How did you find yourself?

[phATty]

Being a very indecisive (young) person, I've had the urge to have a break from life after I get my degree and go and do all the things young people typically do. It's a hard decision to just throw away all your savings and risk it all for experience but I have a feeling that when I'm older I'm not going to regret doing this. 'Finding yourself' is a phrase everyone mentions and I think I've already done that bit, I just think I'd like to go experience something that isn't Tasmania.

I have been throwing around some ideas:

Become a guide or a track ranger with Parks for the summer to get some cash and go for a round trip around Australia in a car (probably a 6 month commitment).
Go overseas for a couple of months with the cash I have and just travel around.
Go do one of the long distance trails in America.

What did you do or go? Any tips?

[north-north-west]

Became a bum. Just did the gypsy thing; working in FNQ during the winter/spring and travelling the country the rest of the year. It's probably changed, but you could make good money on the fruit farms up north, and if you saved and minimised the partying the $$$ would last a long time.

[tastrax]

Make sure you do some number crunching - touring these days can be expensive, especially with fuel prices and park fees etc. Dont get fixated on a whole lap of the country if you get to some place and love it. If you have good skills as a barista, bartender, kitchen hand etc then you can always pick up some work in tourist type areas.

Personally I did a year around OZ in my 20's and it was great but that was back in the late 1970's!

If you have a passion for walking then I can definitely see the appeal of a longer walk somewhere - maybe even a couple of iconic walks. A slower pace of life can also be great for the soul. Its all about the journey - not the destination.

[Moondog55]

Funny thing I've been looking for myself for the last 60 years and some bits are still missing it seems.
A long slow lap of the country would still be part of my dream tho

[keithj]

It's a hard decision to just throw away all your savings and risk it all for experience but I have a feeling that when I'm older I'm not going to regret doing this.

Life is short - fill it with things you enjoy. Bushwalking is a relatively cheap hobby that you can do anywhere is Oz. Spending those savings isn't a big risk compared to failing to do stuff you enjoy.

Become a guide or a track ranger with Parks for the summer to get some cash and go for a round trip around Australia in a car (probably a 6 month commitment).
Go overseas for a couple of months with the cash I have and just travel around.
Go do one of the long distance trails in America.

What did you do or go? Any tips?

Do all of the above - you have plenty of time.
To preserve $$$ - consider orgs such as WWOOF - World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or house/pet sitting.
If you're happy camping, I'd guess there are plenty of others here who would show you around their back yard & offer you a complimentary shower

[Moondog55]

Well Cecile and I have offered showers and overnite camping to anybody headed for Tassie on the ferry, but we'd need a few days notice in case we have a mess in the spare room [ note : We always have a mess in the spare room but always room for a tent in the front yard] and we do good industrial strength coffee every morning.

[north-north-west]

Personally I did a year around OZ in my 20's and it was great but that was back in the late 1970's!

For me, it was end of '81 through '88. Very different then, although there are still ways to do it cheaply.
Learnt to dive, eventually took that all the way through dive guide, Divemaster, Instructor ... did a lot of bushwalking, watched a lot of cricket, a few overseas trips ... shouldn't have given it up so soon, it was a great life overall.

[WestcoastPete]

I'd jump on my bike and ride for as long as I could, anywhere in the world.

[johnw]

Funny thing I've been looking for myself for the last 60 years and some bits are still missing..

lol I've recently started my eighth decade on the planet and I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up . I never did it; far too conservative an upbringing. But seriously phaTTy, go for it. My thoughts are similar to other replies. Once you are on the hamster wheel it can be very difficult to get off. A lot of things I regret not doing when I was young, and now I'm too old for many of them. The only suggestion I would make depends on your preferred career path post degree and whether it's worth doing a temporary stint of employment before you head off (but not for too long or you may risk getting stuck). Only reason being is would it be harder to get work later on with a degree but zero experience? Only you can answer that. That said any of the paths you outlined sound great. Go with your passion, and if that aligns with your other ambitions, even better.

[crollsurf]

I wish I had have travelled OS more. Life gets in the way (career, mortgage etc) as you get older. You can still go do things, but generally a couple of weeks to a month is all you got. I big 6 month trip OS would be awesome

[Mechanic-AL]

Go with your heart phATty. No one knows what your hope to get out of life like you do !!

Having said that.......OS travel to almost anywhere is an education. 12months spent travelling independently from Cape Town to Nairobi and I honestly feel that not 1 moment was a waste of time.
4 trips to Nepal and I feel the same. Nothing wasted. I have done a lot of travelling around OZ but there is nothing like getting out there and realizing that we are such a small proportion of what inhabits this planet. It never ceases to amaze me how some of the poorest people on this planet are the happiest. With some folks it just seems the more you have, the more you want.

Whatever path you choose, I wish you luck !!

[phATty]

Thanks all, what positive replies and thoughts from everyone!

I guess to preface all of this, I am a student at the moment in my last year of engineering at university. I have a job at a firm doing residential engineering with about ~2 years of project experience to my name, 3 when I'm done and dusted with my degree. I do worry about having little exposure to larger projects, but certainly the 3 years shouldn't mean nothing to a prospective employer in the future and I anticipate that it will be OK getting a job with a bit of explaining behind why I had a break. Because I have been working I have some appreciable savings.

I have such little experience of anything outside of Tasmania, sure, a couple of Melbourne trips and two to Alice Springs to walk the Larapinta but that's it and hence why I wouldn't mind trying everything else before I decide to spend the next 40 years engineering in Hobart. Afterall, I could end up somewhere else.

Sounds like I should go ahead, I'll crunch the numbers on it all and try to fit in as much as I can! Travel around Australia (maybe not a lap due to monetary restraints) with an overseas trip somewhere chucked in could be the go. I guess that'd give me a general taste.

Who knows I might finally get to meet some of the characters on here! Apart from you NNW, I'll keep away don't worry haha.