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Posted Oct. 13, 2014

Postgrad Careers: How to Start Looking After a Gap Year

Let's face it, your career is important. Studying for your future is one of the most important things you can do. After studying hard for your degree, it is perfectly understandable for you to want to take a gap year, go off and see a bit of the world, and have a well earned rest before starting a masters or PhD.

How easy is it to return to study after a gap year?

A gap year can be relaxing and enlightening, so the last thing you want to have in the back of your mind is the worry you will find it difficult to return to study after it is over. Having that reassurance that you can easily return to do a PhD or Masters is something everyone deserves. Most universities and potential employers will understand the need for a gap year, and life experience is something that cannot always be taught. Undergraduate study can be a gruelling process, and the interviewer for your masters or PhD will completely understand you wanting to take the year out to travel, or even work to save up to fund the course. It is important to make sure you are honest about this, and don't tell prospective universities that you have been researching your field when really you have been beach hopping in Cambodia. Equally, future employers will often be understanding as long as you explain what you did - especially if you learned something useful during it!

Does a gap year always have to be travelling?

When people talk about gap years, one would always automatically assume you are going off travelling around the world or building orphanages in Africa. As mentioned here , graduate study can be incredibly expensive. The reason for the gap year may be to work and save a little bit of money, or it may even be to have a bit of a breather from the intense application process.

As well as being expensive, a masters or a PhD needs a lot of time invested into it, so you may just wish to take a year out to decide what you really want to do afterwards. Most businesses will be okay with this as a reason - after all, it shows you're committed to applying to them, rather than just doing the done thing.

How can I return to study/work after my gap year?

The first thing you need to do, is be prepared. It would be naïve to think you can get away with applying for your masters or PhD and then walk straight from the airport into a university. If you are abroad for your gap year, it is going to be incredibly hard to get back into the swing of things, so you need to give yourself a few weeks to organize everything and get your 'hard work' head back on.

It is probably worth getting your courses and student finance applied for before you jet off, and if you are taking a gap year just to relax at home or raise some funds, I would still suggest getting everything sorted as soon as you can for the next year, so that you don't have to stress and worry at the last minute.

The next thing you need to do is think about how you are going to sell your gap year experiences to potential institutions or employers. When returning to study or starting to apply for jobs, it is worth taking the time out to think of advantages your gap year has given you over those who have stayed firmly on the study path from their undergraduate courses. Postgrad life can be stressful, so even if you can pitch that you are refreshed and ready to work the hardest you have ever worked, this can give you the edge over someone who has now been in continuous study for half of their life.

Make sure, if you are going to go travelling, you are adequately connected to the outside world. There are always reasons during the application process for you to need to check your emails for any problems with results or student finance or even reponses to graduate scheme applications, so as good as it may seem to spend 4 months on a mountain retreat in Laos with no phone, you really need to be mindful that some problems could arise that you need to be aware of. Don't be fooled into thinking you can sort everything out at the last minute either, as there are plenty of people who will happily take your place for study.

All in all, organizing yourself a gap year can be fulfilling, rewarding, and a great way to gain life experience outside of the walls of university. You just need to remember to be organized, be honest, and have fun.

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Taking A Gap Year
Postgrad careers: is a gap year good or bad?
Pros and cons of postgrad holidays
Keeping in touch after your postgrad degree
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