Taking a gap year: Is it for you?

Figuring out what to do after graduation can be a difficult decision.

There are many options for seniors not immediately entering the workforce, like taking a year after their graduation to travel, gaining real-world experience with part-time employment or internships or working to save money before graduate school.

With graduation later this month, the time has come for seniors to solidify plans for their post-grad lives. Taking a gap year, a year off before finding a job or going to grad school, is an alternative for those who still may not know what they are going to do next.

“Even if you feel like you know what you want to do, a year will give you much more perspective, let you see many places you otherwise wouldn’t see and will develop your ability to cope with change, live in new environments and your overall independence,” said Chris Joondeph, a '13 philosophy graduate.

The gap year originally referred to the idea of taking time off between high school and college. The trend has recently reached the U.S. with schools like Tufts University offering incoming freshmen the opportunity to do a year of international or national service before beginning their studies, starting next year. Other universities, like Princeton University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, have also begun offering subsidized service programs for low-income students to take a gap year.

Traditionally, a gap year is a period of two months to two years taken between high school graduation and freshman year of college, usually for travel, volunteering, interning or working, according to the American Gap Association, an accreditation organization for gap years. The concept of a gap year originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and has since become popular in other countries as an option after college.

| Gaining experience

Chris Joondeph, a '13 philosophy graduate, is spending a year and a half working in Thailand after his graduation.

Photo courtesy Chris Joondeph.

Joondeph began working as an English teacher in Thailand through a company called the American-Thai Foundation after he graduated. He is currently working as the company’s developmental coordinator.

He said he has gained skills like adapting to new cultures and living on his own. He can now also speak Thai at a professional level.

“I am glad I made the decision to go overseas,” Joondeph said. “I might not be getting paid as much or doing exactly what I want to do, but I am gaining valuable skills like foreign languages that I probably wouldn’t be gaining back home.”

Joondeph is taking what could be considered a gap year-and-a-half, as he plans to travel even more after his job contract ends in June. Joondeph plans to visit Southern Thailand, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Vietnam, Laos, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Dubai, Kyrgyzstan, Istanbul and Jordan. He also plans on studying Russian and Arabic, he said.

Joondeph said he will be home in time for Thanksgiving, when he will apply for jobs in Washington, D.C. to begin his career.

“If I can manage to get a job, I would like to move to the capital, but if not, I might travel and/or work overseas a bit more while I wait on the job market to recover,” Joondeph said.

The most valuable lesson Joondeph learned is what he doesn't want in a job because of the flaws in Thailand’s education system and the poor treatment of teachers, he said.

“When looking for jobs from now on, I am much more aware of the importance of proper management and professional development opportunities, and I will be looking for these when searching for jobs in the future,” Joondeph said.

| Saving money

While Joondeph used a gap year to travel and gain real-world experience, others like senior psychology major Angela Juister take a gap year to work temporary jobs for financial reasons.

“I think it will get me a little bit more experience in the workforce,” Juister said. “I’m just basically working before graduate school so that I can save money.”

Taking a gap year isn’t for everyone though, Juister said.

“I think it just depends on what you’re going into,” she said. “It’s all really on an individual basis.”

| Getting a job

For Ivy Chiou, a senior public relations and advertising major, the idea of taking a gap year has never crossed her mind, she said.

“I just don’t know what I would do in a gap year,” Chiou said. “I do understand it for some, for instance, if they’re applying to grad school or if they’re going into another academic program, but for PR it’s more you’ve got to get out there and get the experience.”

Since Chiou has no plans for graduate school, searching for a job right away seemed to be the best option for her, she said.

“I think that post-grad life can be a little daunting and I think it can be a weird transition phase,” Chiou said. “I think getting a job right out of it will really give you not only something to do, but let you apply what you have learned in the past four years in real-world situations.”

Chiou would be worried about the gap year lasting much longer than intended, she said.

“The only disadvantage I can think of is if a gap year started to turn into something where you don’t do anything after a year, and it starts becoming something where you don’t progress anymore,” Chiou said.

Photo courtesy Pexels.