My son is doing his A-levels this year & plans on doing medicine.

He has an offer so just needs the grades now !

He is thinking that a Gap year would be good (wrong reason but partly because his girlfriend is having one)

So, good people of STW, what do you suggest ?
Doss around the world for a year, do one of these paid fortnight Gap camp thingies, etc….

Yes, recommended – it would build his self-sufficiency and independence. Doubly recommended if he can use part it of it to gain some experience relevant to his course (volunteering in a medical clinic somewhere etc). Maybe travel for half the year and work (to fund it / save money for uni) for half the year.

Do it.

He’ll most likely spend the next 40+ years in the daily grind.

Do it as long as he has a plan (work to earn enough to fund some travel, voluntary work etc.) otherwise you’ll just have a bored, grumpy teenager hanging around the house.

I’d have thought that he’d be best doing it once he’s through University, that way at least he’ll know whether it is a gap year, or just the start of the rest of his working life – depending on what grade (if any) he got.

Also every year older than 18 will improve your chances of doing well on your course.

Though I do know some people who did a gap year and never came back !!!

Sounds like a good idea. Perhaps a better one would be to build one into his 5/7/10 years of Med. school study and combine it with a medical placement somewhere different (USA/Aus./Africa). Young guy at work has taken a years sabbatical with his girlfriend, first 6 months volunteering at http://www.billysmalawiproject.org/ and then 6 months of backpacking Asia, USA etc. I think it’ll give a fantastic experience both personally & medically.

Maybe – depends on what he’s going to do / how easily he can get his head back into academic life. I did one; worked for a year before I went to uni and found it really tough to get back into the swing of studying. On the plus side; it made finding a job post uni much easier as I had a years experience notched on the CV. If he’s thinking of travelling; I’d be sorely tempted to do it post uni rather than pre.

And yes – doing it because of his girlfriend is completely the wrong reason – being realistic (and from my distant memories of uni) it’s unlikely to last unless they are at the same place. And if it does; it’ll be at the expense of his social life. ..

a gap year after medicine is unlikely.

a gap year before university would be a good idea

I did a gap year it did me no harm – Benefited me greatly i would think especially since i lived at home during uni so taught me to be self sufficient.

Some might say that if you dont come back from a gap year it just means you have stumbled upon your calling and that it would be no big issue. Some people i know have fallen into great jobs while traveling.

Yes, take a gap year if he’s got a plan – do a ski season, travel the world etc. Not just to slob around the house! I did one, wouldn’t change it for the world!!

I did one. Didn’t go travelling to find myself in India or owt, I just worked in Tescos for most of it, bought loads of records, went to the cinema a lot, visited some mates at their universities, and then did a language course abroad for a month to help with a module of my degree. Very glad I took the space for a breather and a sample of real life – working a full time, crappy shelf-stacking job is an eye-opener for a kid (I still dicked about at university, but not as much as I might have done).

I did one before I started university…twenty years ago.

In those days they were less common, but gap year as a phrase already existed (so common enough).

The world has changed: I worked and saved to go travelling for 6 months with a friend. That’s was sufficient and no-one questioned the usefulness. These days, even though he’s off to be a medic with a public sector job waiting at the end, it will do him a great deal more good to show how he did useful, relevant activities during his year.

He can easily combine, say, appropriate voluntary work with travel.

It’s a good thing to do and he’ll gain certain benefits for when he rolls up at university a year older and a year wiser.

I worked for a year between 7th form and Uni, not sure if that counts as a Gap Year – didn’t know what I wanted to do at Uni, except that I wanted enough money to not live at my parents house !

Did me a lot of good, the independence plus proper appreciating the chance I had at Uni. Spending a year as a drone in a bank was a good wake up call. It also upped my tolerance to alcohol to Epic, excellent prep for an Arts degree, the bank workers were mostly older and drank like fishes.

