Alumni Spotlight: Billy O'Donovan

Why did you choose this program?

I chose to go to China with TravelGrad back in 2017 to try a whole new way of living. You can't get much more different than China, right? I had just finished Uni and wanted to experience the world, and this programme just seemed to hit every nail on the head. You got the travel opportunities, the decent wage, the free accommodation, the big group of fellow applicants, the friendly company style, and everything else. It just screamed out as the obvious next step choice after Uni.

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

I chose TravelGrad because of their friendly, personal approach. They are a cool company, with young and well-travelled staff who understand graduates and the types of experiences that we are going to enjoy. They came to my University in Manchester, and we chatted about it all. I was immediately sold from that conversation and signed up the next day. They helped me with absolutely everything, start to finish. There was literally nothing to sort by myself. They did it all!

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

Go for it. 10000000% go for it! I expected China to be good, but oh my goodness I don't think I ever could have known it would be just how good it is. It is next level! I immediately fell in love with the country and everything in it. China grows on you year by year, and it actually reveals itself over time. The longer you are here the better it gets really. It is a very big country. People often forget it is nearly the size of mainland Europe. The opportunities are genuinely endless.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

It varies a bit school to school, but the schools TravelGrad sets you up with are generally Monday to Friday, 9-5 options, with weekends free and lots of holidays. They're mostly public schools and pretty chilled. They do also do private schools, which is actually the school I was placed at the first year. Private schools are a bit more intense than public, but they pay more and they're kind of better in ways. The kids have a better level of English and theres usually more of a syllabus to follow, so you're not having to make up each lesson plan every class. After school we would all go for food together, or I might pop to the gym with one of the lads, or even just go and explore the place by myself. Weekends would be a bit wild, sampling the local nightlife, bars and clubs that are open til 6 in the morning, or travelling to other cities around China. There was 12 of us at my school together, so the social side was great and we very quickly all became the best of friends. This is one of the best parts about the program, the likeminded applicants you are placed with. We all knew each other long before we even got to China from the TravelGrad group chats. Those group chats were quality times looking back.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

I honestly didn't really have any fears; I just had a gut feeling that it was going to be the right choice. I guess you worry that maybe there's a small chance you won't enjoy yourself there, after paying all the costs and everything to get there, but I suppose the alternative is just never doing anything. That's not going to be a great life really is it. No risk no reward, every single person on the program loved it and many from my group are still here (8 years later).

I want to highlight the fact that you can make really good money here, for working not a whole lot of hours. The salary goes up and up year by year, and we are all VERY comfortable financially. There is not really anything we can't afford to do, we can go on 4 or 5 foreign holidays a year, we can go out for dinner and drinks 7 nights a week, buy a motorbike, live in our own apartments, buy clothes whenever, and many people have even paid off massive debts back in the UK. The money-making ability of China is CRAZY. I really think that needs to be emphasised.