Sarah Andrews says she "can't see why anybody would work these days".

The 36-year-old West Australian makes more than $12,000 a month — consistently — but the career path she's chosen is far from conventional.

This is not to say she's not held a traditional job in her life.

Ms Andrews obtained two bachelor's degrees, topped one with a master's, and worked as a spatial scientist for an engineering firm in London.

Sarah Andrews is teaching courses on how to turn holiday accommodation into a lucrative business. ( Supplied: Sarah Andrews )

She questioned whether office work was for her, but decided to change her lifestyle after she got a skin cancer for the second time.

"Over-worked" and "dissatisfied" with her life, when she spotted a 50-square-metre rustic shed for sale on the west coast of Tasmania, she bought it without hesitation.

"It had been on the market for five years. Nobody wanted it," she said.

"It was priced at $88,000. I just paid it, I thought that was quite cheap. But when I got there, the locals told me I overpaid."

Ms Andrews hired local handymen, and with an extra $20,000 they turned it into a "whimsical" shack for her to recover in. But she never ended up living in it.

Despite being told the remoteness of the area would render the place un-rentable, she listed it on a short-stay accommodation site anyway.

The shack is booked out every day. ( Supplied: Sarah Andrews )

Even with a hefty price tag, it's booked out every day for months on end.

"Within I think two months, I was booked out and I've been booked out every day ever since for three years," she said.

"It brings in six figures a year profit — that's after tax and expenses.

"I also book it out for photoshoots … that's a big earner.

"It's paid it off many, many, many times over already."

What was once an unwanted "trawling tin shed" has become Ms Andrews' livelihood, leaving her better off than when she worked as a scientist.

She's capitalised on her success even further by teaching courses on how to turn holiday rental ventures into a lucrative businesses.

"I do sense sometimes a little bit of green eyes [from] some people who are working very hard in businesses," she said.

"I just think, why would anybody go to work every day.

"There's lots of other ways people can make money. It's about thinking outside of the box."

Ms Andrews says the the shack had been on the market for five years. ( Supplied: Sarah Andrews )

Carolyn Alchin, the vice-president of the Career Development Association of Australia, said in today's world innovation and adaptation were the key to success.

"Building a 'side-hustle' into a full-time business is often a great way to succeed because you did it because it's interesting, you're good at it," she said.

"A lot of people make career decisions based on a very small number of jobs that they knew were available.

"The more research that you do into the plethora of careers that exist out there and the number of different job opportunities … the more likely [you'll] have success."

'It was completely left-field'

Sim and Mel Nichols run a coffee van at a picturesque lookout on the Tasman Peninsula. ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

Mel and Sim Nichols lived in Melbourne for 15 years.

Their careers were their main drivers.

He was a financial analyst for a major health fund, and she worked for one of the big four banks.

"[In Melbourne], you can really jump-start your career, especially in the areas that we were," Ms Nichols said.

"But I think sometimes you start calling into question whether your personal life — or your personal values — are really balanced with what you're spending most of your hours and life doing."

To "freshen things up", they bought a holiday house on the east coast of Tasmania.

After a month of weighing financial risks, Mel and Sim Nichols bought the van. ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

"I see now that that was a complete scam and Sim was always going to move me back to Tasmania," Ms Nichols joked.

Whatever spare time they had was spent on the Tasman Peninsula, and gradually their octagon-shaped forest shack evolved from a holiday house into a home.

Sim Nichols worked as a financial analyst. ( ABC News: Katri Uibu )

Their arrival didn't go unnoticed by the local community, and soon another young couple offered to sell them a coffee van that sat at a picturesque lookout.

"At first it was completely left-field. But on the same note, I could see how it fitted perfectly for Mel because she's such a good cook and a baker. She's so outgoing," Mr Nichols said.

"There is some trepidation if you start something new that you haven't done before."

After a month of weighing financial risks, the couple said yes.

"Sim's an analyst, so whatever numbers we did have, when we were buying this business, were dragged over the hot coals," Ms Nichols said.

Eighteen months on, the demand has been so great they stayed open throughout the icy winter.

"In the middle of nowhere, we're so busy. I've never been so busy in my life," Ms Nichols said.

"The real joy's in creating a special place for customers where people can come together."

Ms Alchin said the average millennial these days would have five careers and 17 jobs in their lifetime.

"Careers are usually chosen based around values. Values can change over time and over [a] lifetime," she said.

"Now it's more of a case of people wanting to find fulfilment in whatever they do, whereas back in the day people found fulfilment just by having work."

Mel and Sim Nichols say if they woke up one day and discovered no-one liked coffee anymore and their tiny van was out of business, it would still have been worth it.

"You never know how long you're going to have on this planet, so you may as well just give it a go. You really should," Ms Nichols said.