This cartoon illustrates how a work-free year is interpreted as lazy and irresponsible if you’re a working class person and a well-deserved treat if you’re middle class or better.
Found at The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Genuis, via Missives from Marx.
Maybe it’s because my perspective is limited to the U.S., but I don’t know anyone who took a gap year, and it seems more like a waste of money and time that is more in keeping with one of the characters on Gossip Girl than “middle class.” Especially with the high and rising cost of tuition, I’d put this well into the upper class realm.
I think ‘middle-class’ also means a different thing in the US.
In America, and Canada, a lot of lower class people think that they are middle class, and a lot of upper class people also think that they are middle class.
You are probably not as middle class as you think, or you might be lower middle class, as opposed to upper middle class.
As someone from the UK (where this term is prevalent), I definitely disagree. Gap year is not a synonym for unemployed. I know some people on gap years who are employed, and some who are not (and an unemployed or idle gap year student is just as likely to be called lazy as someone who is not continuing to university). What it really means is a year out from education (and testing). In the UK we undergo public exams every summer and winter for three years. So to my mind, anyone who completes this is deserving of a year away from testing.
Quick correction – in Scotland our education system differs to the one in England/Wales/Northern Ireland. After the 3 years of high school qualifications we do aged 15-18 (Standard Grade/Intermediate 2, Highers and Advanced Highers). Our higher education (uni) lasts for 4 years for a standard BSc, BA or MA degree as opposed to the usual 3-year degree south of the border.
And it’s 5 years for lawyers and doctors…! Eek.
I’d imagine even more challenging in US for those who want to go into medicine/law as they have to do their first undergraduate degree before they even go into studying medicine or law.
If anything a gap year can really help get some life experience towards deciding what you really want to/would hate to do as a career.
My hunch is that you are not lower class, and don’t know many people that are. I could be wrong.
That’s not really true and such a poor analogy. Middle class kids who take a gap year out from school– can afford to do that because they have MONEY and can afford NOT to work.
It’s different for working class kids. They can’t afford to NOT work for a whole year and their parents won’t be able to help them out, either.
I’ve never heard the term “gap year”. Have heard (and been!) unemployed, though. Matt J, how do people in the UK support themselves in a “gap year”—is that covered by unemployment benefits, or what? Is there a special benefit offered to “gap year” people? If so…how do they qualify? Is it only for university students?
Here in the U.S., if you qualify for unemployment benefits (you were a full-time worker who was laid off, not fired, and are currently both able to work and actively seeking work), you have some means of supporting yourself for what could amount to a “gap six months” if you didn’t find work….but other than that, you’re financially screwed. Recent graduates who can’t find work? Screwed, unless they were full-time workers as well as students. There is no mechanism for people to get benefits for not working (including welfare—it has a work requirement).
Some people doing worthy things would receive funding through some kind of bursary, but my peers taking gap years mostly seem to be working (or have saved up from prior work) to fund it. A common pattern is to work for half a year, then travel for the second half.
British Gap Years put a fair chunk of money into Australian backpacker and tourism operators. Most of the backpackers do a fair bit of fruit picking, bar work, and coffee making.
They pay a lot less for university in the UK than we do in the US, so I wonder if that factors in. They start specializations earlier, too (16?), though not sure if that is relevant (it could possibly help with employment).
I have to agree with Matt. My perception of a gap year definitely involves working, sometimes in order to earn money towards tuition. It means only a year off school, not a year-long vacation, although perhaps in upper class society this is different?
Matt is definitely correct. I’m American, and I took a gap year between high school and college, and although I spent a couple of months traveling in Asia, I spent the other 10 months working two jobs. Although I still see it as an upper-middle class luxury, it was important for me to take time out of academics to make sure I was making the right academic decisions.
Many people who pursue post secondary education spend time working before they begin or between semesters so they can choose a vocational school or a community college, or take time off between semesters to save up for when they cannot work as many hours because of class. We don’t call this a “gap year,” but it follows the same principal.
The comic is cute but it misses the point of taking a gap year. It has nothing to do with employment and everything to do with education.
A minor point perhaps, but I was surprised that the difference in the cartoon is between “middle class” and “working class”.
Gap years are becoming more popular in the US for students looking for non-academic experiences – jobs, community service, volunteer opportunities, or travel. – between high school and college. There are even a number of companies and organizations that offer structured gap years and/or assist students with placement and assistance. Supporters claim that gap years provide students with valuable real life experience before progressing to college. Cynics and detractors suggest gap years are taken simply in an attempt to stand out in the competitive college application process.
