3 reasons to take a working holiday in Australia
Taking a gap year or working holiday is a wonderful opportunity to see the world and enjoy some different cultures while you’re young. Australia’s program enables 18-to-30-year-olds the chance to travel, work, and study across the country for up to a year. Why should you take a working holiday? Try these on for size.
Traveling makes you wiser in ways that aren’t always obvious.Getting out of what’s comfortable or familiar forces you to adapt, much like a workout at a gym forces your muscles to grow. Exchanging cultures and working often means opening your mind to new possibilities, whether they be fields of study, new ways of seeing the world, or perhaps new business ideas. Traveling also makes you more confident to move to a new place. Later in life, you may have an opportunity elsewhere in the world since you’ve already done that as a working holiday, it’s easier to do it a second time.
It lets you support yourself. It’s time to say I’m ready to be an adult’s and nothing does that better than providing for yourself. Making your own money is perhaps one of life’s little confidence boosters, and a way of marking the transition from childhood to adulthood. You’ll also need to do some adult things, such as open your own bank account and make a budget. Since you’re supporting yourself, you’ll also have to make the important decisions do you go out and party all night, or do you save up for an epic roadtrip across Australia? Of course, your family is only a free Skype call away, and there are plenty of resources to help you out if you need it.
It’ll look good on a resume.Traditional jobs on a working holiday have long included hospitality jobs or in manual labor, but today’s employers are getting wiser to the skillsets you can bring. If you have a background or passion in a subject, this is your opportunity to use it in a more professional capacity. You still need to apply for these jobs, of course, and approaching companies professionally is key. Note that the Working Holiday visa only allows you for six months at a given company. If the company wants to keep you on, you can work to get a visa sponsored by them.
Getting started on a working holiday visa does require some planning, and you’ll need to show you have sufficient funds to care for yourself. Once you have the visa, though, get ready for an adventure you’ll never forget!