Case study: This is the right age for risks. I've made all my mistakes in the past and learned from them

DARREN BLACKBURN, 35, from Edinburgh is married with no children. He is about to become co-owner of the the Caley Sample Room bar and restaurant and said he did not feel many of the pressures supposedly affecting his peers.

"Becoming a co-owner is a risk and I'm aware of that but I kind of thrive on a little bit of stress - it keeps you moving forward.," he said.

"For me this is the right age to be making such a move, I've made all my mistakes in the past and learned from them.

"I've got friends who are achieving less than me or are super-achievers, but that is fine.

"I can understand the people in the survey who left a job because they were unhappy. I left one where I had a borderline abusive boss but it was a positive thing."

SUSAN CALMAN, 35, from Glasgow, is single. She gave up a successful career as a lawyer four years ago to become a stand-up comedian.

"I had a mid-life crisis at 31. I'd got to my 30th birthday and wondered, am I going to be like this for ever? I'd had enough. I'd been in law, studying since I was 17 and then worked for 14 years. I panicked about my future and just resigned and left.

"Some of this report is accurate. The other factors mentioned, such as career pressure, remind me of hearing people saying, 'I'm 30 and I've not made it'. But 35 is an age where you take stock. Perhaps if your career is not going well you're more likely to say stuff it at that age. It's something everyone should think about. It could be your last chance to get out of something before it's too late."