Will the virus promote a "Gap Year"

   

      Many students graduating from high school and college are trying to determine what to do with the uncertainty of colleges opening in the fall or the job market in a time of increasing unemployment.  Right now it is hard to determine when the virus will allow us to go back to a normal social life.  Taking a "gap year" might be just the right fit for many young people now.  Exactly what a gap year might entail would vary from person to person.  Some might be able to take a volunteer role and others might be willing to take a job that they may not have considered before.  Contact tracing jobs might an interesting job to be available in the future.
      I had some experience with taking a "gap job" after graduating from college.  I was unsure of what additional academic program I wanted to pursue.  I had taken the Graduate Records Exam (GRE's) but I was tired of going to school and wanted a break.  At the time I was a live-in staff member at a psychiatric halfway house in DC finishing up a combined psychology/political science degree.  My friend told me that a DC hospital would hire anyone with a psychology degree as a psych tech in their psych unit.  It seemed like a good choice to do for a year until I decided what advance degree I wanted to pursue. One year turned into two and another job in the hospital.  During this time my experiences gave me a clearer idea about what type of additional education made sense.  I could only have gained this clarity by the experiences I had during this time.  With a renewed energy, focus and commitment my graduate experience was so much more valuable.  It set up me to have a career that was meaningful from the beginning.  Many people only have this focus mid-career.
     The virus causing students to consider a gap year might turn out to be a blessing in disguise as it was for me.

P.S.
    I bet a career as a virologist might be the new "hot" career.  Dr. Fauci might be the reason for the future growth in this career choice.