Youth unemployment, even at the lowest it's been in more than 50 years and even with the low labor force participation rate among youth, is still quite high. So “get a job” is far from automatic with desire.
> if you continue to live like a high school student you can absolutely afford six months in South or Southeast Asia.
But living like a high school student means “fully supported by your parents in their home”, which, if your parents aren't in South or Southeast Asia, you probably can't manage there. Aside from (and because of) that, high school students tend not to have a particularly spartan lifestyle, actually it's often quite profligate, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say here.
In a country where people who can’t speak the majority language and have no legal right to work have little trouble finding a job I doubt there’s much difficulty finding work for most.
Forgive my lack of clarity in writing. If you work a full time job while living at home with your parents for six months after graduating high school, maintaining the same spending patterns as previously you will be able to go back packing for six months, no problem.
I know this is true because one of my friends did that except in Europe, which is much more expensive, and another spent a year doing SE Asia, usually on under $20 a day.
A gap year is affordable for active who can get a job. If Taco Bell is offering $100K a year for managers the labor market must no decent even for unskilled entry level workers.
Youth unemployment, even at the lowest it's been in more than 50 years and even with the low labor force participation rate among youth, is still quite high. So “get a job” is far from automatic with desire.
> if you continue to live like a high school student you can absolutely afford six months in South or Southeast Asia.
But living like a high school student means “fully supported by your parents in their home”, which, if your parents aren't in South or Southeast Asia, you probably can't manage there. Aside from (and because of) that, high school students tend not to have a particularly spartan lifestyle, actually it's often quite profligate, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say here.