Gap year after highschool?

[slash1524 74]

Hey guys, been a long time since I visited this forum. It's great to see it's still as vibrant as ever. I am just about to graduate from highschool, I am considering a gap year, to find my passion.i already have some things in mind that I want to try, before going to college. Do you guys think this is a good idea, or should I just straight away go to college?

[ThirdOnion 4,898]

Players on TO forum are probably not the best people to ask this question.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

I think you should be a no lifer that plays 24/7 :P

[u812ic 1,629]

Actually, it's up to you what you want to do. Just bare in mind that the longer you stay out of school, the harder it will be to go back. Right now, you have a lifestyle of going to school, learning, keeping up the pace, etc. If you don't stay with it, you will lose that edge. 

 

May I tell you what happened to the son of a friend of mine? I promise I will try very hard to give you the short version: He was a straight A student from the 3rd grade the 11th grade. In the 12th grade, he got a B in French. His IQ tested off the charts. He knew what career he wanted and had the college picked out. There were several grants he was eligible for from the Government and Organizations. He decided to take a year off.

 

During that year, he found a fantasy card game and was at the game room everyday and on through the evening hours. Every week they had a tournament and he entered everyone of them. After a year of this, he lost his interest in college and immersed himself in this card game. His Mom told him to get a job or get out. He got a job flipping hamburgers. Quit that. Got a job stocking shelves. Quit that. Went to work as a cashier in a gas station and got fired. Meanwhile, he was introduced to CoD: Black Ops. He lost interest in the card game and now plays CoD and chats with his gf on FB. He just turned 21....still playing CoD and flipping hamburgers. I've asked him several times in the past years about going to college. His last response was, "Yeah, I'm still interested. I'll get around to it. I've still got plenty of time." Sad part is, he's no longer eligible for those grants. He had to apply for them within a year after graduation. 

 

I'm not saying this will happen to you. But it does happen. Taking that one year break is a risk. My advice to you as one much older than you...Stay in school for the next 4 years. If not, then at least learn a trade at a vocational school. Those are 1 to 2 years. You're young, pursue your dream.  

[Hate 5,582]

I think you should be a no lifer that plays 24/7 :P

 

Players on TO forum are probably not the best people to ask this question.

That is the more reason to not ask, these soldiers are savage..;p

[Bydo 20,166]

Hey guys, been a long time since I visited this forum. It's great to see it's still as vibrant as ever. I am just about to graduate from highschool, I am considering a gap year, to find my passion.i already have some things in mind that I want to try, before going to college. Do you guys think this is a good idea, or should I just straight away go to college?

sir as a parent and just gone threw this two years ago with my daughter I can tell you a few things.

1)  talk to your parents to get there in put on what they want from you

2)  if its ok with them ,get a good job and save money for it , this way you have something to get you threw the school years

3)  if you choose not to go to work and just sit around and play tanki all day , from my own exuberance you wont go back . if you can do it now and have a carrier to fall back on. most jobs now a days needs a carrier . you don't want to work in the fast food industry's for the rest of your

[Hancho 3,902]

sir as a parent and just gone threw this two years ago with my daughter I can tell you a few things.

1)  talk to your parents to get there in put on what they want from you

2)  if its ok with them ,get a good job and save money for it , this way you have something to get you threw the school years

3)  if you choose not to go to work and just sit around and play tanki all day , from my own exuberance you wont go back . if you can do it now and have a carrier to fall back on. most jobs now a days needs a carrier . you don't want to work in the fast food industry's for the rest of your

Motivation. 

[slash1524 74]

It's because this 1 month out of highschool, I have learned more than what I had in the past year in highschool. I wanna prove that learning doesn't need to be institutionalised,and can be done on the internet as well. I want to make my own games and have already taken the necessary steps to start the learning process(learning programming right now), I also try to be as disciplined as possible.my highschool never let me discover new things, all they cared about was my marks so that they could have a better result and do better than the other highschools in the country. Thanks alot for your time guys, your feedback is valuable

[r_Kirby4 358]

It's because this 1 month out of highschool, I have learned more than what I had in the past year in highschool. I wanna prove that learning doesn't need to be institutionalised,and can be done on the internet as well. I want to make my own games and have already taken the necessary steps to start the learning process(learning programming right now), I also try to be as disciplined as possible.my highschool never let me discover new things, all they cared about was my marks so that they could have a better result and do better than the other highschools in the country. Thanks alot for your time guys, your feedback is valuable

Exactly. It's not a real life if you don't live what you like. Especially considering you could make money out of anything today, only if you are good enough in it. I want to be a developer as well, ever since my first thought of it, but I may not be as disciplined as you.

 

The only thing my highschool gives to me is a better look in cruel and bad world, no smart people and only nerds who, maybe not directly and too much, but boast about it; bad cheaters passing better than average students. Groups of scumbags joking and threatening on 'lone wolf' students. I'm fit of it as one.

 

[read the second sentence again for the end]

[personia 4,036]

I'm not saying this will happen to you. But it does happen. Taking that one year break is a risk. My advice to you as one much older than you...Stay in school for the next 4 years. If not, then at least learn a trade at a vocational school. Those are 1 to 2 years. You're young, pursue your dream.  

Yeah, I just left high school last year and already I've seen the same thing happen to a couple of my friends. If you're taking a gap year either get a job and earn money to go to uni knowing what you want to do, or go to uni. There's no point taking a gap year just cos.

[u812ic 1,629]

Becoming a Dev doesn't happen "overnight" as you know. It takes time, patience and dedication. Even after you've made a few games, they may not be good enough to earn a living. I suggest, if you are dead set against going to college, then at least go to a vocational school and learn a trade so you can pay the bills,  put food on the table, etc. Or are you planning on sponging off your parents for the next 2-3 years?