Should I take a gap year?

I am in year 13 and have offers to study mechanical engineering next year, but I am considering deferring entry and taking a gap year. I want to do get some work experience at an engineering company and do some travelling, just to gain some life experience and maturity as I worry that I am not ready for university. Will I be at a disadvantage when I go back to university, and is this even worthwhile considering I won't have any actual engineering knowledge to build off during my work experience. Any advice from current engineering students or anyone who did take a gap year would be really helpful.

Reply 1

brainzistheword

Study Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

22

Original post by shiny467

I am in year 13 and have offers to study mechanical engineering next year, but I am considering deferring entry and taking a gap year. I want to do get some work experience at an engineering company and do some travelling, just to gain some life experience and maturity as I worry that I am not ready for university. Will I be at a disadvantage when I go back to university, and is this even worthwhile considering I won't have any actual engineering knowledge to build off during my work experience. Any advice from current engineering students or anyone who did take a gap year would be really helpful.

Just to clarify, is your main aim for the gap year to mature and travel/gain life experience or to get work experience? I only ask because if it's the latter then you could probably cover that off as part of your studies, but if you're keen to get life experience and enjoy some time to yourself after A-Levels then that's different.

I'm in engineering and whilst I haven't done the gap year thing between studies, I've just taken about 12 months out of my career to do other things and have then gone back to my job - so people take breaks at different points. It's more how you frame it and what you can learn from it that matters :smile:

Reply 2

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

20

Original post by shiny467

I am in year 13 and have offers to study mechanical engineering next year, but I am considering deferring entry and taking a gap year. I want to do get some work experience at an engineering company and do some travelling, just to gain some life experience and maturity as I worry that I am not ready for university. Will I be at a disadvantage when I go back to university, and is this even worthwhile considering I won't have any actual engineering knowledge to build off during my work experience. Any advice from current engineering students or anyone who did take a gap year would be really helpful.

I don’t think a gap year will significantly hinder your university studies, you maybe a bit more rusty initially however this can be managed with some preparation a couple weeks before university and more importantly a willingness to put the work in at university, first year is really not overburdening typically for people with a solid foundation in A-level maths & physics.

What I would say is not many companies really take on pre-university students in engineering roles, so you may have to look more at other opportunities however these can still be great for self-development. I would recommend a year in industry in your penultimate year of undergraduate studies over a gap year. A year in industry is immensely beneficial for future employability as well as understanding what types of job you may want after university.

Should I take a gap year?

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