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Muxtar wrote:In many countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing and starting university studies. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages for young people who decide to do this.

It is true that youngsters are motivated to visit other countries for pleasure or work after finishing high school. While there are convincing points both for and against this opinion, I personally believe that advantages of this statement are superior to its disadvantages.

I believe there are more advantages of doing this than disadvantages. One of the most important is the opportunity to gain life experience. For example, students have a great chance to learn how to avoid or deal with difficulties they come across while travelling. Another impressive aspect of this is that they could be encouraged to pursue their university degree because travelling opens their eyes to the possibilities of future careers which require a university degree. Everybody knows that in today's world, practical experience is essential, and travelling will help them gain this experience. In addition, if someone decided to travel or work abroad later on, they would know what to expect and how to compete in the job market, because they have already met people from different countries, broadened their horizons, and become better at social interaction. Lastly, it would be valuable for them to learn a language that could be essential in finding a reliable job in the future.

There are also some drawbacks. The main disadvantages of travel is that it could be more distracting for students. For instance, a student is prepared to enter university straight after finishing high school, but some people are tempted to ignore higher education in order to become financially independent by working. There is no doubt that this would be detrimental to children. In order to be successful, you should pursue your education because of increasing demand for skilled workers. Unskilled works are temporary and the job market not reliable. Compared to that, companies demand studious and professional workers with higher education.
To sum up, I would argue that the benefit of working and traveling outweighs its drawbacks.