Rat race rebelsMost of us are trapped in a nine-to-five office routine and many of us w

Rat race rebels

Most of us are trapped in a nine-to-five office routine and many of us would like to escape. We interviewed three people who have said “No!” to this rat race…

Fiona

After university, I was on the dole for a few months. I didn’t have any money, so I was really pleased to get an office job… but it was very boring! I gave it up and went to do voluntary work for the VSO – Voluntary Service Overseas – in Rwanda. I teach old people and children to read and write. It’s not the most comfortable of jobs but it’s great to be doing something of real use for once.

Andy

I used to be a freelance news journalist. It was very stressful and I had to travel a lot. I applied for loads of other jobs with no success, so I started to think about my real interest – football! Now, I work from home and write football articles for press agencies around the world. It’s a full-time job but I have much more free time. I’m my own boss and I can get up when I want!

Emma

I used to be a teacher and I worked 40 hours a week. Then, I saw the movie American Beauty and thought I could change my life too! I did a course in acupuncture and shiatsu massage. I took four years to get qualified but now I have set up my own business. Shiatsu is very popular these days because people are so stressed and you can earn quite good money.

1、Emma didn’t have a job for a while.

2、Andy has turned an interest into a profession.

3、Fiona has her own company.

4、Fiona feels she is doing something useful.

5、Andy was influenced by a film that he saw.