In some countries, young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

Taking a year gap between the high school and the university has become common in some countries. This provides a break after many years of school education. This essay will deal with both pros and cons of this new trend. To start with the advantages- firstly, students who travel away from home would develop independence and self-confidence on a personal level. Secondly, working at an early age they get professional and practical experience. This will help them to choose their career in the future. Also they might save some money that would support them in further education. However, there are disadvantages in working or travelling before completion of entire education. The students will eventually show no interest towards higher studies while a few of them will choose to continue working. It's because, they will have freedom of living their life in their own way. For instance, youngsters when start to earn money through work, they may fall into bad habits such as smoking, alcohol consumption and so on. In addition to that, in such early stage, students are immature to take decisions which will result in losing the good study habits and self-discipline. In short, the main drawback is discontinuation in the learning process and students end up losing the right track. Conclusion, taking a year gap is an individual decision. Although there are some advantages on personal as well as professional levels but we must not neglect the disadvantages which may imbalance student's academic cycle.