Manicurist

Secret Salary: £48,000

Nail technician Zoe Pocock, 33, works at the Daniel Galvin salon in central London.
I guess her career could be described in one word: whirlwind. Four years ago, she used to be a pub landlady in the country, and had never been to a beauty salon. Now she’s a manicurist in London, with celebrity clients like Kelly Brook, Kelly Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne.

After a six month course, she opened a salon in Shropshire, which was such a huge success that even her boyfriend retrained as manicurist too! But to get her big break, she took a risk and moved to London. Luckily Nail Guru Marian Newman offered her a job on the spot after a trial. Marian took her on magazine photo shoots and to London and Paris Fashion weeks to work on the shows.

Celebrities came into the salon, and, once she got to know them, they’d ask for her personally, or pay her to go to their hotel rooms at a rate of £100 an hour, or £500 a day. Some her clients gave her gifts, as well as tips. She would get invites to parties and concerts, and she has been given a white fur coat, Smythson dairies and even Tiffany Jewellery!

She would never have a typical week at work. She would either be in the Daniel Galvin salon, on a photo shoot, selling products on QVC, or developing her own manicure kit, which she plans to launch soon. She developed the Christian Louboutin manicure, which is black and red like the shoes, and a mulberry pedicure, which involves stamping the tree logo onto the client’s big toenail.

She was successful because she took a risk. She knew if it didn’t work out, she could always go back to work in the pub!

Plumber

Secret Salary: £50-70,000

Jane Graham, 28, works for Pimlico Plumbers in London

She gets annoyed when she arrives at a job and the person doesn’t believe she’s a plumber! They expect to see a man. So, when she does a good job, it really impresses them.

When she left school she wanted to be a physiotherapist. She started university but felt studying didn’t suit her, so she got a job as a secretary to get by. But being in an office bored her. She wanted to do something more hands-on. Her dad reminded her that she always loved getting her hands dirty and fixing things, and he suggested plumbing.

The training was hard and she was the only women in a group of 40 blokes, who all took the piss, but she gave as good as she got. She had to take an evening job and move back home because she was only earning £80 a week.

When she finished training and got some experience, she moved from Middlesbrough to London and went from earning £350 a week to £1,500. She couldn’t believe it when she got her bank statement. To celebrate she went on a spending spree, buying boots, handbags, dresses, jeans and lots of other girlie stuff.

The best thing about her job is that she really enjoys it. The only problem is that she always has to try and cover up her plumbing cuts and bruises if she goes on a glam night out!

It’s a waste of life to do a job that you hate. Some of her friends go to work on Monday, wishing it was Friday. But not for her, she wants to be a plumber for the rest of her life…