In my day people just went inter-railing for a month during the summer after A levels…

Yes, recommended – it would build his self-sufficiency and independence. Doubly recommended if he can use part it of it to gain some experience relevant to his course

I’d agree with this. I took a year or so after university before starting the corporate grind. Arriving at university with a bit more maturity and life experience seemed a good thing for those that had done it – it gave some ‘status’ and meant they’d already had some time to be independent and party.

If he can do it with a confirmed University place I can see few downsides. Likewise I’d take another at the end (though again better to do it with a confirmed work placement) – it’s much more difficult to take time out once you start putting down roots (even just a rented flat).

As an aside some medical student friends of friends did some overseas placement as part of their course as well. Whilst some did worthwhile things at least one disappeared into South America and then bribed someone to provide his work experience report. I think the same person skipped all the lectures on the lower half of the body and gambled legs wouldn’t come up in his exams.

Things to be careful of – it’s hard not to overspend when you’re away. Even if you have a realistic budget and stick to it theres always the temptation to do the skydive/scuba/boat trip etc etc that you might never revisit the place to do in future. Starting university with a debt wouldn’t be good (although things have changed in 20+ years – maybe an extra few £k at the start is lost in the roundings of modern student debt).

I went travelling for a year. Only went to uni part time in my late 20’s/early 30’s though I don’t call it a gap year.

It’s bloody great bumbing around the world for a year every one should do it.

Definitely. It should be compulsory.

I did one, my wife did one, my sister did about 3.

Normally I would suggest do one after uni but with medicine that might be hard as a break wouldn’t fit as well as it would with “normal” subjects.

Do something worthwhile. Don’t let him just go and bum around Thailand drinking on your money. A job or some actual experiences would be more beneficial.

My wife got an internship with one of the big 4 in Melbourne. Then spent some time working on a cattle ranch in the outback as a jillaroo tough life, lots of spiders, snakes, putting up fences, pushing cattle. It was very rustic so she was making her own butter from the mils, making her own bread from grain. But she was also riding horses which is one of her passions. I then met up with her in NZ.

I spent some time working in the UK at a chemicals company (not really a gap year but it gave me chance to experience working life without committing to a career path). I then met up in NZ. We travelled for a few months. Did loads, happiest days of my life. We came back and spent a few weeks in Japan before the real world stuff kicked in.

My sister got a job with a Charity in Nairobi. Did it for a year came home, struggled to find work (peak crash time) so went back out there for another 2 years. We did wonder if she would come back. She had a flat, boyfriend and seemed settled. She was providing small loans to individuals and helping them set up businesses so they could be self sufficient and provide for their families. She got malaria twice which was just careless (not enough G+T). It helped her massively with jobs when she came back and she has been very successful since.

There will probably be options to do it as part of the course or training. I’ve got numerous friends who are medics of various disciplines. A good number have done volunteer work oversees. Some in fairly sedate places and others where the PPE include bullet proof vests and helmets.

I’d say go for it to anybody. Teaches you a lot about life if (like me in all honesty) have had a sheltered up bringing. Nothing like getting yourself out of problems of your own making to teach you a bit about personal responsibility and thinking through your actions.

I’ve done two – the first one was enforced between college and uni as the course I wanted to do wasn’t starting until the next year.

I got a temp job at the MOD which was fun and did lots of mucking about on bikes.

The second was 3 years after I started work and the graduate training program I was on was coming to an end. I basically about 18 months in the Pacific & Australia with a couple of trips home (a family death & to work for 3 months in a contract job).

I would definitely recommend it, but I think it’s pretty important these days for the college-uni gap year to be seen as “worthwhile” for future employers.

I took mine a bit later in life, 23 – I’d worked for 5 years prior and the sudden realisation that “this was it” crushed me – best thing I ever did – saw a bit of the world, finally understood independence in the harshest way possible – ‘it’s Monday, I’ve got $4 no food and my rent it due Friday and if I don’t have it I’ll be homeless by lunchtime Friday – better get to work’.

