WHITE-COLLAR workers made redundant are opting for a "bean change'' - a new career in coffee.
Barista schools are booked out with coffee lovers looking to turn their daily fix into their daily income.
Many are former office workers who have invested their redundancy pay in cafes and coffee carts.
Debbie Ross from Newtown's Pastizzi Cafe was in corporate life for 20 years before being made redundant.
She decided to open the cafe with her partner, who had a hospitality background.
But she said running the cafe, with longer hours involved, was more physically taxing and all-consuming compared with the mental pressure of her office job that finished at 5pm.
"This is seven long days, long hours, all day Saturday, all day Sunday - it's your life,'' the 45-year-old grandmother said.
"The reward is we started from scratch and built up something which just grows and prospers.
"It's like a new life, career change - the cafe is our baby.''
Mrs Ross said the decision to make the move was incredibly stressful, but the rewards were greater.
"It's a different kind of stress,'' she says.
"It turns your life upside down, but I'd never go back.
"It's all worth it.''
Former advertising executive Vince Lombardo left corporate life when times became tougher last November.
He has owned Pablo's Vice in Surry Hills for about six months and said the move was the ideal life change.
"I love the social aspect of it,'' he said.
"It's a little bit stressful, but for me it was quite an easy transition to make.
"It's a very competitive area _ and even in advertising your pay cheque fluctuates like it does here.''
Coffee consultant Gina Di Brita of Numero Uno coffee roasters said her barista courses were full.
"I've noticed a lot of people coming in who have been made redundant and are looking for something different,'' she said.
"The cafe business isn't for the faint-hearted, and we've seen a surge of people who were in the financial and business markets who all seem to have hit on the same idea simultaneously.
"They're cafe customers who plan to use their redundancy money to live out a dream on the other side of the cafe table.''
However, Ms Di Brita said the tough financial climate would see many inexperienced entrepreneurs fail.
"Cafes are the hardest work on Earth,'' she said.
"No white-collar job prepares you for this."
Taken from: The Courier Mail