With applications for graduate schemes flying around all over the place, I started to realise that, with a great deal of them not beginning until this coming September, I would have a whole three months to kill: one final summer before becoming a proper, fully-functioning adult. So of course, my attention turned to how to fill such an enormous chunk of time, and that age-old student solution swam right up to bite me: travelling.
Did you know that there are certain schemes that allow you to travel and work at the same time? So basically you can see the world whilst earning a decent wage and return home both culturally and financially richer. There are, no word of a lie, hundreds of companies devoted to bringing you this experience. The important point here though, is that some are far more legitimate than others. Something which I actually learned first-hand this week.
Travelling as a student is a great idea, and a great way to create lifelong memories. Like playing pat-a-cake on top of a mountain.
In the past I have looked up the possibilities of working in summer camps in the USA and had some great feedback from a family friend who had done so with a particular company recently. This year however, I decided that Europe seemed like a better option, and on a random job search, I came across a company that offered the opportunity to spend some time living in Berlin, whilst working on a travel guide of the city. The salary was listed as competitive, and the perks seemed to all be in place: it was a pretty exciting prospect.
When I dug a little deeper though, things seemed to get a little fishy. Firstly, and this was the biggest sign of something being wrong, I couldn’t find anyone who had completed the scheme in the past three years. There were testimonials on the company’s website, but being in a slightly cynical mindset, I figured these could easily be faked, and with no one that could be contacted to give their story firsthand anywhere on the internet (popular forum TheStudentRoom turned up precisely no leads), I took a bit of a step back.
Then came the invoices. I realised that living abroad would cost money; accommodation rarely comes cheap, but the fee the company were asking for was incredibly steep, and more importantly, there were no guarantees or contracts. I received an email literally just asking me to deposit a large amount of money into a particular bank account, hoping that I would accept such a move on blind trust. Also worthy of noting: by this stage, all mention of a salary had been dropped.
It’s probably pretty clear to see why I ended up dropping out of communication with this company in the end, and whilst it was disappointing to let such an awesome sounding opportunity go, it did teach me an awful lot about looking out for scams. The company seemed legitimate, their adverts and website reflected this, but in dealing with them, it just didn’t feel right. It may well have been perfectly fine, but if I wasn’t comfortable, I wasn’t ready to fork out a large amount of money.
Travelling when you’re a student is a great idea; there are few times in your life when you will have the freedom and the opportunity to do so. Travelling and working is even better; you can gain some incredible experience whilst abroad that can really beef up your CV no-end. Just be sensible with the companies you follow, and make sure to go in with your eyes open.
If you’re ever in any doubt about a scheme’s legitimacy, the Students' Union Advice Centre can help with any issues and most likely point you in the right direction. Don’t let this scare you; there are plenty of incredible opportunities out there, and with a bit of help you can seize them whole-heartedly.
Ben
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