Some people take gap years, is it ok to do so? Would universities/employers ask you in the future why is there a gap? And usually I think people take a gap year after they finish college, and before they start university, right? But have you heard of any people who take a year break after SPM, before starting their pre-u, for e.g A-Levels

Are you thinking of taking a gap year before studies or looking for a job?

I dont think taking a gap year would really affect your employment chances, you can just tell them you were taking a break after years of studying before you want to go into a job full time. I'm not really sure about the implications on continuing your tertiary studies though. Have a look :
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gap year before job

gap year before uni

TS, your situation is normal. No need to worry.

i hope my future employer will skipped the question

as i been extend the semester too

gap year is almost unherad of in malaysia, but extremely common in europe. even the interpretation is different here in malaysia.

in europe, gap year is treated as extra-curricular activity that in a way will enhance and benefit the individual, which in turn will make them into a better graduate. the student will retain all privilege as a student and could represent the university in any events (sports, conferences etc). people not only want to do gap year, they also are encouraged to do it, and will tell other people proudly that they did something good during a gap year.

however in malaysia, gap year is mostly taking a break from studies either to work (earn a living, sustain self etc), to get away because of too stressed, or got pregnant.

do u see the negative connotation (from the perspective of society and potentially the employers as well) in malaysia?

I AM taking a gap year and have never considered the negative connotations in Malaysia. Thanks for pointing that out, azarimy. I guess I would not expect a lot of Malaysians to understand why I choose to take a year off even though i have the financial means to continue with school. The mentality here is that one should finish school as young as possible (Although i do not understand why. What's the rush?), so gap years are unnecessary and a "waste of time". I do not care if society looks unfavorably upon my choice to take a gap year, but if it comes up during an interview with a potential employer, that would be a tricky question to answer :/

I will ask but I won't probe. Just curious.

I took a gap year after college, and some HR staff asked about that when I sent in my job application resume. I just don't know what to say then. It seems in Malaysia, gap year = you lazy.

Well this sums it up. It's probably not wise to take a gap year, especially not right after SPM.

If you justify your gap year, why scare? You may be engaged in volunteering work or a job (like a barista etc.) to develop yourself before committing for your studies. You'll be putting them into your CV as well unless your gap year means you will do nothing productive throughout.

errr... gap year assumes u're doing something in between of something else. for example, u've just finished 1st year of ur degree, went out to do charity work in tibet for a year (this being the gap year), and then continue ur 2nd year after returning from tibet.

if u've just finished SPM and did not immediately continue for STPM/A-levels/matrics, that's called bumming around.

And that's why I said ,after SPM, it's better to straightaway start a pre-u course. A one year gap would be seen as bumming around, not a gap year?

depends what u're doing exactly. if u're earning money coz u cant afford pre-u, i'm sure it's fine. heck, as long as u can account it to something, it'll be fine too. u just dont have to call it a gap year, because it has a specific meaning attached to it.

what i'm saying is, do something productive if u dont plan to continue straight after SPM. and make sure that the thing u do somehow benefits u in some ways that the potential employer deem valuable. like doing charity work.

Some people with financial problem they really take a gap and go for work so that their burden can be relief. One friend of mine suspend her degree in the middle of her study then go to work for two years and later come back to finish her study. Right after she graduated she directly hired back by the company that she worked before. I think taking a gap is fine as long as you can explain what you are doing during that gap. Good luck.

I see, so that means I was wrongly using the term 'gap year'. But there are people who only start pre-u, e.g A-Levels, a year after SPM? I see most people, start A-Levels the year immediately after SPM. If in the resume, when the university or employer sees that you took SPM in 2012, but only start A-Levels in 2014, they would question that, won't they? Actually this question of gap year is related to another question I had, about taking a year break after SPM before starting A-Levels

they might ask. but it wont have any significant effect to ur employability. i mean even if u say "i'm bumming around with my friends chasing hot girls", what are they gonna do, right?

look, university life can be hectic. if u dont wanna burdened with education loans (like PTPTN), then the most logical way is to sacrifice a year (or a few) of ur life to earn some money before continuing ur studies. employers would see this as ur own initiative to take matters into ur own hands. which is good!

there are other more important questions that they will ask that will directly impact ur employability. i suggest u concentrate on those. for example:

i. working experience
ii. softskills
iii. degree curriculum, syllabus & accreditation
iv. professional license

and stuff like that. if i were to put that on a scale, those four will weigh about 80%, and the gap year probably about 1%. so dont worry about it!

But let's say someone takes a year off after SPM. I have one or two friends who are doing that. Then, if a future employer or future university interviewer ask, what did u do during that break, what can you say? If you say that you had financial difficulty, would they ask why didn't you take STPM or matrics?

like i said, it doesnt matter. just tell the truth.

Ok. But actually, what are the impression that the future employer or university entrance interviewer might have of you, if u had took a break between your studies? After all, I think we Asians prioritize graduating faster, there is the mentality there

i would like my children in future to take 1 gap year before they choose their major in university.

This post has been edited by beederbest: Sep 3 2013, 06:01 PM

if your degree take longer than you should. Let say 4 years engineering and you take 5 years to complete or 6 years

If 5 years, most interview wont blink an eyes because it quite common for engineering student to extend a sem or two at most. If you fail and have to retake. Just tell the truth you didn't do well in that particular subject and have to retake. I noticed that hiring manager don't really bother the duration of your studies but more on how you present yourself. Just the curious one will ask but then quickly proceed to the next question.

We Asian prioritize faster because we want to finish anything or any task as soon as possible.

So they don't really bother how long it took you to complete your education? But I really wonder, let's say there is a gap in ur studies. And sometimes you have to send in online application for university or send in resume. I wonder if they would glance through and see how long it took you to finish ur pre-u. Maybe when they see that you got a gap, they wouldn't shortlist you. Well, just imagining that scenario.

This post has been edited by OptimusMaximus: Sep 4 2013, 04:40 PM

your qualification is more important than how long you take to complete that qualification. Keep that in mind

Many HR use automated system to filter out possible candidates

I see. How about for university application? Would any gap between school and college matter? Like if I took SPM in 2012, but only starting college pre-u A-Levels in 2014.

Or how would it look like in the resume? Would the gap be noticeable, or people won't even notice it?

The curious ones will ask and i cant say for certain it wont affect your resume etc etc as i am not the hiring managers or recruiters nor the interviewer. What i am doing is giving you the general idea, not the specific details

University wont bother the detail on when you start your pre-u. The sad truth about education is as long you have the financial means, anything also can

Is that really true?

I was thinking that some people might not had the privilege of pre-u or university or stuff like that, but they have still made it big. Or they only did their degree when they are older.

But being an average typical student myself, who just like any Malaysian student who would be doing pre-u then degree, and then finding a job, I wonder if these things like gap years can affect my chance in this competitive world later.

This post has been edited by OptimusMaximus: Sep 4 2013, 05:55 PM

No! More importantly, take advantage of college experiences to explore potential careers. You can even explore relevant part-time like Just Visiting By and school break jobs.