Written by Brice Rosette
Taking a gap year can be a life-changing decision, but it’s not without its challenges. This post will help you weigh the pros and cons of taking a gap year based on personal experience (both planned and unplanned). We’ll explore the upside of stepping away from a traditional career path and practical considerations to think about before making the leap, such as finances and social considerations. If you’re in your late twenties or further along, I hope this personal experience will help you get enough insight to take the decision that is right for you.
The Upsides
Taking a gap year is a privilege; it is not something that everyone can do or afford. Let’s be real: just getting authorization to stop working and having a job waiting for you requires:
- A good standing performance,
- Compliance with your company’s HR policy,
- A bit of luck, as sometimes the timing is just right because someone just got hired or there have been some organizational changes.
It’s also a privilege not having to work. How are you going to finance the year? Do you have sufficient savings? What amount is ‘sufficient savings’ anyways? Do you have a way to potentially continue earning during your gap year? These are very important questions because whatever you think is enough may not be enough. There are so many factors you can’t control in life, so having savings is important.
Great, you’ve made it. You’ve finally obtained your gap year and have the biggest asset anyone craves: time! So, what are the upsides of taking a gap year?
1. Having time to reflect on what you want out of life
My first gap year led to me a career in the recruitment industry, which is not something I would have done otherwise.
During my Master’s degree, I really got hooked on Sales and Negotiation classes. It was interesting to study “applied psychology” rather than learning basic principles. I’ve always been interested in understanding human behavior, so I felt learning negotiation was useful for a career. Sales seemed like the best career for me. I was lucky to find a job that aligned with my interests and my passion for technology and innovation. It felt really fulfilling to sell something that would be helpful.
Then, when we started our gap year, we opened a small restaurant in my mother-in-law’s bodega in Mexico. It was a huge shift from American startup and corporate life to having a small business in a rural area. That’s when other things started to hit me… things I hadn’t really processed yet because I was too focused on learning the ropes and being in my job every day.
Taking a gap year allowed me to reflect and realize people don’t have the same access to work opportunities, especially immigrants and international students. I wanted to learn why it’s so difficult to hire international candidates. I thought having a skin in the game would be the best way for me to learn, so I decided that when I returned to France I’d work in recruitment. I enrolled in classes, put myself out there, talked to people previously in sales who transitioned and finally did it.
2. Knowing who you are and what you like
People think they have ideas, but in most cases, they’re not truly theirs. People often make choices because of the status quo rather than because they have an opinion.
Doing a gap year isn’t easy every day. You’ll often hear things like: “What are you doing?” because people do not understand your choices. And when you’re no longer defined by your work, what are you defined by? That’s when “knowing what you like” kicks in—you’re in control of your time, and by observing yourself, you can learn a lot about what you like and don’t like.
3. Living Without Regrets
In a coffee shop the other day, I overheard a conversation between two middle-aged foreigners in Hong Kong. One of them said, “If I were single, I wouldn’t have minded being out of a job.” He added that he doesn’t even really like his job and started talking about how AI is taking over the workplace and jobs.
But it’s very much in line with what’s happening in the world. Most people hate their jobs. Spending eight hours a day doing something you don’t like isn’t good. It sometimes feels like we’re wired to choose the easy path, but taking the hard path is the only way to grow. I feel like no matter what choice you make, you’ll always face a hard choice along the way. So, just choose your hard path on your own terms, not on others’ visions.
What You Need to Think About:
1. Money
Look, if you’re reading this and you’re in your twenties or older, you need to be solid with your money management. I don’t mean you need to have a lot of money (although it would help), but you need to manage it properly. Making a lot of money doesn’t mean anything if you can’t save and invest any of it. So start there. Think about how you’re going to finance your gap year and how much you have until you reach your “point of no return” or just get back to work. If you can, think about ways to make money outside of your main income stream. Could you do part-time consulting or coaching in your specialty? Figure it out because you don’t want to run out of money.
2. Your Social Circle Will Take a Hit
The first two weeks of the gap year are amazing. It’s like the first few days of a holiday where you don’t have to think about work. But after two weeks (especially if you’re a workaholic like me), stress starts to creep in. You’re constantly wondering why you made that decision and you become bored. I thought I’d be excited to work on some projects I had in mind, but I realized it wasn’t the case. It’s weird to say, but your gap year isn’t linear. There will be days you’ll feel excited and others you won’t. And here’s the thing: you don’t have anyone to vent to about it. Everyone else is busy working, studying, or doing something during the day. Think about what routine you’ll need to make that time worthwhile because there may not be many moments in your life when you’ll be able to do this. It’s hard to be far away from your friends, family, and even co-workers if you had a great relationship with them. It’s something you’re going to think about often.
3. The Hidden Cost of Being Unconventional
If you’re sold on a traditional corporate career, this is important to know. When you take a gap year, you’re “losing” one year compared to your peers or people who just worked that whole time. So, you may be at the same level as people younger than you. That’s the reality of being unconventional. It’s human nature to compare ourselves with others. But, this is about choice. You just have to know the potential consequences (not that it’s impossible to find a way around it), but it’s part of the game.
So, is it a good idea?
I recently bought a tripod to have a more stable way to film, and I felt really weird putting it out in front of everyone. Then, I realized that no one really cared. People (myself included) tend to care too much about what others think. They call it the “spotlight syndrome,” where you feel like the light is more on you than it actually is. People just live their lives. If they do notice you, it’s not for long and it shouldn’t concern you.
At the end of the day, it will be very different if you’re looking to work in the public sector, the private sector, or be a business owner. You have to think things through and run through all the scenarios. Keep the end goal in mind. This gap year is for you, not for anyone else.
About Brice Rosette
He was born in the suburbs of Paris, France and was raised between metropolitan France and Martinique. Since then, he has lived in the US, Mexico, and now China. His interests include technology, entrepreneurship, and talent acquisition strategy. He is a co-founder of My Access Abroad, an online platform aiming to bridge the gap in accessing abroad.