Taking a gap year is the perfect opportunity to travel the world, meet loads of new people and gain many new skills. It gives you the chance to learn about yourself and mature before you go to university or start a new job.
The gap year has increased greatly in popularity over the past ten years throughout the world. A gap year can include different activities ranging from volunteering to conservation work, backpacking to working abroad.
Advantages
Taking a gap year pre/post university is the best time to go for many different reasons.
Disadvantages
If you want to have a gap year abroad, but don’t know where or what you want to do, have a look at some general gap year websites for some inspiration.
These sites are full of information from experts and ex-backpackers. It can often be cheaper to book independently but you lose some of the security of having help if anything is to go wrong.
Some of the most common gap year ideas are discussed below but note that not all suggestions need to be undertaken in a gap year most can be done within the university summer holidays.
Suggestions:
Camp America
Camp America provides nine week placements for British students as camp counsellors or members of camp staff. They take care of all the visa applications and finding you a job – perfect if you are going during the summer holidays and don’t have time to search independently. Campleaders.com is a similar programme. Work America enables you to find employment in America either related to your degree or something completely different. The company doesn’t find you a job but will instead provide you with access to a job directory used by previous participants, reducing the search time you will have to undertake.
Au pairing
If you can speak a foreign language, then working as an au pair can be a way to fully understand the language and learn about the culture. There are specialist international au-pair organisations that will help you to find employment in your chosen country such as aupairinamerica.co.uk.
Backpacking
Backpacking and inter-railing across Europe or travelling across Australia are the most common travelling routes which young people undertake. STA travel have specialist trained gap year agents who can help you decide what you want to do and where you want to go. If you aren’t 100% sure of where you want to go you can buy air miles allowing you to take as many journeys as you want within your miles budget i.e. as long as they fall within your purchased miles – see thegreatescapade.com for more information.
Working Holiday
Travelling and working can be a good combination if you don’t have time to save up loads of money before going abroad. Unless you can speak a foreign language then employment abroad will be limited to English speaking countries. You will need to register for a special visa allowing you undertake employment.
backpacking.gapyear.com provides a summary of the requirements of the majority of backpacker destinations. Organisations such as BUNAC and STA^ can help you with all the entailing bureaucracy of getting a visa and organising a bank account in a foreign company.
Kibbutz
People living in an Israeli kibbutz follow a socialist ideology – they all work and live together collating their incomes and evenly distributing them among all members of the community. You have to be 18-35 to go on the program, kibbutz.org.il , with the intention to stay for a minimum of two months. In return for working you receive free accommodation, food and even pocket money.
Teaching English Abroad
To do this you will need to enrol on a course to ensure you are certified to teach abroad. Be careful which course you enrol on as the validity and international recognition will vary accordingly. Some schools will allow you to teach without becoming certified, but having the scheme will provide you with more potential jobs to choose from, allowing you to command a higher wage – have a look at tefl.co.uk , teaching-abroad.co.uk or i-to-i.com .
Volunteering
If you want to travel abroad, but want to do something more fulfilling than simply backpacking, volunteering could be the answer. There are many different programs available with worldwide locations – have a look at aventure.co.uk, vso.org.uk and spw.org (Africa and Asia), raleighinternational.org (Costa Rica, India, Malaysia and Africa), lattitude.org.uk and bunac.org.uk (worldwide).
American Drive-away
If you want to drive across America, this could be the way to do it. American hire companies need drivers to drive their hire cars across the county, either to different states or in order to get their fleet back to where they came from. You will need to be over 21 with a full, clean international driving licence, as long as you meet the deadline of returning the car on time, there are limited other conditions for partaking on these schemes.
Trans Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian route covers journeys made from Moscow to Beijing, North Korea and Japan. The railway network has been established since the Second World War and is one of the longest single continuous services in the world. Statravel.co.uk^ and vodkatrain.com are two of the most popular operators of this route, providing tour groups with local guides, aiming to give tours real insight into the continent, going above and beyond ‘normal tour operators’.
South-East Asia
This is an increasingly popular backpacker route, either as a pre-route to Australia or as an adventure in itself, covering countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. Travelling within this area can be organised independently though researching websites such as travelindependent.info/asia-southeast and gapyear.com. Statravel.co.uk^ organise trips for this route allowing all the decisions to be made for you as do most of the gap year websites. If you want to visit this route but be more than just a tourist there are certain volunteer programmes, run by i-to-i.com, including teaching abroad, working in orphanages and conservation work.
Farm Work
Backpackers going around the world on a budget can take advantage of schemes designed to allow work to be undertaken for free accommodation. The main locations of programs of this kind are in Australia and New Zealand but there are some European destinations available from helpx.net. Wwoof.org – Willing Workers on Organic Farms – fhinz.co.nz or workaway.info have similar placements available. The schemes allow you to work for up to 5hours/day in return for free accommodation.
Chalet or Ski Work
Getting a job in a ski resort can be alternative job for backpackers to do. There is a wide range of different jobs available in this area, with up to 50 operators working in the sector. You can apply for a ski job independently by emailing your CV to the numerous operators or you could use a specialist employment agency. Try:
For all of the above gap years, try to pack as lightly as you can. You will be able to pick up cheap clothes all over the world and bring back souvenirs for your family and friends. Onebag.com and upl.codeq.info have suggested universal packing lists to ensure you keep your packing to a minimum and can take advantage of foreign fashion.
Taking a gap year doesn’t mean having to go abroad. There are many formal work experience placements in the UK, allowing you to improve your CV.
A gap year like this can give you firsthand experience of a working environment, and you might even get placed in an organisation you wish to work in after you get your degree. It enables you to make good contacts and can demonstrate your commitment when it comes to interviews – especially valuable if your degree was non-vocational.
Volunteer work is another. The Community Service Volunteer organisation matches up those wanting to volunteer with placements in the UK. Each placement lasts between four months to a year and is perfect for those wanting a gap year at home – csv.org.uk . Raleigh International also has details of UK volunteering opportunities as does timebank.org.uk.
If you don’t want to go on a gap year but still want to get some work experience then try writing to your chosen employers and try to arrange some (un/paid) work experience for the summer or Easter holidays. Again some of the bigger employers have two-week placements available. Look at gap-year.com for detailed information of companies offering paid work experience placements.
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