"I was working for a travel company as a marketing executive in Melbourne, and was trying to develop my career. But I started to wonder what the point of it all was when I just wasn't being given the opportunity to get further ahead. I was getting bored and there didn't seem to be anywhere for me to go in the company. So I walked away from it all."

Jeremy Neumann began playing music for some extra cash, and hoped his experience would help him land another marketing role pretty quickly. But an influx of talent and a shrinking pool of jobs made it harder than he imagined.

Jeremy Neumann hasn't looked back since leaving his job.

"Eventually, I gave up looking for jobs in marketing. It gave me an opportunity to reassess my career, and fortunately, I saw it as an opportunity to follow my passion, which has always been music. It turned out to be a really viable option for me."

Two years on, Neumann has built himself a business. He gigs mostly at weddings around Melbourne with his band, called Something Blue Band, which sees him working full-time hours, but usually when most of his marketing colleagues are tucked up in bed.