In some countries young people are encouraged to work or tavel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decided to do this.

A new alternative after high school has started to become more popular in recent years, and

that is

to take a gap

year

before officially starting

university

studies. There are different pros and cons to

this

approach, which I will be discussing in

this

essay. On the one hand, there are several advantages that can be derived from travelling and working a

year

before starting higher level education. One of these advantages is how it gives young people a chance to

experience

the real world, gaining life

skills

for themselves in the process which would give them an added boost when compared to other

university

undergraduates. Having

this

experience

that no schools can teach would make them more attractive to

university

admissions offices or potential employers.

This

is shown through a survey by Forbes, where it's estimated that over 70% of employers would prefer an individual with added life

experience

and soft

skills

rather than specialised knowledge. These employers all said

this

is because it's much easier to do training for technical knowledge and

skills

compared to interpersonal

skills

.

On the other hand

, there are a number of drawbacks when pursuing

this

path of dedicating a

year

to developing oneself. One obvious drawback is the potential risk of demotivation of going back to formal education. There's always a possibility of finding your break too distracting or interesting to want to leave all that behind and return to school properly, which makes it more difficult to obtain a degree which can aid in finding a job. In fact, research done by the

University

Of California, Berkeley predicts that around 40% of people who opted for a gap

year

, never actually returned to formal education. Being disincentivised to obtain a degree can lead to the risk of being economically dependent in the future,

due to

being unemployed. In conclusion, taking a

year

off to focus on travel or work

experience

after high school does have the potential to bring with it plausible benefits but at the same time, we shouldn't overlook the downside when choosing

this

option to be able to decide what is best for each individual separately.