Should I Take a Gap Year? Making the Right Choice for You

There are many reasons why taking a gap year can be beneficial. It gives people time to think about their future, allows them to see the world and explore, whilst they have no responsibilities. Taking a gap year also allows you to take a break from studying and the overwhelming workload! Here are some key statistics about gap years and our advice too - although you know us...we'll always say that taking a trip is a great idea!

 

60% of people said a gap year helped them decide what subject to study at university.

40% of students do not apply to university before embarking on their gap year.

90% of gap year students who originally intended to go to university on their return do so.

80% of people thought their gap year added to their employability.

67% of hiring managers believed it was beneficial for students and recent graduates to take a gap year amid the pandemic.

78% of college graduates participating in a gap year believed the time helped clarify what they wanted to do in life.

 

 

Real Gap Year Experience: My Journey to Southeast Asia

 

So, I'm not going to give you some impartial spiel about whether you should or shouldn't take a year off because, really, it's down to personal preference. I didn't go to uni, so maybe my uneducated brain shouldn't be saying anything at all. BUT! I did take a year off from my job, I took a sabbatical and booked a one-way flight to Bangkok. I was 22. I had been to college and went straight into my first full-time job, working every hour under the sun to earn as much commission as possible before it became a new month, and it all ticked over again.

 

It was relentless. If you work in sales, you know the feeling. I was 22!? What was I doing...I was in my prime, I mean, I'm still drop-dead gorgeous now. But back then I could have 2 hours of sleep and be as fresh as a daisy for the next day. PRIME TIME. So I decided to book a flight and go...I never looked back.

 

For 7 months, I backpacked around the world. I drank too many buckets in Thailand and even volunteered to help with Cyclone relief in Fiji. I couch-surfed in San Francisco and hit up opening parties in Vegas. I went by myself and made friends for a lifetime. But the most important thing was I realised what I enjoyed doing. What I liked and disliked. The best thing about solo travel is having the opportunity to do what you want when you want, and you meet a ton of cool people along the way too.

 

So I'm not saying leave your commitments at home and jump on the first plane to South East Asia, and that it will solve all your life problems, but in today's current climate, anything can happen. Sometimes, at such a young age, all you can offer is experience, stories that have happened to you, and employers love to hear them!

 

 

Key reasons to take a gap year:

1. Gives you time to think about what you really want to do. Hitting pause will allow you to spend time reflecting on your likes, dislikes, wants and wishes. Your school years are BUSY, and so often you have been playing by the rulebook, taking some time away from the expectations of others allows you to reassess YOUR life and wishes.

 

2. You may never get this opportunity again. Really, you might not! Whether this gap year is before or after university, or maybe a sabbatical mid-way through your 20s. Taking a year out is always a good idea because you never know when responsibilities are going to get BIG and barriers to freedom will suddenly appear. Look we don't want to scare you at all...but take the opportunity whilst you can!

 

3. It's great for your CV! Ask any employer...they all want to hear interesting stories in an interview! Whether it's the time you were troubleshooting in Thailand or you bonded with the locals in Bali, travelling on a gap year will give you SO many transferable skills, so if your parents need some convincing...there's your excuse! It's a "career year" really...

 

A gap year isn't a year off, it's a year on.

 

Gap years aren't always about travelling, hey you could stay in the same country and work in a bar. It's all an experience. I took a year off, travelled and came home a different person, you know the old backpacker saying "I found myself". Gap years aren't always about gallivanting abroad, but just self-reflection, learning about how the world works and how you do too.

 

This is just my story, and I'm sure some of the rest of the TruFam will tell you theirs but whatever you decide just remember -

 

Life is a rollercoaster, Just have to ride it…