Gap Year by Vinita Israni
Vinita is a User Experience Designer at General Electric Digital. Views are her own.
"Many undergraduates decide that they want to take a gap year before they continue their future studies or enter industry to pursue a job. A gap year (or years) is considered any amount of time that an individual is pursuing a short-term activity before going on to graduate school or a full-time job.
While someone might have personal reasons for taking a gap year (such as family circumstances, wellbeing, etc.), it is a very strategic decision for others. For some fields, doing research before pursuing a higher education degree is essential in developing an understanding of the discipline. For example, those planning to medical school will often take off a year (or more) to do research in the field that they want to work in. For others it becomes a way to get a “foot-in-the door” for the institution, while they are applying to the institution itself after their work experience. For example, doing research in the computer science department for a year may ensure that the professor can advocate for your graduate school application at the same institution when you apply.
A gap year can not only take the form of research, but also a short-term job as well as a travel opportunities. A short-term job ensures a influx of money that can be saved for future endeavors as well as paying off student loans. Most often travel opportunities take the form of grants or fellowships being awarded to the student. Fulbright Scholarships and Watson Scholarships are two examples of the many grants offered for a year of paid travel to study something of interest.
While a gap year is very common in Europe, it is slowly growing in popularity in the United States. A gap year helps many take the time to apply to graduate school, find better long-term jobs, and generally take a break after undergrad. With that said, a gap year shouldn’t be used to “bum” around. It should be well planned out so that it is a stepping stone to your next endeavor.
When confronted with the decision of doing a gap year, I considered what my options could be: working and / or volunteering. As a user experience designer living in Texas, it was hard to find opportunities to real grow my skill set. Thus, I decided to apply to graduate school whereafter graduating, I knew I'd get the credentials to get the job I wanted. Additionally, I thought about how I could complete all my schooling in one go. Taking a gap year definitely means there's an adjustment when you decide to return for further education as well. Coming out of undergrad, I knew it would be much easier to assimilate to graduate school than after working for a year or two."
Vinita attended Rice University for her undergraduate degree and completed her Masters in User Experience Designer from Carnegie Mellon University, 2015
