As a counterpoint I would just point out that 6 years ago was a fine time to do this while now is a uniquely bad time. As someone who took gap year that that h

As a counterpoint I would just point out that 6 years ago was a fine time to do this while now is a uniquely bad time. As someone who took gap year that that happened to end +/- 2 weeks from the start of the 07 global financial crisis, I'd be cautious about doing it now. My 1 year gap with a healthy brokerage account turned into credit card debt, moving back in with my parents, and a 3 year gap(half unemployed half very much underemployed working an internship with 4 years industry experience). It all worked out in the end, but it took 3 years to recover to the point I was at right out of university. So just keep in mind that you're like 6 weeks into a year or so stretch of what will likely be the best investment returns and the worst job prospects of the decade. And by worst job prospects, I mean, forget software development, I found out from a friend that one of many places I failed to get a job as a cashier was because they had apparently laid off a bunch of the cashiers and told the accountants/white collar staff to start working cash registers so they could justify not laying them off too.