Many students choose to take a gap year before starting university, to travel or gain work experience. Do you think this is a good idea or a waste of time?

It is becoming an increasingly prevalent trend for students, especially in western countries

such

as the US and Britain to take a

gap

year

. Some claim that taking a

year

off would be beneficial while others regard it as a waste of

time

. I would argue that taking a

gap

year

would be wasteful because students do not take

this

time

seriously and the

time

off rarely leads to fruitful employment that advances students’ careers. The majority of students would not devote the

gap

year

for fruitful or rewarding activities.

For example

, one of my friends spent his

gap

year

doing nothing, but hanging out with friends, playing video games, and watching YouTube. At the age of 18, people are not mature or sensible enough to have effective

time

-management and to create a comprehensive plan for their lifelong

career

.

Consequently

, the students would find the

gap

year

is highly likely to be easy and fun,

instead

of conducive for their

career

planning or personal enhancement. In a word, the

gap

year which

Accept comma addition

year, which

should have been filled with internships and volunteer work turns out to be occupied with useless activities. At a

first

glance, a

gap

year

seems to have certain validity as it could provide farsighted and mature students with a meaningful experience, fostering their workplace interpersonal skills.

However

, every decent job requires at least a bachelor’s degree, whereas the jobs that tend to be available for high school graduates are not helpful to a student’s

career

progress.

For example

, many of my friends who took a

year

off before starting university worked at Starbucks, KFC, or McDonald's. Unlike other higher-level occupations,

such

jobs do not enhance professionalism or make use of theoretical knowledge. In fact, every decent job requires a bachelor’s degree.

Therefore

, spending a

year

on less technical jobs does not appear to have any favourable professional outcome and

also

delays one’s

career

progress. To conclude, even for those rational and industrious students, a

gap

year

can be futile and counterproductive. What a

gap

year

could provide students is either instant relaxation or a dispensable work experience with a meagre salary.

As a result

, I would argue taking a

gap

year

at

such

a golden age is a waste of

time

.