Gap year travellers are wasters

Joanne Kelly says save the planet and stay at home.

It’s no use being able to talk about a 30-mile trek through a jungle if you can’t figure out the photocopier. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to the other side of the world and be forced to spend your gap year stuck in the middle of Wales, but think carefully before you book your flights. Are you really going to be making a difference?

Travelling half way round the globe to ‘find yourself’ has already had its time. Sure, it gives plenty of young people a new outlook on the world and different cultures, but with increasing student debt and a greater emphasis on eco-travel, I for one, will not feel the need to travel to Thailand in search of myself any time soon.

Many gap years are undertaken at great expense with the travellers gaining very little. Over the past decade a large industry has been established around students taking a year out to undertake apparently meaningful projects. Whilst some gap years include worthwhile projects, many are questionable when placing unskilled people into seemingly skilled jobs, which puts a greater burden on communities in developing countries to accommodate for the gap year student rather than vice versa.

Wise students also know that travelling could wait until after university to avoid increasing student debt. Gap years are expensive, and whilst mum and dad may be there to assist many people, there is still the impending worry of low funds once uni begins. Working in a shop or office definitely isn’t the most exciting prospect when your friends are all having a blast, but working for a year first means that not only will you be financially better off when you start uni, but also means you will also have a head-start once you’ve graduated.

In an age when a degree is becoming increasingly devalued as more and more students enter higher education, employers may identify the skills and experiences gained through travelling but they also want to know you can apply the experience to the job. It’s no use being able to talk about a 30-mile trek through a jungle if you can’t figure out the photocopier.

Finally, the fact that air travel is an ever-growing prominent contributing factor to climate change doesn’t mean it stops for a year between A levels and university. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to the other side of the world and be forced to spend your gap year stuck in the middle of Wales, but think carefully before you book your flights. Are you really going to be making a difference?

In addition, for all those gap year students who just sit on a beach with other Brits once they get to their destination, are you really making the most of your time there? If you just want to get drunk, stoned and catch a tan sitting on a beach with people you may meet at home anyway, do us a favour and catch the first train to Newquay instead!