While working with undergraduate admissions for seven years at a private university in Massachusetts, I noticed an increase in first year applicants with gap year experiences. However, I would not necessarily classify these students as “middle class”; the students applying with these experiences were wealthier (relative to the overall applicant pool) and it seemed to me that this option was mostly available to students with a higher socio-economic status.
Granted this is just anecdotal and perhaps not representative of most gap year experiences in the US. Nevertheless the gap year experience appears to be increasingly marketed to students that are progressing to college and specifically the subset of those students that can afford to take the time off. That subset is not the middle class I know. But perhaps this is just due to varying interpretations of class?
Middle class means a different thing in the UK than in the US. It’s hard to explain, but far less people in the UK would describe themselves as middle class than in the US. In the UK, the middle class tend to be more wealthy than average (and likely to send their children to ‘private’ schools (or public schools as we confusingly call them in the UK)), and those in the working class would not necessarily aspire to be middle class, they would regard the middle class as snobbish.
Did you tag the link that way on purpose? Cos the site’s definitely the ongoing adventures of ASBO Jesus and not ASBO Genius. Just curious.
In Australia a gap year (we don’t call it that, but a lot of people do it) means either backpacking or working (usually both) for a year before starting university, or a year between university and starting a graduate job.
Most people I know who’ve taken one already had their university placement or graduate job signed and sealed at the start of the gap year – they know exactly when it will end and what they will be doing at the end of it.
So it is entirely different from just being unemployed. Indeed, everyone I know who has taken a gap year has worked for some or all of it.
That said, I would agree that most people taking a year off are funded at least in part by their parents – particularly those who are travelling rather than working. Which puts it out of reach for a lot of working class kids.
I lived in the UK for a year, and I never heard of anyone taking a “Gap Year” filled with unemployment. Unless you are independently wealthy, a gap year usually consists of working and traveling usually in a foreign country.
I’ve never head of the term “gap year”. Guess which side of the comic applies to me? This is all kind of mind-blowing, actually. The very idea of people taking an entire year or so off to do whatever you want — travel, hobbies, nothing — just never occurred to me. Everyone around me, myself included, is either in “survival mode” or is planning for the next year or so. I mean, I know that some people have parents that finance their escapades around the world, but I really can’t conceptualize it. Hell, indulgence to me is draining my savings for a downpayment on a 2-year old car to trade in my rusting 15-year old one.
Leisure is expensive. What the hell would you do with yourself? If I’m not working or not going to school (at the same time, usually), I’d be totally broke. Leisure is less leisurely and more like idle life-wasting boredom when you don’t have money.
The very concept that there are people out there that not only have the opportunity to not have an income, but to continue to spend lots of money while they have no income on leisure, is totally alien to me. I can’t picture it. I have no idea how to keep myself occupied without school or a job.
Yeah…. ASBO Jesus.
Also interesting that it’s a male giving a female money, or telling her what to do.
give. me. a. break.
Hey, there are two Jamies, too! Can we differentiate?
“or better”?
Well, I suppose if you define college as “middle class.” I am taking a semester off from college and not working, although I am completely broke now. Almost all of my college friends support what I am doing, although my mom was like, “Oh, nooo. Sounds like a waste to me.” Of course, my mom also told me to stay home instead of getting a job when I was 19, so she’s not the best example of “working class” attitudes (by global standards my family is probably upper class, but I’m from the U.S.).
I’m an American on a gap year. I have a job though, as an Au Pair. I totally get the cartoon though; I got a lot of ‘so, what your just going to throw your education away?’ and I spent a lot of time saying ‘no, I’m traveling abroad, going to work for my keep, and will finish school when I’m ready to finish school.’
This comic is hilarious to me. I can definitely see this in my everyday life, as I am a working class college student and if I lost my job this is the first thing I’d hear. (I’m not trying to poke fun at the ‘gap year’ thing because if people have the money to do it, then they’re ‘stimulating’ the economy by spending money, so go for it and I’m not going to hate about it.)
For me, though, the working class panel is spot-on the reaction I (and many of my friends) would get, especially in this economy.
I second Jamie.
Put me on the bandwagon with Matt, Keeley, et. al.
I go to a private college in the US. Every single one of the people I know who took gap years after high school (8 or 9 people) was employed (or looking for a job) during that year. In some cases the work was for personal reasons (they needed a break from academics/they wanted real world experience working retail, etc.), and in some cases it was because they needed the extra money (In one case, the person was also planning to graduate early to save money as well). Never was it seen as a leisure opportunity.
I know the plural of anecdote isn’t data, but this idea of a gap year just seems strange and unfamiliar to me.
not sure why you won’t correct the link… ASBO Jesus.
Coming from a pretty solidly upper-middle class background in the US, I can’t even tell you how far off this comic is from my experience.
