Woman with first-class maths masters turns down £100,000 City job to become a plasterer

Instead she's living on about £6,000 a year while she learns to be a plasterer.

Miss McCoyd, 24, who has a first-class masters degree in mathematics, insists she is doing what she loves.

Star pupil: Gemma McCoyd turned down a £100,000-a-year job in the City to be a plasterer

'Some people have said I'm crazy but I thought I've got try and do what I love now or I'll always regret it. I really didn't want to be sitting in an office bored out of my mind.'

She discovered her talent for the craft during art classes she took while studying for her degree.

Since swapping a calculator for overalls, Miss McCoyd has picked up three awards, including one for excellence and a £5,000 training grant.

She has completed two years of the course and is qualified to work in the building trade. But she is staying on for an extra year for an advanced qualification, so she can land her dream job in restoration.

'It would be amazing to specialise in the fancy stuff, because that's what I seem to have a knack for.'

Passion: Miss McCoyd, 24, wants to work in restoration when she finishes her course

Miss McCoyd, of Halstead, Essex, is the only girl and star pupil in her 30-strong class at Leicester College, which is dominated by 16-year-old boys.

'I've really had to prove myself,' she said. 'I'm still not the fastest, which will come with experience, but I've actually become the best.'

After graduating in 2006, she was offered a job by a City firm of actuaries, but turned it down.

'If I'd gone with being an actuary, I could be earning up to £100,000 a year,' she said. 'Instead I don't think I'm even earning £6,000.'

She has been doing part-time work to support herself, including some plastering jobs.