Taking A Gap Year After My Bachelors Degree - #StudentStories Interview Series #1
Samudraki's Saturdays
Q. What did you study at university?
A. I just recently graduated in August 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. It was a 3-year degree program but I took an extra year due to back log and did my bachelor research project (Thesis) online thanks to Covid-19! I was really looking forward to working on experiments to make a perfume in the lab which is something I really want to do in the future as a job, however nature had other plans and the Netherlands went into a lockdown a month prior to my thesis starting. So not fair! I did however learn alot of theory via online thesis and lots of research which definitely inspired me to start my own perfume line in the future.
Q. Why did you want to take a gap year?
A. Like I mentioned, I had quite alot of backlog and I was honestly done with the university life of studying, giving exams and then studying again for the next exam cycle. I just wanted a break and I felt like I didn't really live out my college life to the fullest, so I postponed all my fun activities to summer 2020 as a reward for graduating. This motivated me alot and made me actually pass my courses so fast to a point where I didn't need the full extra 4th year and was done sooner than expected. So yeah, I was really excited to finally get a break and enjoy the European summer since I would always go back home for the holidays and spend time with my family.
Q. What were your plans for your gap year?
A. Don't get me started, I had a huge list, a filled up planner, tickets booked and everything! I'm still upset about and it's most likely not going to happen this summer either, but at least I'll get to go home and see my family after 2 years!!! So for starters, I wanted to travel to Southern Europe and enjoy the summer sun by the beach on a solo trip as well as with friends. Apart from travelling, I wanted to take up dance lessons again as I couldn't fully commit to those alongside university. I also was really looking forward to a summer-job as a bartender at a very popular pub in the city because I love playing host at parties, so why not get paid for the same? I also wanted to finally learn driving here in the Netherlands and hoped I would get my licence by the end of summer so I could take road trips whenever I wanted. Lastly, I wanted to catch up with my friends and hang out because I pretty much shut everyone off in my last year of university as I was desperate to graduate without any distractions.
Q. Covid-19 ruined all your plans, so how did you change it to still get a much-needed break?
A. Well for starters, I went to the park every other day with my giant sun hat and a picnic bag for me, myself and I. The restrictions were pretty strict so you could only meet up with a limited number of people and maintain distance. I discovered new recipes from different countries and treated myself to new cuisines everyday. I had lots of video calls with friends and family here and back home. I even called old school friends whom I hadn't spoken to in like 10 years and reconnected with them, which was great! I joined several online workout groups, but still couldn't get rid of the quarantine belly. And lastly, I redecorated my room which took quite some time.
Q. What is a new hobby you developed during your time off?
A. I actually discovered I could sketch and solve puzzles quite well. I made lots of artwork for myself and my friends to hang up in their walls. I even started a new YouTube series to make more university-related content and started posting more frequently on social media. I even jumped on the trend and joined TikTok, and now I can't stop dancing. I also bought and oven and discovered I can bake really yummy cakes and that's why I even baked my own cake for my lockdown birthday!
Q. How was the job-searching experience after graduation in the middle of a global pandemic?
A. After graduation I took a month off to myself and only then I started looking for jobs. It is very late, I know, but I definitely needed that month to myself. I did face a few issues when applying because alot of the companies I wanted to apply to had changed their eligibility requirements to having a master's degree. I panicked because I didn't have that and I didn't want to go through university life all over again. So I started my research and realised that I had missed the deadline for the application of the master's starting in September, and I was only a week away from the deadline of the Winter semester applications closing. Luckily I managed to apply in time and was automatically enrolled since I had just graduated from that university. This basically gave me a gap semester instead of a gap year. I was getting a bit sick of my friends being busy again since university started while I was a free bird so I decided to look at some part-time jobs. I spent two weeks handing out CV's in the center but due to the lockdown the shops kept opening and closing so they were not taking any new staff. One day when I was going through my university portal page and winding things up I saw an announcement that said that the Engineering depart at the university was looking for a research assistant who could work full-time. I didn't ever want to go into the research line and always knew I will be going for a corporate job, but since I had a lot of time and I had exhausted my Netflix and YouTube movies, I applied. Voila! I got the job and started working in a research lab and learnt alot of new things along the way. I worked from 9-5 every day and it was quite the learning experience for such a short amount of time, until my masters started.
Q. What are your plans now that your gap 'semester' is over?
A. Well, I just started my masters also in Chemical Engineering and as of today I am two weeks into the program. So far so good, it's just a bit weird adjusting to online university and making friends is pretty much impossible because I don't know who my classmates are and neither do we get to see our classmates during lectures. I converted my full-time research assistant contract to a part-time contract, so at least that way I can get out of the house and not just for groceries. I plan to really work on my YouTube channel and this blog page alongside my studies and job. Depending on how the vaccine distribution progresses, I will go back home and visit my family and spend summer with them. If online university continues into my next semester, I might even consider staying longer than just the holidays with my parents and make up for the past 2 years!
Q. Finally, why did you choose to study in The Netherlands?
A. I come from all the way from India, however I am Dutch so for me I always wanted to come back to my home country and study here in The Netherlands. I always felt I was too foreign for India and had a very open mind, which made it the perfect place for me to move to. I also wanted to have the experience of travelling Europe like I used to in my youth, since my childhood was spent here. Lastly, the pay is very good here so doing a job here and being a citizen has alot of benefits!
I hope you liked today's interview and got to know a little bit more about my story. Let me know your experiences as an international student studying in The Netherlands in the comments section.
Do you have a story you want to share? Email me at samudraki.blog@gmail.com to be featured!
XO, Samudraki
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