Currently planning my gap year activities, but I’m kind of overwhelmed with all the information there is to offer. I really have my eyes set on interning abroad for an interest that I’ve peaked before starting my undergraduate education, but lately, I’ve been looking at just working abroad. What are the pros and cons of each? How do I know which is right for me?
Getting a work visa may be an issue, while internships may have a system for dealing with internship issues. The one exception is being an au pair as there are usually special visas for that sort of work. I know one young women who used au pair work for half a year to fund volunteer work in Africa for the second half of the summer. She also used the au pair experience to become more fluent in French.
It’s often hard to know what is right for you. I made choice in my life because they seemed like the most interesting thing I could do at the time. I spent a gap year before college living with a French family and going to a school there, and also sitting in on university classes (the second half of the year, my French wasn’t good enough the first semester!) Then I took a second gap year after college on a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities photographing fire stations. Live in a van and travelled all over the country. Both were great experiences.
Maybe volunteer for an NGO. Maybe organizations like Doctors Without Borders accept lay volunteers–especially those willing to pay their own travel expenses.
Work visas are a huge barrier to working abroad. And some countries require special visas for volunteering, as well; Tanzania charges $500 for a volunteer visa, for example.
There are unpaid internships you can arrange through many companies, but that can be pricey: you pay for your placement fees, travel/room&board. Placement as an au pair can take time: you need to be screened and matched with a family, and the placement can be a bit costly upfront.
What about a student exchange gap year program? E.g., https://www.yfuusa.org/study/gap-year-college-programs/
Some of us on the forum have lived (and worked) abroad. If you’re comfortable mentioning what you’re interested in, - especially what country - we might be able to give some more detailed pros and cons. Finding a paying job overseas is going to be extremely difficult for someone that has just graduated high school.
I’d start off thinking about what interests/passions you want to pursue further or delve into, anything new you want to learn, certain countries you want to explore, what your budget is. That will help you narrow things down and focus more. Your ability to work abroad will depend on what countries you are visiting.
Look up WOOF.
WWOOF is good if you want to do organic farming. If it’s not your gig, it won’t be of interest. Other options for work in exchange for room and board are workaway and helpx.
I suggest any program that puts you in one location, with a work visa, and pretty much leaves you on your own. The point here is to get some maturity, right? If you stay in one place, your language skills will improve and you will make connections. That would be a great outcome, and it doesn’t matter where you do that.
@brooklynlydia – except that a work visa isn’t easily gotten. In fact, it’s damn hard to get without being employed by a company that’s willing to facilitate it. It WOULD be a great outcome, no doubt. But it’s not a terribly realistic one in OP’s situation.
You could try workaway.info – that lists places whereyou work a few hours a day for a room. Sometimes they throw in a meal and the rest of the day is yours. They have listings all over the world.
If you have any interest in agricultural or farming–take a look WWOFF. I know a number of kids who loved it. Including one who didn’t even think she’d enjoy it, but wanted to go to Italy.
https://www.wwoof.it/en/?gclid=CjwKCAjwkMbaBRBAEiwAlH5v_nDHzof_Oy8699PoMLm-NfVMVoQKZNm3xabfekXLt1dk390BKuP-VBoCpx8QAvD_BwE
@katliamom . Right, it isn’t easy to just get a visa. However, There are firms that help you with the visa part. But once there, you do your job like a normal person, and presumably grow up, have adventures, whatever, but the firm is t providing a structured environment. There are also programs out there, which as far as I can tell, are just super expensive opportunities for super rich kids to (hopefully) mature a bit while in a protected environment.
If this mom is looking for the latter, I don’t think it will achieve what she is hoping to achieve.
^^ oops. Mixed up threads. This one doesn’t seem to be a mom. Sorry. Rest of post still holds.
I’m sure there are programs besides the types I listed, including some that were suggested.
@brooklynlydia Just want to say that, since you keep emphasizing maturity, plenty of folks take a gap year for reasons other than needing to “mature a bit”.