A guide to gap years

A gap year is an incredible opportunity to explore new places, save some money, and learn new skills. With advice from Tilting Futures, an immersive learning organisation (and an option for your gap year!), here are five tips for making the most of a year out of work or study.

1. Half work, half play

A gap year isn’t just a year off: it’s an opportunity for you to build your skills, grow as a person, get clarity on your future goals, and enjoy once-in-a-lifetime activities. 

You could start by making a list of what you want to experience and what you want to achieve. Then, split the year in halves or thirds and choose what you’ll do in those periods. For example: 

• You could spend half the year working, and then go travelling.
   
• Or, if you don’t want to travel, you could spend:
  • a third of the year volunteering,
  • a third earning and saving money, or
  • a third learning a new skill or studying.
     
• Another way is to combine both new experiences and learning into one. For example, you could travel whilst doing some work experience abroad. Tilting Futures’ programme, Take Action Lab, is a great example of this. You get to combine cultural immersion abroad with an apprenticeship at a human rights or climate organisation. It’s a mix of skills building, volunteering, and experiencing life in a new country.

Whatever you choose, start making a plan in advance, or you may end up spending the gap year deciding what to do! And you don’t want to miss the application deadlines for any of the programmes or organisations you might be interested in.
 

2. Make a plan

The idea of planning a whole year can seem daunting, but designing your own gap year will help you grow your skills in organisation, research, and planning.

Doing it your way also means you can find experiences that are really suited to you and your interests. Alongside travel, you could learn a language, support a local charity, enrol in a course, or start a blog.

When it comes to making a suitable plan, Tilting Futures suggests you think about the following questions:

• What are you interested in pursuing?
• What types of activities do you want to do?
• Do you want to have a solo experience or be part of a group?
• Do you want to travel or stay local? Or both?
• Are you looking for independence, structure, or a balance?
• How will you manage your finances?
• How will what you do help you in the future?

It could help to put the purpose of your choices into words. For example:

• ‘I want to work and make money to support me at university’
• ‘I want to learn new skills that are aligned with my passion and that I didn’t have the chance to do at school’
• ‘I want to travel to get new perspectives and learn more about different cultures and places’
• ‘I want to do hands-on environmental work because I want to be active in the environmental movement’

3. Trial potential careers

People often take a gap year to figure out what they want to do for a career. This is more sensible than jumping into a degree or apprenticeship you aren’t sure about, but only if you look for experiences that inspire you.

One of the best ways to do this is through work experience in an industry you’re interested in. This’ll give you a feel for the role, sector, and environment. Whether you decide it’s your dream career or realise it isn’t, it’s still a useful experience and many professional skills are transferable. 

At Take Action Lab, we match students to an apprenticeship that aligns with their interests. Our students have been involved in projects like:

• Producing shows at a human rights-focused radio station,
• Social media management at a girls empowerment organisation, and
• Supporting fundraising efforts at a non-profit.
• Organic farming at an urban garden
• Teaching digital literacy skills to refugees and asylum seekers

Work experience can be more than a one-time thing too. The company you worked for might invite you back in future and may even offer you a job. If it’s a large company with multiple branches, you might be able to continue that job if you’re planning on moving away for university or an apprenticeship.

Whether you return to that specific company or not, the experience can have a big impact on your career path. 

Tilting Futures alum Jordan Lee says, because of his experience, ‘I discovered an interest at the intersection of energy and sustainability, and it has informed everything I’ve done since.’ Jordan has gone on to provide decarbonisation consulting to governments across the world and currently works at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.
 

4. Consider your degree if you're taking one

Some universities really value the experiences a student gets in a gap year, and know it can help grow your maturity, independence, and sense of purpose in your studies. But not all university faculties encourage students to take gap years, so it’s worth checking with the admissions departments at the unis you’re applying to.

If possible, try to plan your gap year so that you won’t lose the skills you need for your degree. For instance, if you’re going to study French, travelling to a French-speaking country could be really beneficial. In your personal statement, you could explain how your gap year activities are relevant to your future studies and your personal growth.
 

5. Plan money first

If you’re travelling, one of the easiest mistakes to make is running out of money. There’s no point going to amazing places if you can’t do anything there! Here are some useful tips:

• Book flights home in advance: some people get to the end of their trip and find they can’t afford to fly home!
   
• Research the cost of living: when travelling, don’t assume that the cost of food, hotels, or hostels will be the same as back home. Check out Unifrog’s ‘cost of studying in’ guides in the Know-how library to learn more about living abroad.
   
• Make a budget: create a set daily or weekly spending limit that you actually stick to. Check out Unifrog’s guide to budgeting for tips.
   
• Keep a financial safety net: travelling throws unexpected events at you, so make sure you always have enough money for an emergency. You might need to replace something you’ve lost, like your passport, or need to find somewhere to stay.
   
• Get travel health insurance: medical bills in some countries can be incredibly high, so even if travel insurance is expensive, it’ll save you money if you end up needing to see a doctor or needing medicine.
   
• Seek out scholarships: For example, Tilting Futures makes their programmes accessible by providing needs-based financial aid.

Finally, if you aren’t travelling, it can still be tempting to spend money on lots of things now that you aren’t going to school or college every day, especially if you’re earning a wage. But don’t underestimate how useful it is to have savings for the future, whether that’s for university or a big purchase like a car

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