Marek Kukula chose his career aged 14 on a trip to Jodrell Bank, and now he’s public astronomer at the Royal Observatory

Vanessa Lawes began her career working in print studios and now designs for well-known brands such as Marks & Spencer

Steve Levine explains how skills he gained working as a studio ‘tape op’ led to him producing multi-platinum Culture Club albums and starting his own label

After giving up a job commissioning rollercoasters, Tracy Bloom fell in love with novel-writing and now she makes a living from self-published romances

It takes around seven years of practise to become a skilled glass worker, and gaining practical experience by assisting in a workshop is crucial

A course to learn techniques can be useful but there is no substitute for trial and error in guitar making. Perseverance and a love of guitars also help

Tact and empathy are as crucial as knowledge of phonetics and linguistics when working on film sets, and it helps if you have a background in acting or drama

Staging Glorious Goodwood is more than Pimms, panamas and parasols – it requires an expert to juggle the demands of its two- and four-legged competitors

A job with a 300-year tradition that’s best learned through apprenticeship is undergoing a resurgence, and has ecological as well as aesthetic benefits

There’s no set career route, but the ability to empathise and be adaptable are paramount in a job in which you never know what will happen next

Beyond artistic talent you’ll need dogged persistence and humility – and it’ll be at least a year before you’re let anywhere near a machine

Traditional skills such as carpentry and welding are useful, as is versatility and a robust set of sea legs

A good forensic scientist needs to be inquisitive, methodical and have good communication skills, says Dr Kelly Sheridan – and don’t use TV as a guide

Don’t worry too much about cartooning courses, but you’ll need plenty of motivation, says Beano illustrator Nigel Parkinson

More than faith, it also requires managerial skills, empathy and, sometimes, a strong stomach

Tasks can range from managing the catering for a meeting and doing tea trays to acting as a valet for the ‘gentleman guests’ in order to make sure they always look presentable

As Valentine’s Day approaches and UK consumers prepare to spend more than £40m on cards, Caroline Gardner tells how she ended up designing some of them

It’s a job that requires you to be a scientist as much as an artist, says Julia Nagle, but there’s always something new to discover

You’ll need an extremely wide knowledge of music past and present, says Joe Bennett, plus strong analytical skills