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Research by Bing, Microsoft's search engine, has revealed that three in five people in the UK are desperate for a career change. Most of them would be happy with just a bit more money, something marginally less dull, or somewhere with new and less irritating colleagues. However, we all have dreams.

The same survey revealed the 10 dream jobs in the UK. So what are they, and are they really all they are cracked up to be?

Your career


1 . Pilot

This one may be hard to argue with, as you get to earn somewhere between £70,000 and £100,000 and travel the world. You have to work shifts and any number of nights. However, that shift pattern may require you to be put up in a luxury hotel in an exotic part of the world for a week while you wait for a return flight, so it's not that painful.

However, talk to a pilot and you may get a different view. Any number of strikes around the world would indicate that airlines under pressure are trying to make the package less generous, and new rules introduced since 9/11 mean you are essentially locked in with one other colleague for what could be a very long and boring flight..

Your career



2. Working for a charity or not-for-profit organisation

For those people slogging their guts out to make money for 'the man' the idea of actually doing some good may be too tantalising to resist, and as anyone in the sector will tell you, they have a real passion for what they do.

However, dwindling funds and increasing demands mean that not only will you struggle to make your fortune, but you may well also spend most of your time trying to achieve the impossible with far too little - which isn't going to be without an element of stress.

3. Writer

Making things up for a living, allowing your imagination and creativity to run riot all over the page. Who wouldn't want to be a writer? And when you look at the multi-millions raked in by the likes of JK Rowling, it seems like the answer to everyone's problems.

However, its worth bearing in mind that the typical writer is never published, so usually has to indulge their passion alongside a full time job that they hate just as much as you hate yours. Even if they get a book deal, in 2008 the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society found that the average amount made by a writer in the UK is £16,531. It's hardly riches beyond your wildest dreams.

4. Photographer

It's the kind of creative job we all think we could give a go with the right camera and the right opportunities. The idea of becoming the next David Bailey and spending your life surrounded by the rich and beautiful is appealing.

However, the reality is very different: weddings, corporate stills, and endless hours of chasing work and hoping for the best as the recession kills off your client base.

5. Musician or singer

Non-stop singing contests are testament to the attractions of life as a singing sensation. However, it's not without its downsides. First of all, the road to fame is littered with the bodies of those who tried and failed - or those who tried and succeeded but then fell out of fashion.

Even if you make it big, dwindling sales mean it's harder than ever to make a fortune, and the glamorous life of a singer can easily turn into the relentless drudgery of non-stop touring.

6. Sports trainer or coach

This seems like a great opportunity to indulge a passion for sport while rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. In reality it's more likely to mean working for £24,000 a year with the rich and flabby at your local gym.

7. Formula 1, Moto GP or rally driver

This is the stuff of dreams for kids. For the very few who make it, it can indeed be a dream job, with a small fortune and all the groupies you can handle. However, for the vast majority it remains an expensive hobby or a pipe dream.

8. Actor

'Pretending' for a living isn't all its cracked up to be. Unless you're an A-List superstar, you'll find yourself making less than £5,000 a year from your job, desperately chasing work for half your time, and doing something far less exciting to make ends meet.

9. Journalist

It's not all Clark Kent and Lois Lane, for many this is a life of rehashing press releases and reporting on mind-numbing meetings. In an industry where titles close every day and every new graduate fancies a piece of the action, there are far too many journalists and far too few jobs, so you can expect to be paid a pittance for your efforts.

10. Artist

Everyone fancies themselves as an artist, and could imagine lazy days with a paintbrush and their imagination. However, in reality many struggle with the sporadic and desperate earnings that means the verge artist makes about £7,000 a year from their art, and makes the rest up with desperate and unfulfilling work.

The UK's top ten dream jobs



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