I finished my undergraduate degree on time (double major with honors) and tried a few graduate programs before deciding to take a “year off” to think about what to do next. This “year off” includes working two jobs… and hopefully a road trip as well if I can save the money.
From my friends and family’s reactions, you’d think I had announced that I had decided to embark on a life-long career plan of prostitution supplemented with welfare. There is enormous pressure to focus all of one’s ambitions on a career. I WISH this supportive attitude were more prevalent, but, alas, I have never seen it.
[...] going on re. cartoon 815 and the subjects of ‘gap years’ and ‘class’ on another blog… check it out if you have the time (or [...]
How can “Working class” even be a valid term when compared to middle class ? Unskilled labor vs. making $20 an hour at a factory. Total non-sense put forth by the Ministry of truth.
As I’ve already explained in this thread, this comic is British, and middle class has a different meaning here.
I’m a UK youth worker, and I’m only in my current job because I took two years ‘out’, one after full time education and one after my undergraduate degree.
Both ‘gap years’ helped me to build my identity in Christ. The first one encouraged me to seek a unique study opportunity – a degree in Theology in a secular university and the second one helped me to understnd my calling a little better.
Both years I worked extremely hard for ‘pocket money’ but had accomodation and food provided for me. Sometimes, it’s ‘high labour, low yeild’ but the personal gain is bigger than I could ever had imagined.
I agree that the class system is different in the UK. I count myself as lower middle class, which means my Dad is in a well paid job, my Mum doesn’t work (although she did when I was younger), I have my own car, a good first job, but I still live at home. I understand the value of friendships and money, and would never think that I don’t have enough. I’m not spoilt and pay rent.
I do understand this cartoon, some times it can seem that certian parents will pay for their children to go away for a year, whilst others despair that their offspring simply won’t go to work. Perhaps it’s a sign of the change in parent/child relationships. Both of my parents have a strong work ethic… do we see that in the rest of society?
Hope that helps a little!
I’m on a gap year right now, and I’m working a job. It’s paying for my trip to South Africa in January. It’s not an impossible feat if you’re working class, you can earn money, and you can have experiences.
This whole thread has made me very sad (except maybe Jamie’s comment). Just because you are white, or simply earn a wage for that matter, does not mean you know a thing or two about working class , or lower class, or working poor people (they are not really the same thing, but tend to overlap quite a bit).
A lot of people’s reactions were literally, “Hugh. I’m not familiar with that. Must not exist.” What if I told you the gay community felt excluded by heteronormative marriage laws? If you weren’t gay, would you be prepared to claim this without actually having talked to a gay person? For a sociology blog, it’s pitiful.
Sorry, guys. I just rescanned the comments and realized that there is a great deal more variety in there than my comment suggests. I guess I got hung up on a few, and it sort of coloured my reading of the rest. Nonetheless, this is a problem that I encounter often, hence the over-sensitivity 
There are people who volunteer for a year after high school. Food and rent are either free or very cheap with certain programs.
Another UK comment: I’m curious (always) about the interaction between “class” (terminology & perception) and “well off”.
As a working parent of students, I know that having an income around or above the national average means that I or my kids have to pay for their University education. If I had a below average income, the government would increasingly chip in, until – at low enough – they’d even support me too. Fair enough; that’s a basic part of what I think civilisation is intended to do.
But that doesn’t particular relate to perceived ‘class’, which has more to do with what you do to earn the money, and then how you chose to spend it, than it has with how much money you have.
So you often have ‘working class’ people (at least by some definitions) with more ‘disposable income’ than some ‘middle class’ people (in this instance, defined by kind of job, such as teaching, junior doctors).
Then, of course, some youngsters are inclined to follow their parents’ expectations (even if unconsciously), whilst others will deliberately chose something else. So one consultant anaesthetist’s son goes straight from school to be an apprentice plumber, while a mechanic’s daughter heads off to India to just hang out.
And finally, again from the parent-generation perspective, almost all the gap years I’ve watched have been largely self funded – i.e. the young person has worked to fund the travel or training (e.g. in rock climbing), before returning to the mainstream formal education. But that’s probably because the ones I know are ‘middle class’, where paying your own way has always been part of the ethic! I guess there’s some ‘upper middle class’ with indulgent parents…
I’m a British student and am middle class (by which I mean both my parents are graduates and work in the service sector (teachers) and I am in higher education – none of this makes us wealthy). Financially I was able to take a gap year because I worked full time as a sort of funded volunteer – I did youth work and was not paid but I was given an allowance and my expenses paid. As a student I have continued to volunteer as youthworker and work in a very socially-deprived area. For many working class teenagers making the decision to go on to university is fraught with difficulty, it means going against a lot of expectations (I don’t just say this as a wealthy middle calss person, my mum grew up on a council estate and found it extremely difficult to go to university as she was expected to geta job and contribute to the family income). The ability to ‘take a break’ from education, requires teh surroundings you are in to be supportive of this decision. It’s such a mammoth effort to get into a university you’re not going to let the opportunity pass. You might be one of very few students in your school to be able to, or even want to continue in education. For middle class kids, it’s more likely that the expectations on you are to go on to uni, which in itself can feel suffocating. The idea to have a gap year is to break away from the exam machine and expectations to succeed you’ve been brought up in. Well, those are my experieces of it anyway… and I love Asbo Jesus; always starts good debates!
