Expensive travel break before university?

Elisabeth, Tristan and Alice have one thing in common: they all took a year off before starting university… to travel. But what are the repercussions of this decision on their professional future? A Statistics Canada study looked at the question, from a strictly financial point of view.

At age 31, a man who took a gap year after high school earns $10,271 less per year than his counterpart who did not; for women, the gap is $6,994. This was established by a Statistics Canada study in 2022, based on data from the Youth in Transition Survey.

” [Pendant la pandémie]there were people asking questions. Is it worth going to university, to CEGEP, now? “, explains Marc Frenette, Statistics Canada researcher and author of the study.

Between the ages of 17 and their early thirties, over 15 years, Canadians who never took a break after high school earned between $49,788 and $57,448 more than their counterparts who stopped halfway, according to the study.

Breaks after CEGEP are not included in the data, since they only concern students in Quebec.

“It’s not surprising because there is a kind of substitution that takes place. Indeed, if you take a sabbatical year, you have one year less of work after university studies,” explains Mr. Frenette.

In 2020, the average annual income of a Quebecer aged 25 to 34 was $48,120 if they had a bachelor’s degree, according to Statistics Canada.

However, many factors must be taken into consideration to explain these differences, according to François Lucas-Cardona, financial planner and senior advisor, development and quality of practice, at the Financial Planning Institute.

“What is it, as an employment sector, or as a salary? What is it, as a pension plan? It’s very, very variable,” says Mr. Lucas-Cardona.

Élisabeth Rodrigue, 21, chose to temporarily interrupt her studies just two weeks ago. On the same day, the young woman from Sherbrooke cancelled her university session… and took a one-way ticket to Portugal.

The student didn’t necessarily plan a budget for this adventure, even though she has rent and a pet. But she can at least count on her savings, which were intended to pay her tuition, and on her restaurant management job.

According to the latest report from the Gap Year Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes the benefits of gap years, the break influenced the career choices of 81% of its respondents.

Preparation, the key

According to financial planner François Lucas-Cardona, the ideal scenario is to plan your sabbatical budget one or two years in advance.

That’s what Tristan Yoan Beauséjour, 24, did when he finished high school. After college, the Sherbrooke native wanted to travel, even though he already knew he wanted to be a teacher.

So in 2019, with a starting budget of $10,000, he traveled through… Quebec, Western Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, before being stopped by COVID-19.

Mr. Lucas-Cardona also emphasizes the importance of travel insurance, which is often forgotten. In addition, he points out that the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec only offers limited coverage abroad, and that it is valid for a maximum of 183 days.

“Often, it is not necessarily the young people who will come towards [les planificateurs financiers]but rather parents who are asking questions. They have concerns about how to plan it well,” continues Mr. Lucas-Cardona.

Tristan says he received a lot of encouragement from his parents in carrying out his project, and he admits that his relationship with money has changed since his journey. According to him, we need to rethink the way we think about wealth.

An extended sabbatical year

Alice Mark Guillemette, a future medical student, is starting a second sabbatical year in 2024. Last year, before traveling through South America and Europe, Alice went to Denmark to visit relatives.

“At first, I felt like I was so late,” confided the young woman from Rimouski, who was attending her friends’ return to university.

But she quickly recognized herself in the Danish mentality: there, at least 75% of students take a gap year after high school, according to data from Statistics Denmark, published in 2016.

In 2011, this percentage rose to 15% in Quebec, according to Statistics Canada, without taking into account sabbatical leaves after CEGEP.

“Ultimately, people who are happy at work tend to perform well,” summarizes François Lucas-Cardona, who adds that the “lost” year of salary can be monetized in other ways later in the career.

Elisabeth, Tristan and Alice all agree that the sabbatical year is priceless, if it can allow them to grow and be happy at work.

A survey conducted in Quebec in 2017 by the magazine The news revealed that 30% of respondents considered the gap year before graduation to be a waste of time and money; 49% thought the opposite.