Is taking a gap year or career break a good idea?
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Is taking a gap year a good idea?
Simple question, simple answer - yes! Obviously we're a bit biased on this one, so we'll let some others do the talking for us:
“Gap travellers are not only experiencing different cultures, but dipping in to all sorts of jobs - from journalism and medicine to farming and diving.”
The Daily Telegraph
“A year out can offer you an exciting, challenging and valuable opportunity - it can and probably will enrich your life forever.”
www.yearoutgroup.org
“There are as many amazing things to do as you can think of.”
Tom Griffith, quoted in ‘The World's Your Oyster', The Independent
“We were thrust into situations where we had to rely on each other, and a real camaraderie is quickly developed.”
Toby Armstrong, ‘Gap Year: Conservation', The Daily Telegraph
From life-changing volunteer projects spanning the globe to paid jobs abroad, gap years and career breaks are all about gaining life experience. For students, gap years are an opportunity for a well-deserved break from school, college or university. The same applies to those taking a career break; taking a year out offers the traveller some valuable breathing space meaning they are more likely to make the right decisions about their education or career move on their return.
The real beauty of gap years and career breaks is that universities and employers alike genuinely appreciate candidates who have stepped out of their comfort zone and worked and travelled abroad. Indeed, universities positively encourage taking a year out these days - offering deferrals to gap year candidates.
There is so much to be gained from a gap year. You son or daughter could work on a volunteer project with endangered wildlife or underprivileged children, gain valuable experience of paid work abroad, or negotiate their way around the world.
Gap years and career breaks are an ideal opportunity to reflect on future career paths and academic choices, experience a different culture, meet new people and see new places.
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