Taking time off after graduating college.

S

Spic-N-SpaN

Active member
Most of the adults I talk to say its a bad idea, and that during your last years of college you find an internship and work your way up or some other opening with a company, and start on the career path, cause after you've been out of school for a while companies will probably figure you've forgot everything and know its not still fresh in your head and won't be likely to hire you compared to some young gun straight out of the class room.

I don't know. That sounds like hell to me. I want to live in a van and travel the world and road trip with friends once I graduate. Not work and start dying.
 
your a fucking idiot if its even a question. go do what you want to do and what makes you happy. there is should be no "time off" after college. its all time off from there
 
I am a senior graduating in a week and everyone that I have talked to, told me that taking time off is a great idea. I am not going to get a "real job" but I plan to continue working in my field of study, childhood education. Instead of teaching next year, I plan to work with kids just not in a classroom. I will be teaching some ski school, working at camps etc. So my advice to you would be, find a way to do what you love like ski and find a job that somewhat relates to your degree. Then when you go to apply for jobs, you can show employers that you worked a job using your degree and did what you loved for a few years.
 
I'm on the same page, graduating in a week and I'm not settling down into a career. I'm moving across the country and skiing next winter. After that I hope to be in hood for the summer. Whether or not i'm doing exactly what I went to school for I hope to be working in related setting/fields. But the most important thing to me is that I'm not settling down.

http://goinswriter.com/travel-young/
 
In my opinion it's not the best idea. Companies look at gaps in your resume as a pretty big turn off.

And as someone who graduated school and changed countries, getting a job without the contacts that you make in college is really, really tough.
 
My favorite / most experienced / trustworthy professor said taking a year off is not a problem at all, but taking any more time off is not the best idea. I'm planning on finding a solid job by October. The search is going now, but I have a short term plan for the summer.
 
If someone is willing to hire you out of an internship, it's a great foot in the door of whatever field you are getting into. No one says you have to stay there forever, but you can start making some money/paying off some loans (if you have them). After you've been there for x amount of time, you've gained some experience and made some money, quit, take some time off and go one your adventure. At least you have work experience when you start applying for jobs again.
 
A few questions which will help me get you a better answer.

1. What is your major?

2. How much money did you spend on a degree?

3. Why did you spend all of that money if you don't want to get a good job?

4. Oh, your parents paid for your college. Why are you being a baby back bitch? It is a tough economy still and people would kill for a decent job. Do what you can while you can afford to and do internships or low paying entry level jobs and get yourself experience.
 
do it!!!

Companies love to see people who chase their dreams.

Example:

I graduated college last december and moved out to colorado for the season to be a lifty at keystone. Best decision I have ever made in my life. I am now currently back in Kansas City, I have a job at a bank and now Im seeking employment in a wealth management firm. They loved the idea of me accomplishing a dream that I had, rather than a person who just goes through the motions. It says a lot about a person who actually do what they want.

at the max I would take a year, just my 2 cents.

Go for it buddy! you wont regret it!!!!!
 
I disagree, in the sense that taking a year off or less directly after college isn't a "gap" because he hasn't really started. A gap would be like working a steady job for a year or probably more and then quitting to pursue a recreational dream and then trying to get the job back. I don't think people consider college a real job, so I don't think employers see that time as being flakey or unreliable or inexperienced.

I say do it.
 
just do it man, you're only young once. Yeah you can argue that you can go out and do fun shit after you retire, but by then your responsibilities (and body) might get in the way. You did your time the last 4 years and got your degree, you should feel fine taking a break.
 
lots of different things factor into it, mainly what it is your career aspirations are....but overall - it's a bad idea.

throughout college you should be building more and more momentum (be it through good grades, internships, relevant work experience, networking) that will help propel you ahead of the pack when it comes to being an attractive candidate for hire.

to basically take whatever momentum you've created and stop it dead in it's tracks by taking a bunch of time off, is most likely not going to help you out when it comes time to getting an actual job.

*coming from someone who has been through the whole college process twice now....about to finish my second degree. just my .02 *
 
how can it hurt you though? serious question. If you got good grades, good internship experience, and networked, I don't see how you are going to magically lose"momentum." If you are mentally strong and tell yourself you have one year to do what you wanna do- and after that you're going to start getting real, I don't see any problem with that. I think the real problem lies with people getting complacent in the lifestyle that they lead for that year. Same thing goes with people who wan't to "take a year off" after high school. If you don't have the drive and the mindset to go to college after that year, you probably wouldn't have made it through undergrad anyways. On another note, I highly doubt future employers will look at your resume and look poorly upon the fact that you threw yourself out there and experienced the world.
 
My brother is finishing grad school at USC this week for architecture and he is in the same boat as you. I am really hoping he takes some time off before going into his career cause he has been such a hard worker all his life, always putting school first. I think you should do the same, whether it be the summer, the fall, just one winter, you'll be able to celebrate finishing your career as a student, which really is an accomplishment. Good luck.
 
Are you graduating this month or do you have more time left?

If you're not graduating now, you could take a year off in the middle of college. It lets you avoid the resume gap if that's what you're worried about. The danger is that you don't come back and finish.

Or you could do a hybrid option like maybe study abroad fall semester, stay wherever you are and travel from there for the spring/summer, then go back to class the fall after that.

If you're clever, you can probably finish and get a job as a correspondent for a blog or something and use that as resume filler for the year you're away. Or start your own if you think you can round up a little bit of advertising.

Really how bad a resume gap is totally depends on the field. There are a lot of places that wouldn't be at all put off by a student who took a year to travel and just said so (particularly if you're a good college student). Others might. I personally wouldn't want to work for the latter.

Whatever happens, you have to make the most of your time while you're young and relatively free. Do what you have to do to go for it.
 
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