Does going on gap year actually improve you C.V?

Should I take a gap year? What would/did you do :/?

• I finished year 12 last year and am now about to start this course, Certificate IV in Design. But since i finished school ive kinda gotten used to working at my job, about 30 hours a week at a supermarket, which i enjoy and gets me good enough cash, and have also started going to the gym, trying to improve my physique, and just generally chilling. I have grown accustomed to this routine and wouldn't mind doing it for this year and then doing my course next year. Im not a lazy person or anything, I am still determined to follow through with my ambitions. I just thought maybe i should spend one year doing my own thing and making some money. My parents are kind of opposed to it though, saying a gap year would be a waste of time and that i should learn as much as i can as fast as i can. I am seriously considering taking one though. Any opinions would be muchly appreciated. Please tell me if you were in a similar situation, and tell me what you did and weather or not you think it was the right thing to do. ,,\/('_')

• Answer:

  I was going to say "no no no!" but as you already have a job it may be a wise thing to do. A gap year where you are not working is a very stupid idea in the current climate, especially if your financial situation would mean your student loan won't cover your living costs; it's often pretty hard for students to find even part time work at the moment. I wouldn't treat it as a holiday year though. Treat it as a laid-back preparation year. Do some design, maybe even do a short course on it to keep your eye in. Think about saving money and think about what qualifications you'll need when you leave. With design saying "I have a degree" simply entitles you to apply for the job (most of the time) - what will GET you the job is everything else. However you would still be learning plenty being on your gap year - you don't just learn things at academic institutions. It may even mean you study more because you're done with letting your hair down! More mature students tend to work harder in my experience. What I did was go straight into university after school, which I felt was the right thing for me to do. As I come from a very rural place there were few jobs around, so working for a year wasn't so attractive as I'd be LOOKING for work for a while. Also mine was the last year to not have top up fees at university, so although I could have deferred and paid lower fees I decided just to go straight into it. My cousin went to university to do journalism, then found a small time job and worked at a local paper for a couple of years. He then got bored of this and did a law conversion and went on a gap year. Since he came back he has been simply unable to find work as he's viewed as being too old for his lack of experience to be less of a crucial factor.