What can you do?

A lot, especially if you have a year. Deciding on what to do is often a better starting point than working out where to travel to. It adds more purpose to the career break. You could of course just get a rucksack and set off around the world. If that’s what you want to do, then fine – just be sure you know why you are doing this and make the usual preparations.

One way to approach this is to arrange a placement and then from a firm base, set off on your travels. For example, spend three months on a conservation project in Malaysia. Having got used to greater independence and more confident in your abilities to survive in adverse conditions, set off on your travels through Asia and on to Australia. An added advantage would be to meet people on the first placement who you could travel with.

So what’s the choice ? (in addition to travelling):

Volunteering:

Conservation eg working in the rain forest in Brazil; planting trees in Australia; surveying fauna and flora in Africa •

Caring/medical eg working with the Red Cross; looking after children, adults, the disadvantaged in Europe or South America
Teaching eg being a teaching assistant in Malaysia or Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) in Japan
Outdoor education and camps eg working in Outward Bound centres or Summer Camps in the USA and Canada

Expeditions:

eg sailing, canoeing, trekking, mountaineering, skiing, desert travel

Courses & cultural exchanges:

eg sport, languages, art, cookery, drama

Work:

eg paid work, work experience, internships

How do you make a choice?

One way is to link it to your profession or course of study. If you have existing skills which you would like to use, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.