The 'R' word is being heard a lot lately. But what do you do when redundancy strikes and the career you have trained for and worked at for years is suddenly removed from your life?

The recession -- that other R word -- has seen people, including professionals such as engineers, architects and lawyers, joining the dole queues in droves.

Rather than stay on unemployment benefit, people whose skills guaranteed them a job in the good times have discovered the need to reinvent themselves and their careers in the downturn.

A year ago, architect Noel Murphy was a design team manager for a leading Irish construction company. Today he is working hard to get his first novel published. An engineer for 19 years, Joanna Church joined the dole queue in April. Since then she has been busy striving to bring a Dublin fire brigade engine to the African country of Niger.

Town planner Alan Russell thought his career was set when he joined Meath County Council. Now his photographic hobby has become his livelihood. Advertising executive Helen Hyland enjoyed making her own wedding invitations, but she never dreamt it would become a business until she received her P45 this summer. And architect Ingrid Kirk certainly didn't think that after redundancy she would be working as a gardener Down Under.

A valued employee for over 20 years, project manager Noel Murphy from Monaghan spoke about the shock of suddenly finding himself out of work.

"There had been waves of redundancies in the company but I thought I was in a pretty strong position. Then I got the call to go to the boardroom," says Noel.

'You are in a career you have put all your energies into, work is a huge part of your life, then someone clicks their fingers and you're gone. You see your lifestyle disappearing and think 'how am I going to survive?'"

Noel decided to "grab this experience as an opportunity and see where it takes me".

That was last October; since then it has taken him in several unexpected directions. Involved in a forum for out-of-work architects, Noel has been a guest on Pat Kenny's radio programme, has appeared on Prime Time and has featured in David McWilliams' new TV series Addicted to Money. He has also completed a 90,000 word novel, Revelations, which he describes as a "Da Vinci Code-style work of mystery and suspense".

"It's my passion and I'm determined to get it published. After that, who knows," he says.

It took 13 years for Helen Hyland to achieve her senior position in the advertising industry but it was her "passion for paper" that gave her a lifeline when redundancy dawned last July.

"I was devastated. I was only back from maternity leave with my son Jago and there were no other jobs out there," says Helen.

The graphic design graduate had made her own wedding invitations three years earlier, leading to orders from family and friends.

"I'd always loved fancy papers so I found a supplier in the United States and set up Helen's Paperie. It's not a cottage industry as it's based in my three-bed semi in Naas," she quips. Helen is working towards the January wedding fairs when she is "really going to give it a go".

She has come to see redundancy as a blessing. "I'm not a clock watcher running to the crèche. I can work around Jago doing something I love."

Town planner Alan Russell was often sent out with his camera when he worked for Meath County Council. The DIT graduate started there in 2005 and his career prospects were looking good when he got a temporary contract as an assistant planner in 2006.

Then the downturn struck and Alan found himself jobless on May 31 last. With "no chance of another job" Alan decided to combine his love of photography and sport into a paying proposition.

"Before this it never entered my head but fortunately I'd invested in lots of camera equipment when I was working."

Being a voluntary photographer for his local GAA club is helping to build up his business.

"People are buying action shots, particularly at juvenile games. As word gets around, I'm getting commissions for children's portraits and christenings."

Alan misses the security of his €42,000 a year job. "Ideally I'd like to be working as a planner but for now photography is my best bet."

Watching her colleagues losing their jobs Joanna Church, an engineer for 19 years, took redundancy last April "so younger people would have a chance".

Since then her job has been raising €30,000 to transport a Dublin Fire Brigade engine to the Zinder region of Niger, West Africa, where a single fire tender serves an area twice the size of Ireland.

In 2000, Joanna worked as an engineer in The Gambia with Britain's Voluntary Service Overseas. There she fell in love with partner Red Tobin and Africa.

"Redundancy is a chance to pursue my dream to live in Africa and drill wells so people have access to clean water."

Although her charity work, supported by Plan Ireland, has provided Joanna with an "exciting challenge," losing her job still rattles. "I never realised how much of my confidence and self esteem was tied up with my career. It's very upsetting, the whole economic situation went so bad so quickly."

- Angela McCormack

Irish Independent