Gap year.. work with bikes?

[aJohnson]

Ok I may be in the wrong section here but anyhoo...

I'll be having a gap year after I finish my A levels this year, it may even be longer than a year, I may not even go to University, haven't decided yet. But that's not too important.

Anyway I'm looking to see if there is anyway I could get into work with bikes and the likes, or if there are any apprenticeships to do with bike mechanics. I've been searching but haven't found much of interest.

I would do one of those courses but basically don't have enough money to do so.

Any advice/ideas would be greatly appreciated, ta.

 

[wafflycat]

Contact your local bike shops and ask if they'll take you on?

 

[aJohnson]

Contact your local bike shops and ask if they'll take you on?

Good idea, think I'll do that asap. Was thinking LBS but didn't know how to go about it.

 

[Young Un]

Good idea, think I'll do that asap. Was thinking LBS but didn't know how to go about it.

I emailled mine after spending quite a bit of money with them asking them for a weeks work experience over the summer holidays. I turned up early, dressed smartly, and did everyhting they asked me to without questions, and stayed late helping tudy up the shop. After a week of that, the sat me down for a chat; they said they would like to offer me a job when the current saturday boy was away racing - great I thought. Later that day, after the Boss and the other guy working in the shop had had a chat, they sat me down again and told me i had a permanent staurday job, whichc I wasn't expecting at all, I just wanted the work experience to look good on my CV, I didn't go with the intension of getting a job but I did and I'm well chuffed. So perhaps try voluntenterring for a week or two.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I'd ask myself a few questions about my gap year first.

What do I want to achieve? Earning money? Accumulating experience? Travelling and meeting interesting people?

What am I going to study? Can I find a voluntary position or internship in that area? are there any local organisations who are worth approaching?

I think replacing brake pads and arguing with customers who keep saying "£35?!? but it's only a bike!" will get boring really quickly. However, there is one thing about crap jobs - they help you to raise your sights very quickly.