Gap years can offer countless opportunities to enhance your CV, learn new skills, experience new things and even make some money. If you’re thinking about the possibility of a gap year or if you’d like to learn more about what a gap year can offer you, then this article will serve as a guide. Don’t think of a gap year as a waste of time or a year of procrastinating. If anything, wasting a year is going to feel horrible and you’ll actually lose track of what you were doing when you were studying.
Without further ado, here are a couple of things you can do during your gap year that will be productive and enhance your life.
Become a freelancer and gain working experience
If you’d like to put the knowledge you’ve picked up during your studies to good use, then consider becoming a freelancer and pick up work experience. This is a fantastic thing to put on your CV because it will show you’re serious about your future career opportunities and it can also double as a great way to make some extra money for your hobbies, interests or even to help pay off your inevitable student loan.
There are plenty of things you can do when you’re a freelancer. Take a look at this guide at https://www.thebalance.com/how-to-become-a-freelancer-1794507 to learn more about how you can become a freelancer. However, before you even consider looking for work or pitching ideas to clients, you’ll need to think about the skills you have and how they can apply to the working world. For instance, if you’re studying web design, then you have the obvious choice of putting your web design skills to use. Make a couple of free websites for people to build some interest and a portfolio, and then start taking orders or registering your services with an outsourcing company that can act as a middleman to find you work.
Keep in mind that you’re going to need to buy some tools or equipment in order to work as a freelancer. For example, if you study things related to contracting, then you’ll need a toolkit such as https://www.plasterers1stopshop.co.uk/plastering-equipment-c-259/tool-cases-c-265 to store all of your equipment. This makes it far easier to carry around and you’ll easily be able to take on a job no matter where the location is.
Go on holiday and travel to experience the world
Another great way to spend your gap year is to travel the world and visit as many places as you can. In fact, you could even turn your passion for travel into a thriving career in the future. Check out this article at http://www.careercamel.com/the-best-jobs-for-people-who-want-to-travel/ for some fantastic ideas of jobs that you would fit anyone that loves travelling. In addition to the careers listed on that site, you could also become a blogger that writes specifically about travel, you could create guides or even be a photographer.
Experiencing the world is an amazing way to find what you want to do later on in life. You can have some incredibly eye-opening experiences if you put your mind to it and pick something like backpacking instead of the traditional tourist route of sleeping in a hotel and checking out tourist traps. Backpacking is an incredibly fun and enjoyable way of travelling, so check this article at https://www.roughguides.com/article/14-things-everyone-learns-on-their-first-backpacking-trip/ to learn how you can make the most of your first attempt.
The experiences you pick up during your travels could define who you are. They’ll change your dreams, they’ll create new passions and you may even meet people who become lifelong friends. It goes without saying that travelling the world is one of the best ways that you can spend your gap year and it’s worth every penny that you invest in it.
There are, of course, many other ways to make the most of a gap year. Travelling and working as a freelancer are just two options of many, but they are arguably some of the most productive because they can both greatly enhance your life. So if you’re planning on taking a gap year soon or if you’re trying to convince a friend, keep these amazing opportunities in mind because they’ll open your eyes and show you more of the world. You’ll learn valuable lessons, meet amazing people and create memories that will stick with you forever and potentially change your view on life.
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