Ask HN: What to do on a gap year? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What to do on a gap year?

17 pointsfadelakin9 comments

Tuesday would have been the day I left home and moved to college. But after thinking for a while, I realized that I was rushing a bit quickly into things. Going from high school to college within the span of 3 months was a bit too quick for me so I requested for my admission to be deferred.

I now have a year to pursue the things that I want to pursue. The thing is apart from web development and developing Android apps, I don't know what else to do. I just started a part-time job as a developer which has the option of becoming full time in the future. I should say I took the job mainly so I could gain experience for future purposes because I really want to be a software engineer but without experience, it's kinda hard to be.

I know an existential crisis is inevitable. I was wondering what HN suggests I should do. People I've talked to said that I should travel but traveling is really enough for me. I have no idea what to do to be social.

So what do you suggest I do during my gap year HN?

I won't suggest "traveling", but I suggest moving to and living somewhere very different from where you grew up/went to school. Especially if you're a US citizen, because you have a lot of global geographic flexibility.

Living in a new country by yourself will make you pick up a lot of skills like those suggested here: cooking, staying fit, managing your sleep, etc and also what you suggest you would like to learn: be social.

Use online tools to find people to meet, or just walk out into the city and strike up conversation with strangers. You'd be surprised, in most parts of the world, people are happy to talk to a stranger who genuinely wants to learn from them. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you'll eventually get there. You may pick up some essentials of the local language, learn about how people can lead different lifestyles than what you're used to, and in general become a better person to deal with a shrinking world. You will also have fewer social obligations to friends and family while away, giving you a lot of freedom with your time, something which I personally valued a lot during my time alone in new cities.

- Get fit: go to the gym regularly, eat healthily, sleep well. It's amazing how different peoples' first impressions of you will be if you're even a little bit well built.

- Learn life skills: cooking, seamstering (is that a word?)

- Travel somewhere very different to your home country for at least a month

- Try to start a company

- Learn the basics of a wide range of topics: politics, economics, philosophy, law, etc.

This is the stuff I would do if I could take a year out of university right now, some of it might apply to you too.

Parent had a lot of good advice. Take the time off to build some good life habits that will carry on past college.

I'd add a couple more

- Read everything you can in as wide a range of subjects as you can. Building a solid base of knowledge in a wide range of subjects will set you apart from your peers and give you a strong foundation for linking disparate ideas in college. You'll get a lot more out of your classes if you understand how ideas fit into the bigger picture than if you limit yourself what your professor tells you.

- Find a mentor who can help guide you and give you suggestions for what to read and study as well as take a long term interest in your development personally and professionally. They can be invaluable aids.

- Invest in relationships. You'll have a lot of free time and flexibility to spend time with people, do it. Build long lasting friendships that will carry through college and beyond. They'll be there for you in good times or bad. It's time well spent.

Learn enough to make going back to school irrelevant. Seriously, you've delayed the inevitable (Getting a CS degree) which is almost certainly required to reach your goals (becoming a software engineer). School isn't going to be any cheaper next year, and the education probably worse.

I'd leverage the time to get experience. Whatever that means to you.

That's totally not true, I got a Software Engineering offer after I walked away from my business law degree to pursue my passion - developing. Yes a CS degree would help - and yes there’s foundations i lack because I didn’t get my degree - however experience trumps all.  

My advice as a former student who wishes he took a year off to reset myself before taking on debt. Do what you would want to do after you have your degree - see if you can do it without the degree. See if you enjoy it.

If you strike out on your own like I did, my advice charge what you think is an insane rate, and find local clients. Network with others in your field. For web development especially - I get 80% of my clients from other local development firms and design agencies - You just need to find a niche that the local market lacks, and become that go to person.

Travel travel travel. You can do it in addition to any other advice on here (you WILL learn new skills, try new things, read, meet new people.) If you're concerned about budget, go to Latin America or South/Southeast Asia. The perspective and skills you gain will empower you for the rest of your life.

I'm on my 'Gap Year plus' right now. I decided to take a year off after sophomore year to teach myself some web development and travel. I was originally planning to go back to university this Fall, but I am pursuing a career in modeling/showbiz. It has always been on my list of things I wanted to do, so I thought it would be better to do it now while I'm young rather than later when I have more obligations. My advice would be to go with whatever whim or dream you have, even if others might not agree.

I'm in a similar situation right now. Finished school, but have to wait until next year to go to university because of mandatory military service. In the meantime I'm honing my terrible skills in mathematics and drawing and I study the SICP lectures as described in this handy guide: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/qoxa2slbcuum2p9/13843304...

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