earnings and locking into the mortgage does have that asset benefit of a home and therefore a retirement vehicle," he said.

The millennials trend has also been identified in the United States.

A 2016 survey by the United States' Gallup poll found that six in 10 millennials would consider leaving their jobs if they did not feel engaged at work, compared with 4.5 in 10 non-millennials.