Gap Years
Gap Years
Having a kid who just considered, then ultimately rejected, a gap year, I
was struck by the similarities between the developing popularity of gap
years and the encore career.
Both start with the people who want to pursue this path – and the people on
the path are quite passionate about it.
For most the motives are mixed – learning, growing, serving, financing,
waiting, etc.
Both have the potential to develop into cultural norms, into a respected
path.
Gap years have spawned a number of industries that either help people find
gap years or provide gap year experiences – if we succeed something like
that marketplace will grow in the encore career space.
Institutional help – some colleges are now really encouraging gap years,
even going so far as to help fund them.
I haven’t done any research to chart the growth of the gap year phenomenon
and looked how it morphed from an idea to a phenomenon to a norm that is
supported by organizations and institutions. But it is not a bad analogy.
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- by John Gomperts
Peter Sherer CEO and Founder
Peter Sherer
CEO and Founder
Experience Matters
John and David are on to something about a gap period. In my coaching of baby boomers facing the first stage of retirement, I find that most want at least 3-6 months off from institutional engagement. See the grand kids, go to Machu Pichu, fix the house up, go to the 3 doctors that you have missed consistently, and rest.
The distinction, and it may not be a big one between high school grads and retiring boomers is that the boomers are exhausted. The kids are too after exams and papers but they recover faster. The adults need time to read trashy novels and stare at the ceiling.
I think the gap year idea is worth promoting to this crowd because a gap space course at a community college would be a welcome reentry point for many who are weary of life within or attached to organizations. If the gap space courses are taught by a group of boomers who have been there and done that, it will be especially popular. Cheers. Peter
Gap Years and Hunches
John Gomperts is on to something important. My hunch is that there are examples of people who have begun to take a gap year as they plan the next part of their working life. They may call it a sabbatical. Either way it means they’re ready to take the next far reaching steps.
Those steps are about tapping into one’s interests, being organized and being prepared to explore how you can pursue what excites you, how to organize yourself to do what you want to do next and identify the future income producing jobs that meet a public purpose.
Stories help form and build the encore public purpose culture. We move as a people to establish a practical norm of people serving, having fun, earning income and making a difference in our community and our country.
I hope we hear from people who have stories to tell on how they created their gap year. That way we will want to take the next step confidently.