Almost a year ago today I had the incredible luck to google ‘Gap Year Economic Internships’ and find the ASI Gap Year page. And even more fortunately, just a day before the deadline as well. Feeling the impulse to go for it I sent off an application and quickly found myself in one of the most peculiar and enjoyable jobs I think I will ever have.

If someone had told me what it would be like to work here before I started, I would not have believed them.

While my peers were slaving away in their local pubs to earn enough money only to bleed thousands on trying to escape coronavirus lockdowns after just two weeks in Australia, I was enjoying the metropolitan Westminster life complete with wine tastings, glitzy events and, most importantly, free drinks at the MoG.

From meeting MPs to ‘giving comments to the press’ and even appearing on radio, my school friends could only look on with envy as the sum of their year amounted to cleaning up vomit in their local’s loo.

While the perks are great, you also spend your time being productive both in output and personal development. Being part of the process of writing briefing papers will give you research and formatting skills necessary for success later at university. The opportunity to research and write articles will also allow you to explore your favourite niche political and economic topics which, even if they don’t give you a possible head start in your degree, will make you more rounded and informed about the world you live in.

The combination of the confidence and skills you learn throughout this year will make you invaluable to future employers.

ASI President Madsen Pirie often quips that ‘the question is not whether our gap year students are ready for the world, rather, whether the world is ready for them.’

So to spend a gap year having fun, gaining prized skills and earning some money at the same time, apply here now.