Transitions

Gap year to university

I decided to go on a gap year because I wasn’t 100% sure about whether I wanted to go to university, plus my brother had been on a gap year and had loved it. I worked for six months to save up and then went off round the world with some people I had met. I had lots of amazing experiences, such as visiting Vietnam, living with a family in Cambodia and sky diving in Australia. After jumping out of a plane, nothing seems as scary!

After my gap year I had a chilled out summer, and was still unsure about university, but ended up going because I didn’t know what else to do. I missed the thrill of travelling, but you can’t roam the world forever! I was a little apprehensive at first. I was worried that I would be older than all the other students and that I would be out of the habit of learning. I found that the gap year actually helped me at university. There were lots of other students there who’d taken a gap year and it was a good conversation stating point.  It also increased my confidence; I felt I’d experienced life and opened my mind to new opportunities.  It does take a little time to get back into learning, but you soon get back into the swing of it. 

I would definitely recommend taking a gap year to other students; I have friends in many different countries, have developed lots of different skills such as budgeting and languages, and have learnt how to be independent. I will be travelling again once I finish university.   (Madelaine, Molecular biology student)

Returning to university after a work placement

The placement was an amazing opportunity for me to get industry experience in one of the world’s leading plant laboratories (Kew Gardens). I didn’t think I would have a chance of getting accepted and was overjoyed to be offered a place.

The placement itself was a new role and offered me the chance to be creative and to shape the job; it was a fantastic experience, helping me develop skills that would be useful after I have finished my degree. I would say though, that my transition back to university life was not so smooth. All my friends had graduated, so I was coming to completely new people. In a way it felt like being a first year again, only all the other students had established friendship groups. It’s important to have a support network, especially in the final year, and I worked hard to make new friends.

Another difficulty was getting back into an academic mindset. In the workplace all the goals are extrinsic and other people were relying on me. Back at university the goals are not external and it is all about motivating yourself to do well. The work is also very different and I had to re-adapt to an academic writing style.  In the end though, I got back into university life and I’m really happy with my progress as I complete my final year.

Despite the difficulties, I would wholeheartedly recommend a year’s work placement; it is great for your CV, gives you a window into possible future careers, and plugs you in to lots of networks. My advice to anyone undertaking a work placement would be:

·         Maintain friendships with other people on work placements

·         Find likeminded individuals to support each other

·         Be ready of the pressure of academia and exams

·         Keep reading academic papers during the year, to keep you in the loop

·         Implement a timetable when you get, the lack of structure of university may come as a shock

·         If you haven’t got one, invest in a laptop, it’ll be invaluable for organising your work.

                                                                                                                                            (Joel, APS student)