From Tesco to Thailand: Gap Year Breaks
Taking time off from studying, either before or after university, has never been more popular. What’s more, there’s never been so much to do. A gap year can mean backpacking around Australia, or shelf stacking around Tesco. It can mean saving the rainforest in South America, or saving money in Southampton Whatever you fancy, read on for a run down of what, exactly, you can get up to on your year off, and how much it might cost.
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Volunteer At Home - It might not sound as glamorous as sitting on a Thai beach for six months, but volunteering in your own community is a great way to meet people, give something back, and impress future employers. In fact, a recent survey put volunteering top of the list of gap year activities in terms of boosting your CV. Projects range from working with disabled peopled to helping regenerate inner city parks, and the good news is that you could get paid. Try volunteering.org.uk.
The Bottom Line: You could get a small allowance.
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Work - An obvious way to spend your gap year (and there’s no easy way to say this) is to get a job. It’s not a pleasant prospect and the downside is that you could spend a pretty mundane year pulling pints or photocopying reports. But the upside is a stack of cash saved for all the fun of your first year at university, great contacts for holiday jobs later, and a CV that will have employers slavering for your services in a few years time.
The Bottom Line: They pay you!
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Work Experience - If you know what you want your eventual career to be, and you want to get one step ahead of the competition, you could always spend a year – or at least part of it – doing work experience. If you get paid at all it will be a pittance, but in a jobs market that increasingly favours candidates who have shown commitment to the cause (i.e. worked for free) the rewards in contacts and experience could be priceless.
The Bottom Line: You’ll need to fund your living expenses, but you could combine it with a period of paid work to make ends meet.
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Volunteer Abroad - If you just have to get away (and who can blame you), but also want a mind-expanding, CV-boosting experience, try volunteering abroad. There are hundreds of projects to choose from, ranging from elephant rescue centres in Sri Lanka to rainforest preservation projects in South America. As a general rule, your food and accommodation will be provided, but you’ll have to pay your own airfare and an administration fee.
Check Gap Activity Projects or Year Out Group for details.
The Bottom Line: Costs could reach £1400.
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Work Abroad - Volunteering is great for the soul, but not for the wallet. Working abroad is one way of scratching the travel itch while earning some cold hard cash. Be warned, though, it won’t be a holiday. Working full time behind a bar in Barcelona is like working full time behind a bar in Bognor, only with better weather. Pencil in a few weeks of down-time at the end of your contract to relax in the sun before the real partying starts in fresher’s week!
Yahoo! Jobs is a good place to start your job hunt.
The Bottom Line: You’ll get paid, but remember, after food and accommodation costs are taken off you won’t be left with a fortune.
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Take a Short Break - It’s called a gap year, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend twelve months away. Many gappers now choose to mix and match, by volunteering for a few months, working for a few more and taking an extended holiday at the end. If that’s your choice, let the train take the strain. Depending on the pass you opt for, Inter-railing allows you to explore 29 countries in Europe and North Africa for anything up to a month.
See Yahoo! Travel for more ideas on short breaks.
The Bottom Line: Rail passes cost anywhere from £200 to £350.
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The Full Monty World Tour - For some gappers, however, only a round-the-world-trip will do. And why not? Exploring the world is a learning experience in itself, future employers will be impressed by your adventurous attitude, and your future course-mates will be blown away by your serious tan. It also allows you to mix work and pleasure. In Australia, for example, a few months graft in a Sydney factory can pay for a few months of loafing on the Gold Coast. Still, even the most basic backpacking can be costly, so start saving now.
Plan your trip at Yahoo! Travel.
The Bottom Line: It depends on where you go, how long for, and whether you work abroad, but remember, airfare alone can set you back over £1000.
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A Life of Luxury - You could, of course, spend a year touring five star hotels, eating in swanky restaurants and shopping till you drop. But if you’re not Paris Hilton, forget it!
The Bottom Line: There’s no bottom line: daddy’s paying.
