Illustration by Trịnh Lập

By Nguyễn Diệp

To maintain a good work-life balance, more young people are taking a gap year as a time for relaxation and exploration. However, they should carefully consider the pros and cons of taking a gap year before making their decision.

Gap years are quite common and highly recommended in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

A gap year is traditionally defined as a year-long break between high school and college or between college and entering the workforce.

It provides the opportunity for young people to develop valuable skills that can't be learned in the classroom.

A gap year can take many forms such as work experience, volunteering, travelling and part-time courses.

In recent years, many young people have chosen to take a gap year as a solution to release work-related stress or maintain work-life balance.

Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, 26, a sales employee in HCM City’s District 11, said she took a trip to Thailand for her gap year.

After graduating from university, she did not dare to travel on her own but took trips organised by the company to save money.

She jumped from her old company to the present company with the expectation to find a better job, and also needs a break after a long day of work.

In the short term, her savings are enough for her to travel to a few places. After that, she will consider working one more job.

A career break, also sometimes called a sabbatical, is an increasingly popular option with people part-way through their working life.

Phan Văn Thanh, 28, an IT employee in the City’s Bình Tân District, said he resigned from his job as a career break after six years of working under high pressure.

However, after less than four months off, he hurriedly looked for a job again as he said that he got bored after travelling a few times.

Besides, all his friends had to work, so no one had free time to hang out with him. But most importantly, his savings were dwindling.

His family needed a lot of money to solve a problem, so he had to borrow money from friends to manage it.

He had just been off for less than four months but he had to learn a lot of new things when he came back to work, he added.

Trying to do gardening during a gap year after working three years, Nguyễn Thiện Trung, 25, a hotel employee in the City’s District 7, said he had to spend money on medicine to treat shoulder pain, after experiencing the life of a farmer for a few days.

He said his family has a small garden in the countryside, so he took a gap year to go back to the countryside as a career break.

After a few days of digging the soil, he was experiencing pain, because he had been used to doing office work and working with computers. After nearly half a year, he still hasn't gotten used to farm work.

Now, he feels like someone who had just graduated from school and found everything new because he works for a programming company so staff have to update their knowledge every day.

A gap year for some young people is not only a period of rest, it is also a time to learn new skills that will benefit them in future work.

Due to being quite frustrated with his current job, Nguyễn Hoàng Minh, 27, an interior architect in the City’s District 8, had to learn a side job.

He decided to attend courses on film editing techniques and writing content. He took two parallel classes from noon to evening, only taking a break on weekends.

The benefits of a gap year can't be touted enough. Taking a gap year for whatever reason has the potential to be tremendously beneficial to your personal growth.

It can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It offers young people a great opportunity to learn more about themselves and the world, but it is not always the right choice for everyone.

In some cases, taking a gap year can be a risk. Young people will be a year behind, wasting a lot of valuable time.

It can be expensive. Without the proper preparation and planning, taking a year off from working can be costly.

The length of a gap year depends on each person's circumstances and goals. However, when making decisions, young people need to consider all the advantages and disadvantages. VNS