Gap year: yay or nay?

With the new year in full swing, decisions loom for students in terms of what to do with the duration of the year.

Some may choose to study at a tertiary level, others might begin working while some may want to take a gap year.

A gap year is a year that you take off after school, usually to work or travel before you decide to further your studies.

With Covid-19 putting a halt on many people’s plans, traveling might not be in the cards.

However, there are still options.

Remember that the decision to take a gap year is completely dependent on your own situation.

If you feel a little conflicted about what to do, here are some of the pros and cons of taking a gap year:

PROS

1. You have the opportunity for personal growth. Within the year you will be able to decide exactly who you are and what it is that you really want to achieve out of life.

2. If you are an indecisive person, a gap year will give you the chance to do some job shadowing to figure out what career field you want to go into. Often approaching these things practically will help put things into perspective for you

3. Most people choose to work in their gap year. This is great because you gain work experience which is much needed for a promising CV and this will boost your employment potential. Secondly, you will be able to earn some money which you probably would want to save for university or future plans.

4. You may discover a hidden passion or talent. Throughout your gap year you might try out different things and realise that something like photography is what you are really good at. You will never know these things for sure unless you try them out. A bit of self-discovery goes a long way.

5. Taking a year off allows you to experience life outside of the classroom walls. You are exposed to the real world, and along with it you will learn responsibility, independence and maturity. These are much needed traits that you will implement throughout your life.

CONS

1. Your gap year has the potential to turn into gap years. You may get too comfortable and not want to return to further your studies.

2. Spending a year out of an academic environment may make it more difficult to get back into studying the following year.

3. Often universities give first preference to applicants who are fresh out of high school compared to those who have taken a year off. This may decrease your chances of getting into your desired university.

4. If you have no plans for your gap year (in other words, you do not know what you are going to do for the whole year) then you are basically wasting a year of your life. You need to go into a gap year having previously decided that you are going to work, travel or do something along those lines.

5. Lastly, a gap year has the potential to set you a year back in regard to your long-term plans, should things not go according to the way you expected them to. For this reason, you need to be well prepared, by doing research and getting advice from relevant people.

HAVE YOUR SAY

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