I didn’t quite do the full year, after 10 months I’d had enough of sharing rooms, living on my wits and out of a bag so I came home, ready for a place of my own and with more drive than ever – I left a bored, depressed wage slave working in a Call Centre and blowing it all in the pub at the weekend to forget about it for a while, came back got my shit together and worked my way into a pretty decent job within a year.

One of the most important things I did in my life to make me comfortable in who I am today.

Might be a good opportunity to gently let down the girlfriend and go and explore himself in the world on his own.

Apart from the drop off on jiggy-time, it would do him good to be free to choose his own path.

At least a year.

I’ve seen too many kids do the direct school-uni thing and either drop out once they realise they don’t actually like their chosen subject or struggle through and end up in some job or career where their Uni course is irrelevant. Definitely more of an issue these days too where you are likely to be burdened with debt as a result. Taking some time out to discover what makes you tick as an adult can only be a good thing.

thanks all.
Very informative & encouraging.

I chickened out 25+ years ago & I guess it is something I would like my boys to experience while they are still free spirits.

The might be a slight issue of NHS funding of medical degrees that we need to investigate.

But off I will trott to investigate.

If nothing else it should give him an idea where to go once he has finished his degree and Jeremy Chunt has finished completely dismantling the NHS.

I wish i had, had the opportunity, imagine being a lift rat at Whistler for a year!

Being in Scotland where they finish school a year earlier, my daughter finishes school and can go to uni at 17. I told her that would be pointless as she won’t get served anywhere, so she’s going to do a gap year.

If he doesn’t do one before he starts Uni, I think he’ll be unlikely to do one at all. I regret not doing one and now am stuck in that rut known as employment.

Ya, gap year is good for improving maturity.

I think that more valuable than the ‘gap year’ bumming round doing lifestyle stuff would be going and doing a ‘proper job’ for a year or two, proper work in an adult atmosphere, build up a work ethic and some savings for while he is at uni. I did it for a year before college and I wish I had done another couple of years to get properly ‘on my feet’ first.

Do it! Mine was a typical work for 4-5 months (gang labour in the east of england!) then do something more interesting with the rest (I taught English in Pakistan, during the first gulf war 😯 , then did a bit of travelling). Still remember it and it gave me a bit of space to think about growing up and turning into an adult (ish).

Signing up with a decent, reputable UK care agency for a month or so will give him a great deal more insight into the emotional and physical needs of those he will ultimately be responsible for.

He’ll earn some cash too.

Hmmm. Having done a gap year that expanded out to somewhat more than that I would say most of the kids I met at 18 were not mature enough to benefit massively. It all depends on what the plan is for the year. If it is just to travel and see things then I think you can miss out.
A lot took it to be a year of party funded by their folks. Mind you this is not limited to young kids I saw many a supposed adult arrive in Sydney piss all their money up the wall and leave 6 weeks later when they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) work. Or others that just had a 5 month piss up in different hostels.
Now don’t get me wrong I think travelling and working abroad is a very good idea. It certainly benefitted me a great deal but probably the crushingly hard parts of it benefitted the most. If your son if really keen then I would recommend he works and saves hard through uni and then does it.
It is like a prize at the end. He will have saved the money himself so will have already worked out how to budget (so won’t spend everything in the first month) plus he may be mature enough to not go to Thailand take a load of drugs and end up blowing a whistle in the street claiming people are out to get him and rescued via a national Facebook campaign….
Also following a girl at 18… Don’t get me started on that…

If he doesn’t do one before he starts Uni, I think he’ll be unlikely to do one at all. I regret not doing one and now am stuck in that rut known as employment.

+1

I didn’t, thought I’d do one after uni,

Applied for 2-3 jobs just to say I’d tried, then the economy collapsed (2008) so I thought if I didn’t start working then then it’d never happen.

