Architect Adam Markowitz Average earnings for an architect: $83,105 a year (in 2014/15) How much Adam earns as an architect: Less than $80,000 a year. Architect and furniture maker Adam Markowitz Credit:Jason South Adam Markowitz is a very busy man. He divides his time between his own architecture business, contract work for other architecture firms, teaching the subject at Melbourne University and his furniture-making side business.

His studied architecture at Melbourne University and after five years of study and a one-year internship, he obtained his qualifications. He then worked for three years as a graduate architect before he got his official registration. His first architecture job was at a firm that specialised in medium density housing, but he did not find the work enriching. "Architecture seemed to me to be a profession that offered creativity and financial stability, but once you get into it you find it is a lot more complex," he said. "It is hard to keep up morale when you're working on a project you wouldn't want to live in yourself." When he graduated in 2010 he was earning about $50,000 a year, and said a lot of his colleagues would still not be earning more than $80,000. He decided to pursue his passion for making furniture as a side project, which took him to Tasmania and then to a design school in Denmark founded by Sydney Opera House architect Jan Utzon. In recent years, he has started his own architecture and furniture design firm in North Melbourne, Markowitz Design.

His design skills ended up leading to more opportunities in architecture, and he secured a teaching role at Melbourne University. Train driver Phillip Walden Average earnings for a train driver: $107,794 (in 2014/15)

How much Phillip earns: About $120,000 per year Train driver Phillip Walden Credit:Pat Scala Phillip Walden's first job after leaving school at the age of 17 was as a fireman on a diesel train. After five years of on-the-job training he became a qualified train driver, and he soon moved on to operating electric trains on Melbourne's metropolitan network. In 1994, he left to become a private investigator, but returned to train driving after a decade of gumshoe work.

"Our pay considers our working hours can be 24/7 and start at all hours of the day," he said. It's a complex and responsible job. Train drivers are responsible for ensuring hundreds of passengers stay safe and reach their destinations on time. It can also be stressful. Drivers sometimes have to cope with deaths on the track and near misses. At Metro Trains, qualified drivers earn a base salary of around $95,000 plus loadings for weekends, public holidays, and overtime. Becoming a train driver is a sought-after career, with more than 9000 people applying for one of 130 trainee-driver roles last year.

Average earnings for an osteopath: $59,882 (in 2014/15) How much Claire earns: Between $90 - $120,000 a year. Osteopath Claire Richardson Credit:Wayne Taylor An osteopath is a manual therapist who takes a whole-body approach to healing. "We treat the same injuries as a physiotherapist, but it's a slightly different treatment approach," Claire said.

"If someone came in with a wrist injury, we would consider how their shoulder or their arm was contributing rather than just treating the wrist." Claire's husband Shaun also works as an osteopath and the pair met during a five-year course at Victoria University. More than half of all Australia's osteopaths are based in Victoria, mostly in Melbourne, and typically work as contractors. This means competition is fierce, keeping prices low. Ms Richardson divides her time between two clinics, her own Chadstone Region Osteopathy practice and St Kilda Osteopathy, where she works as an associate. "I work more hours than a regular osteopath would, so comparative to my peers I earn a bit more," she says.

Osteopathy Australia says the area is the fastest growing health profession in Australia and almost all osteopathy graduates find work. Its chief executive Antony Nicholas says there are now more students than there were registered osteopaths and the size of the profession is expected to double in the next five years.