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Posted July 2, 2018

Taking A Gap Year

Taking a gap yearSo, you've graduated and are thinking of taking a gap year. It's not just a year off, it's an exciting decision that can be hugely rewarding.

Let's take a look at a few good reasons for why taking a gap year, either before or after your postgrad studies, is a great idea.

Get experience

Employers love experience so why not use your gap year to take an internship or volunteer?

International work experience can be particularly valuable to potential employers as, among other things, it demonstrates a willingness to step out of your comfort zone.

Gain confidence and maturity

You've learned a lot at school and university, and if you studied literature, you may know that it was the great Irish author, James Joyce, who said, "Life is the great teacher."

Many gap years are so full of experiences and adventures that even a few months can feel like a lifetime.

In a National Gap Year Alumni Survey, the American Gap Association found that 98% of gap year students said the experience had helped them grow as people, 97% said it had helped them gain maturity, and 96% said that their gap year had given them more self-confidence.

Improve your grades

These days burnout is not just a condition reserved for Wall Street executives it's increasingly becoming an issue among students too.

Taking a year out from your studies is not only stimulating, but it can also help you return to your studies refreshed and reinvigorated. In fact, some universities positively encourage students to take a gap year.

For example, Harvard University states on its website, “We encourage admitted students to defer enrolment for one year to travel, pursue a special project or activity, work, or spend time in another meaningful way.”

Harvard's overall graduation rate of 97% is one of the highest in the USA – their attitude towards taking time off seems to play a role in their success.

See the world

This could be your last chance to really travel and experience other countries at a deeper level before landing that dream job. Sure, you may be able to squeeze in an overseas trip here and there when you're working, but five days in the Bahamas doesn't compare to a working holiday in Japan.

It could even be a chance to learn new skills. A gap year abroad can be a great opportunity to learn a foreign language. There are many benefits to learning another language, not least of which is improving your career opportunities.

You're only young once

Travel is great fun, but it can also be tiring. Time and energy become precious commodities as we grow older, so why not do your travelling while you're young and in your prime

Save some money

You might find your gap year decision narrowed down for you by practicalities, particularly by financial constraints. Masters courses can be very expensive, especially if you’re already shackled with three years of student debt from your time as an undergraduate.

But a gap year doesn’t have to just be about travelling, instead it can be about taking stock and earning some money. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a studentship or run some kind of dodgy lucrative internet business scheme, a year to earn a bit of cash, gather yourself and sort out your finances is a pretty good option.

Respite from application agitation 

There’s also the whole application process to grapple with, which can be challenging to say the least and invariably takes place at the kind of time you might be worrying about other things, like passing your first degree.

Taking this into consideration, a graduate gap year is, for some, a practical or even a necessary next step. It also seems to be a good option for slowing down the hasty in-out university attitude we seem to have developed in the UK. A gap year is a good way to put a check on things for a while.

There’s something to be said for having a breather after three or four years of gruelling (or not-so-gruelling) undergraduate life. A year to reconnect with the world before plunging back into academia can undoubtedly help you to re-evaluate exactly what you’re looking to do with your postgraduate study, and to clarify whether it definitely is the path you want to take.

Go for it

Whatever reason you choose for taking a gap year, you're unlikely to ever regret it.

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2 comments

Thomas Daka Aug. 5, 2018, 12:42 a.m.

Gap year seem to be a period to freshen up from studies. It also seem to help refocus on career development by enriching it with valuable experience. Certainly, given chance and resources,I would take one.

Charlotte King Aug. 6, 2018, 11:08 a.m.

There certainly are many benefits. You can weigh up the pros and cons more by reading this article:
https://www.postgrad.com/blog/postgrad-careers-gap-year-good-or-bad/

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