To take a year off, or not?

belevitt
Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:21:22 +0000

This year off business is a lot more common than you would expect. I am in my fourth “year off”. It is not years off so much as building a strong basis for the rest of your career. In Science, they talk about the post baccalaureate as “being the one or two years that make careers” (see link below). I would think that benefits would be obvious. It allows you to explore multiple research areas, publish, take classes, go to conferences, save up money, become more competitive for grad school admissions and mature. Certainly some of those things could be done by going abroad to travel for a year, but for it to be professionally advantageous, you will need to check out lab tech jobs. This can be a very positive thing, I have further refined my passions and developed a broader array of research competencies in my last few years. I have also made strong connections and know more clearly what I need out of a mentor. Since these things are critical to success in grad school, I would argue this time is very worth it. On a more superficial level, this path has allowed me to move to a new and exciting city, pay off debt (salaries for lab techs are higher than grad student stipends), take extravagant vacations (universities offer incredible benefits/vacation packages), take interesting courses and start a family, all without the pressing burdens of being a grad student. Perhaps you should consider regarding working in a lab before grad school as a positive thing and not just some break from expending effort.

[The Postbac: One or Two Years That Make Careers - Science Careers - Biotech, Pharmaceutical, Faculty, Postdoc jobs on Science Careers](http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2007_08_10/caredit.a0700114)