Taking a Year Off After College

An Early Sabbatical?

At some point after having completed your degree, you will realize that you have a career to look forward to. Some of you may be less than hesitant to enter the proverbial rat race. So what are some of the alternatives?

Volunteer

If you can afford the time and resources, it would not hurt to take time off and volunteer. But before you start, ask yourself what your objective is, what you wish to accomplish and how you will measure the endeavor as successful. After all, you are a business student at heart so anything that you do will be judged by the result – tangible or intangible.

Help Out

Often, events take place and we feel like helping out. It could be in family matters or in your community. This is a great learning experience and will complete you as a person. You can surely afford to invest one year to climb a more important ladder. Antowain Smith may not have completed his degree initially but his sacrifice before attending college is a perfect example.

Travel

If you plan to take a year off or an extended summer trip, expect a tougher time finding employment upon your return. What you should do is plan before your departure. Preferably, you should even have a job lined up so that you do not corner yourself. Of course, this may defeat the original reason of taking time off: to find out about yourself and decide where you wish to go in the future.

The advantage of travel is that you get to experience some great times and add a global perspective to your overall outlook. All three scenarios are noble in their own way. If you plan on looking for work upon your return, you may wish to journey to somewhere that will help your career down the road. Interested in international business? Then travel to another continent. Interested in Wireless? Visit Scandinavia or East Asia where everyone is connected.

You could also combine work and travel and look at gaining employment relevant to your field of study in a foreign land. While you may need hands-on experience or permits for some jobs, opportunities are plentiful.