Wisely, a lot of people decide to take a gap year before starting university. It provides students with the chance to recharge their batteries, enjoy new experiences and learn important skills.
Is it a good idea to take a gap year?
Taking a gap year can be a great opportunity to make sure your dream career doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare. Not only can a gap year get you headed in the right career direction, it can also save money since you won’t waste any credits taking courses that aren’t necessary for your eventual career choice.
Traveling during a gap year is a particularly good option. Provided you take the right approach, it can be a great springboard for what you want to do next.
Every person’s gap year will look a little different, but, if you take one, you may find yourself doing some combination of these.
Here are a few ways for you to make the most of gap year travel.
Become a Temporary Language Teacher
Teaching is a great option. It gives you the chance to get to know the local culture and people, as well as providing you with an invaluable skill. One that you can use when you get home to supplement your income.
It will also help you with creating a statement of purpose. The fact that you were a teacher, someone who helped others during your travels, is definitely going to be seen as a positive thing. It will help you to stand out and do so in a very positive way when it is time for you to apply for university or get a job.
The other benefit of teaching while you are abroad, is that it can enable you to save up a little money. You are not likely to earn a lot, but most of the time you will be able to make enough to cover the cost of food and accommodation and save up a little money to put towards paying your university fees.
In many countries, there is a huge demand for English teachers. For several years, we have funded our travels by working as language teachers. So, if you are interested in doing the same, take a closer look at our Teaching English Abroad section. Everything you need to know to get started can be found there.
There are many teaching jobs out there, and if you take the time to prepare yourself and research the best options, you could find other jobs that provide housing, such as an au pair. But teaching English is one of the most popular due to the demand, and as it’s a skill you already have in spades, it may not necessarily feel like you are “teaching” and as the work requires minimal preparation (the teaching plan is usually done for you) you can make the most of downtime.
Hone Your Writing Skills by Running a Travel Blog
If you can do so, write about your travels. Being a good writer is an essential skill for any student. The more you write the better you will become. So, it really is worth setting up a simple website and sharing your experiences with the world.
Conveniently, you can even update your blog as you travel, flights and train journeys provide an excellent opportunity to do some writing uninterrupted for a few hours, and this way creating your own blog doesn’t even take up your free time! Trainline even allows you to book a seat with a table and charging port when allocating seats, so if you want to take the chance to do some writing, booking this option is the way to go. A travel blog will also provide a kind of diary for you to look back on and reminiscence about your gap year.
Should that not appeal, at the very least, keep a travel journal. As you can see from this article, there are many excellent reasons for you to do so.
You can also think about writing for others. Writing services have made a great leap forward. Now med students can order high-quality essays from experts. For those who have a tight budget, there are fortune-saving sites, such as essayhoney.com. With its help, students can get free coupons and discounts.
Use Your Travels to Deepen Your Understanding of a Subject
If you know what you will be studying you can tailor your travel plans to enable you to become more familiar with your chosen subject. For example, if you are considering a geology degree, plan your travel itinerary to include places of special geological interest.
If you know what you will be studying you can tailor your travel plans to enable you to become more familiar with your chosen subject. For example, if you are considering a geology degree, plan your travel itinerary to include places of special geological interest. You may also want to deepen your understanding of a subject that you do not know much about, so if you are not familiar with marine biology you could visit a local ocean wildlife reserve if there is one nearby.
Travel websites are the best places to look for things to do and will be able to guide you to events and locations that will help you develop your skills in the subject that you are going on to study in a year’s time. These are especially useful to consult when visiting a country such as Thailand, where there is just so much to do and see. These websites contain all the information you could ever need, including information about public transport, which is always handy when you are travelling around different cities and countries. These websites will be able to help you plan your trips down to the finest details and will help your journeys run smoothly, so it is worth consulting them.
Or, better still, volunteer to help out with a geological study. These opportunities do not exist for all subjects, but they do for many. So, take a look around and see if you can combine your travel with deepening your understanding of your chosen subject. This site can be used to help you find the kinds of opportunities you are looking for.
Provided you plan well, you will be able to enjoy gap year travel, as well as benefit in the ways described above.
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Kate Mate
Friday 28th of August 2020
Even, I took a year gap before starting university, and opt for travelling. Being a traveller, I love to explore new places, mountains, and forests. However, dense forest paths and open highways, navigating for several weeks, can prove challenging. So, from my personal experience, I want to share the problems faced while travelling or exploring new places with those who wants to chose travelling in any point of life. I had been to a forest safari to explore the jungles and it was my first experience too. Finding ways is very difficult in such situations and people often get lost, but I had Garmin eTrex 30x which was recommended by my friend. This GPS device helped me a lot. GPS devices while travelling the untravelled places is very necessary. The most interesting part is this device was given to me way back and it wasn’t updated, so before going on hiking it was very difficult to find a software update from the official website, but Garmin Express map updates from Garmin Express updater was their to rescue. I found the update quickly. It was very smooth to use.