GUEST COMMENT: Careers I'd pursue if I wasn't in the city (and which would probably make me a lot wealthier as a result)

There's an unfortunate perception in London that you can only make real money and have a real 'London life' if you work in the city.

That just couldn't be further from the truth. Although undoubtedly the city makes a lot of people rich by normal standards, the reality is that 99% of everyone you see walking around the city earns at maximum a couple of hundred thousand pounds a year - and most of them a mere fraction of that.

Sure there are the Bob Diamonds, Michael Sherwoods, Greg Coffeys et al, but the reality is that the 5% at the top of the food chain take at least 95% of the cash.

This begs the question, is the city really the be-all and end-all? And are there really other ways to become wealthy, and maybe even have some fun along the way?

Option 1: Start a business

There are few things more satisfying in life than starting a business, seeing it grow, and hopefully achieve success. But a common misperception is that it has to be something ingenius and something out of the ordinary to make serious cash. That couldn't be further from the truth. Ask Julian Metcalfe, founder of Pret a Manger.

Sandwiches aren't exactly revolutionary. Or what about Julian Dunkerton, founder of Super Group (Superdry clothing) - which spawned from selling clothes on a market stall. Both of these guys are worth more than the aforementioned 'Masters of the Universe' at the top of the page, if the latest Sunday Times Rich List is to be believed.

Although good examples of the simplest product making serious amounts of money, it misses the point of how a small and simple business can blow away a 'normal' city salary. A better way to explain it is this: my local corner shop owner found out what I did for a living a few years ago, and took great pride in telling me that he probably made more money than I did, despite what the average man on the street

would think.

And the sad thing (for me at least) was that, at the time, he was absolutely right - he showed me his annual accounts and he was taking over 300k a year. From one single (admittedly horribly overpriced) corner shop! Unbelievable, but true.

Option 2: Become an agent

We've all seen the TV series Entourage, and if we're all honest we do secretly envy the life of 'Super agent' Ari Gold. There was a lot of chatter in 2008 and 2009 that a host of MBA grads who would otherwise have been destined for Wall Street or London in better times were making their way to LA to hit the world of showbiz. And I bet this is the best move most of them will ever make. 10% minimum commission on anyone you look after, a life full of interesting people and experiences, and a hell-of-a-lot more glamour?

Suddenly the 10 basis points you brokers make on each trade, or the 50k you IB analysts make working 18hour days doesn't sound quite so appealing... Again, I'm

not talking about the top 5% who control 95% of the business - you don't need to steal Brad Pitt or David Beckham as clients - a friend of mine manages a small bunch of people, none of whom I've ever heard of or probably ever will. But I somehow doubt this keeps him awake at night in his Chelsea penthouse, after a night out with true models and bottles....

Option 3: Just do something, anything, which you enjoy

At the end of the day, there are just too many people in London who wake up every morning and head into the city to do something they hate. Take a look around you on the tube in the morning, and try and find more than one single, contented, happy face.

I had the displeasure of knowing a banker a couple of years ago, who was making

a mountain of money each year and on first glance there was probably a lot to envy. But after seeing Match.com on his screen every night for a month, I started to see that all was not as it seemed. After a beer or five one evening, I asked him "If you could do this all again, go back to being 15 years old, and you could make whatever choices you wanted, what would you do?".

His answer? "I'd do every single thing differently. I'd probably forget uni, get a job as a window cleaner or a bar man, actually have some mates and maybe have a chance of getting laid this side of being 50. This job has made my life suck".

Maybe the most important point in here is that being rich and being wealthy are two very different things entirely.....

The author is an anonymous, and comparatively senior, derivatives banker.