My husband took a gap year and he’s from a family that I’d call blue collar wealthy. They didn’t approve of his education choice (Fine Art) and so did not fund his education. He took a gap year to work and make money so that he could do what he liked. He also took out the maximum amount of loans he could and ended up with mounds of debt.
I’m from a dirt poor, working class background and I did not take a gap year – I’d never heard of the term before. I felt like if I didn’t go now I’d never get another chance. I worked full time in the evenings while I went to University and took out very few loans.
Some of the comments here definitely stem from cultural differences, specifically non-Americans not grasping the concept of a gap year. (I was especially saddened by the person who said they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves without school and work! I’ve always had lots of hobbies and interests and a massive desire to travel; I could fill endless non-school/work days).
In the UK, ‘gap year’ is a common term understood by pretty much everyone. It refers to a single year ‘out’ from the standard path of education and/or work. Usually, it has a defined beginning and end. Unless someone is taking a year out because they want to reapply for universities they didn’t get into, many people going on to that level of education already have their place sorted for a year’s time.
I would say most people associate foreign travel with gap years, although some people spend the whole year working in order to be able to afford university. Many spend half a year working and half travelling, which is what I did. I lived at home and my parents didn’t charge rent; I was also going to India and spending more than half my time volunteering at a school with food and accommodation provided, so I easily covered the cost from my work. People I met from poorer backgrounds had usually worked longer hours (and sometimes put more effort into fundraising) in order to participate in the volunteer programme. I met one girl whose travels and volunteering in several different countries were being funded entirely by her trust fund, but I didn’t meet many people from wealthier backgrounds, so I wouldn’t like to generalise about how they funded the year.
Anyway, no-one equates a gap year with unemployment. Some indecisive people might say ‘I don’t know what to do next so I’m taking a gap year’, with no idea of what they’re going to do with that year, but use of the term ‘gap year’ creates an expectation that after the year is up, the person will have decided on further study or long term employment. Someone just leaving school with no future plans would say something like ‘I dunno what I’m going to do. Probably just try to find a job anywhere’. That’s not a gap year. I’ve also heard people say ‘I took a gap year to raise money for uni/my masters, but I haven’t found a job in four months!’. So, all classes understand the term, and a gap year isn’t a middle class kid’s word for unemployment.
I’ve always heard gap year used to mean taking a year off from school(Usually between high school and college) and getting a job. But I think this thread proves that different groups understand the term differently, which is interesting. Since its a fairly new term, it probably doesn’t have any kind of official definition. It would probably be informative for someone to collect data on what people from different classes/countries/socioeconomic backgrounds equate with that term.
Incidentally, I’m American and I think I’m middle class, in case anyone cares.
I agree with (Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist) above. The poor or working class person is not in a position to have a choice. Their circumstances dictate to them how they must use their time: earning an income to survive. Furthermore, it seems to me that if you can consider – and follow through with – taking time off from school, work, etc. for a year regardless of what class you may think you emanate from, your certainly not a member of the truly “working-class” in any society because a) you are not ‘working, b) its completely unaffordable for a working-class person to be able to take a year off of work unless that year off is somehow financed. The bottom line is that if you can do it, then your in a position of advantage compared to those who absolutely can not. I can do it now, for example, 20 years post-college graduation. However, it would have been impossible in my 1st year after graduation because of my class reality at the time: unemployed student with poor parents. Often poor and working-class students must work both during and immediately upon finishing school because they have to provide income for themselves and for their their families to help sustain/support parents, siblings, etc. On a final note, backpackers of the world should not be presumed to be representative of the poor or working-classes of the world. Having an economic poor or working-class lifestyle is completely different than being in fact poor or working-class. If my parents own a home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and have a condominium in London, then just because I choose to take off a year to backpack around South America, live on $5 a day, and wear nothing but used clothing does not mean I am the part that I may look. After all, I never have to worry that my parents will starve or be evicted from their apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn because their landlord is tired of them being behind on the rent and is more interested in renting to some friends of mine who just got back from a year of backpacking in Asia and want so desperately to live in hipsterville.
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