Getting made redundant now, which would have precipitated a gap year 12 months ago, but is now just leaving a black hole of a mortgage to pay so no chance of time off.

Basically not having a gap year before starting a career sucks. A few friends who struggled through the crash dossed through dead end jobs and then traveled intermittently, but are now arguably suffering by being 7 years behind in their careers. So there is a compromise to be made.

Go abroad.. Help out somewhere completely different to here.. Get some experience whilst having an experience.. Don’t waste it partying like some ridiculous caricature

Anything too dull will seem like a chore and could make him bitter (see above posters)

He’s got a long slog ahead and possibly a thankless job at the end..

Should be compulsory.

Another way to look at it could be taking the view of the Aus/NZ community where an overseas experience is expected

Al lot of the guys I used to live and work with in London did this. They had a few aims. Either to worka nd make money as the salaries were at the time higher than go back and buy a house with the savings, or to work for a bit then travel for a bit.

The working holiday visas to Canada, Aus and NZ can be a good option if you use them properly. The working holiday to Aus is for 2 years. You can work for one full year over the 2 years so it is expected you travel. It is a big place and pretty expensive so it probably takes the long. It can be extended (for another 2 years) if you do 90days remote work. To use it properly you really do need to commit though. I saw many people just work for a few weeks over a 6 month “holiday” and then waste the chance to use it properly…

That being said if the bug catches him he may do the double holiday in Aus, a year in NZ, then another in Canada 🙂

Out of interest where is he planning on going? SE Asia is cheap and relatively accessible. South America has its highlights but I think if I had sampled them before uni I would have never have stuck it out..

Oh and for information about me if it makes any difference.

I did my break in late 20’s after doing 2 degrees (with a job in between and after) and wanting a different challenge.

The first bit was South America then Australia (working for a few years), NZ then on to SE Asia before returning to the real world. I would say it was one of the most fun but at time the most crushingly hard and lonely time (even though I was with people most of the time). I met a lot of people my age doing it some who had rented out their flats/houses back home but all wanted to get away and try something new.

A full year is a long time. If you could say work for a charity/School/hospital in say Africa/India for 6 months then travel for 3-6 it looks good on a CV. Is rewarding, will develop you but will also give a bit of a safety net.

Yes absolutely!!
My eldest did one after A Levels because he wasn’t 100% confident to get his grades and not 100% on which course to do….he got grades anyway and accepted a course at Sheffield Hallam – Spent the year redoing one of his A’s to increase the grade and worked in the local pub!! The working on the pub bit did him the world of good – saw all sorts of folks in various states of inebriation but best of all it really “brought him out of himself”, made him mature into a fine young man (not that he wasn’t before).
If second son wants to do the same he will be encouraged to do so!

I went to Uni to study business, finance and accounting.

I left after a few months because I found it desperately dull and wanted to pursue a more creative course.

I presently found myself in a job in the finance/accounting sector…twenty years on I still haven’t returned from my gap year.

Medical student here. Would recommend a gap year 100%, assuming that he can defer his place. A medical degree can be fun, but it’s mostly just a grind and (depending on the course) there’s often relatively little opportunity to take time off compared to students on other courses. It’s not that it’s harder than any other degree, it’s just that you have lots of things to go (lectures, teaching, placement) and the holidays tend to be much shorter.

The next opportunity he’ll get to take a longish break is after FY2 (that is, after having worked for 2 years after graduation). Realistically, you can’t take a break after the 5 or 6 years of med school before starting work, partly for financial reasons, partly because it makes the first year as a doctor (FY1) that much harder. It’d be much, much easier to slot back into first year of medical school – where he’ll basically go over a lot of A level stuff again, so it won’t disadvantage him to be a little rusty – and there is considerably less pressure.

After FY2 he’ll have a bit more freedom, but that’s at least 7 years away.

EDIT – I did a gap decade (started med school when I was 30) so I may be biased.