How to make the most of your Gap Year

Not everybody will listen to the advice given to them about gap years. One of the most important things is to be prepared, and sort it out early. The earlier you get on top of this, the more eager you appear and the more chance you’ll have of beating others to get there first. Many of us have taken gap years to either work, to travel or to ‘find ourselves’. It’s a year that (as many know) can go far too quickly. So it’s fairly obvious that you need to make the most of it. The big question is what do you want to get out of your gap year?

Internships

A good place to start would be looking for your dream internship. I’d like to think you’re studying for a reason; if you want a career in the subject you’re studying then why not aim for the best possible thing you could do? Think of the top organisations/people in your industry and hassle them. You’d be surprised at your luck if you showed plenty of ambition & determination for a work placement.



You can gain a vast amount of quality experience in the industry which can inevitably help with job applications once you’ve eventually finished your studies. Nobody is stopping you from getting a placement apart from yourself. If you really want it, you can go and get it! Don’t apply for 1 or 2 placements though; make sure you branch out and apply for lots of things you wouldn’t ever have imagined of being accepted for- the more doors you bang on, the more chance of somebody opening.

Traveling Abroad

This would be a great chance to see the world. Traveling can open your eyes as you start to see it from a different perspective. Sure, we have the internet nowadays, so we can see any place we’d want to in the world through a screen. But it doesn’t beat the experience of walking on foreign lands, living life in a different culture, trying different foods and generally seeing how other people live their lives. It may make you feel lucky to live the life you lead.
You can buy round the world tickets, which do exactly what they say on the tin. This way, you really can stretch to different corners of the planet. Planning a trip is highly recommended, so you know roughly where you’ll be going and that you will be doing it safely.

Volunteering Abroad

By volunteering you’d receive the same sort of benefits as traveling, plus a bit more. You have the opportunity to see the world and – like previously – live your life in different cultures, making you see the world from a different perspective. You could do almost anything when volunteering; there are people from much more deprived countries that are so grateful for help & support from students. Whether you were good at sports or are training to be a doctor- you can help people.

I think one of the most beneficial things about volunteering is that firstly, you see the world, and secondly, you feel rewarded from the good deeds that you do for others who really appreciated it. Companies such as Projects Abroad UK offer opportunities to help others in loads of different countries and many different sectors. You could find yourself coaching football to 6-17 year olds in Argentina or volunteering in Nepal as a carer or even a teacher- the possibilities truly are endless! There’s a volunteering opportunity out there for everybody.



So if you’re taking a gap year have a really good think about your options; what do you want to get out of it? Develop your career in the right internship? See the World? Help others? This could be a life-changing year for you if you approach it with the right kind of attitude!

Resource box:

UCAS
Take a look at gap year recommendations from UCAS.

Channel 4
Sitcom about interns taking a placement that is completely fake- but not to their knowledge.

BBC
Advice on whether a gap year is for you.

How to use technology to spend less: modern money saving tips

Technology does not just make things easier – it can also be used to make things cheaper. Whether you are adding a second landline using VoIP to save money, or scanning barcodes with your smartphone to find the cheapest way to buy something, there are so many ways to make technology work for you to make your money go further. Here are some ideas that even the biggest technophobe will have to acknowledge the value of.

Get open to open source

With the latest software and operating system versions usually priced as high as the producers think the market will bear, you can stop dancing to their tune by opting for open source equivalents. These are produced by a community of developers who look for others to make iterative improvements and so are free to use.

Look out for operating systems such as Linux (which is generally seen to be more stable than its big brother counterpart Windows), productivity suites such as OpenOffice, image editing software such as Picassa from Google and web browsers such as Firefox.

Snoop on coupon sites

Whether it is days out, meals out, designer wear or homeware, there are just so many great deals out there on the internet for those prepared to snoop them out. Sites like Groupon, Vouchercodes.co.uk and a host of others are serving up daily deals to those in the know.

Use VoIP to save money

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services offer you drastically lower call rates by using your internet connection rather than the traditional copper wire phone network. This does not mean you have to use a headset and computer to make a call, as nifty adapters allow your standard home phone to tap into your broadband supply without relying on your PC. National packages can offer you unlimited calls to mobiles and landlines anywhere in the UK and international packages offer you unlimited calls to Spain, India, Australia or any combination of countries. In addition, you will receive premium services without the premiums such as caller identification, call divert, call waiting and even voicemail messages emailed as text to your email account.

Internet-based VoIP services like Skype can also allow you to make a video call to anyone in the world without paying a single penny so you can not only hear them but see them. Perfect for catching up with friends overseas or seeing your relatives’ faces as they open the presents you have sent.

Avoid the high price trap with a barcode app

The latest smartphones have cameras sophisticated enough to scan barcodes and there are plenty of apps out there that can make this capability start working for you. Imagine you are out shopping and you see something that you just must buy. How do you know if the price is right? With a tap on an app and a click of the camera you can compare prices from high-street and online retailers in a second and even order the product from the seller with the very best deal.

Make your money go far with solar

Sometimes there can be a lot of green in being green. The latest solar panels require much less initial financial outlay but still promise great financial returns. Solar power can generate electricity (solar PV), or for lower set-up costs can heat your water (solar thermal), and both can cut your heating bills by at least a third. In addition, a new scheme known as the Feed-in Tariff actually pays you to generate electricity and promises returns as high as £25,000 over 25 years.

Resource Box

Free Office software

Find free versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more

Barcode scanner apps

Find the best deal available by scanning the barcode of products

How to buy solar panels

Research how to buy solar panels and find out how much you could be saving