RIYADH: For a growing number of young Saudi women, summer break is no longer about stepping back — it is about stepping up. Long before receiving their diplomas, high school and university students across the Kingdom are swapping traditional leisure for coding bootcamps, clinical rounds and corporate training programs, determined to build competitive resumes and secure a head start in the workforce.
Aalaa Bukhary, who is entering 10th grade at Riyadh Schools, spent part of her break immersed in the Emerging Innovators program, where she gained hands-on experience in coding, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.
“I wanted to start exploring different careers while also building up my resume for future opportunities, especially college applications,” Bukhary told Arab News.
“I also feel like the earlier I get exposed to different fields, the better I can understand what I actually enjoy and might want to pursue.”
Bukhary’s career focus took root early. She began contemplating her professional trajectory in middle school, encouraged by teachers and administrators who pushed students to think strategically about higher education and portfolio building.
This surge in early career preparation reflects broader national momentum. Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia continues to heavily invest in equipping its youth with industry-ready skills. According to the Human Capability Development Program, 350,000 Saudis aged 15 to 24 entered early employment in 2025, while the proportion of Saudis in high-skilled roles rose to 39.9 percent.
During her time in the retail track of Emerging Innovators, Bukhary worked alongside peers to analyze complex real-world challenges and develop viable commercial solutions for companies.
Before joining the initiative, she admitted her view of problem-solving was overly basic: Spot an issue, find a quick fix and move on.
“I’ve learned that innovation is actually a cycle where you go through different steps repeatedly, test your ideas, receive feedback and improve them,” she said.
“That changed the way I think about innovation and made me more interested in exploring it further.”
Beyond technical expertise, Bukhary set out to refine essential interpersonal capabilities that will serve her throughout her academic and professional journey.
“I really want to improve my teamwork and learn what proper leadership looks like when you’re working with people who don’t have the same mindset as you,” Bukhary said.
“I also hope to build connections with accomplished people and gain experiences that are not as easy to get as a student.”
She added that this proactive mindset is rapidly spreading among her peers across the Kingdom.
“I think that Vision 2030 is definitely playing a very big role by creating these opportunities for young Saudi women, but I also think academic competition is a big driving force,” she said.
“Everyone wants to come back to school with something interesting to talk about, like an achievement, experience or program.”
Further west, in Madinah, high school student Deem Al-Hejaili spent her summer gaining exposure inside a cybersecurity firm, determined to bolster her technical acumen and refine her upcoming university applications.
“I started thinking about building my career when I started middle school, but I wasn’t able to work at that time because I was too young,” Al-Hejaili told Arab News.
The immersive experience proved transformative, reshaping her long-term academic ambitions.
“I wanted to become an architect, but after joining this cybersecurity company and seeing how they work, computer science might be an option for me in my university applications,” she said.
In addition to clarifying her career path, the internship sharpened Al-Hejaili’s communication, time management and technical understanding of network security—advantages she believes will set her apart from her peers.
“I will have work experience that other people don’t, especially when it’s in a well-known company,” she said.
This drive to maximize summer breaks extends through higher education as well, where undergraduates approaching graduation are actively bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Leena Al-Dakhilallah, a medical student in her final years of study, dedicated her break to working in high-intensity clinical environments across various medical specialties.
“I see the summer as a valuable opportunity to gain experience rather than simply treating it as a break between academic years,” Al-Dakhilallah told Arab News.
“Especially in medicine, there is a big difference between learning something theoretically and seeing how that knowledge is actually applied to real patients and real clinical decisions.”
Al-Dakhilallah said that her perspective underwent a major shift upon entering her clinical rotations.
Early in her academic journey, her focus centered almost entirely on textbooks and passing demanding examinations. However, working directly with doctors, patients and healthcare teams forced her to look ahead to life after graduation.
She said: “You begin asking yourself bigger questions: Where do I actually see myself in a few years? What kind of doctor do I want to become? And what can I start doing now rather than waiting until after graduation?
“That was when I realized that building a career doesn’t necessarily begin after you receive your degree. A lot of it can start while you’re still a student.”
Her clinical immersion also gave her a clearer, more realistic understanding of how to choose a medical specialty.
“As a student, you can become interested in a specialty based on what you study about it, but actually experiencing it is completely different,” she added.
“You begin to see the day-to-day reality: the workload, the patients, the team dynamics, the pressure and the types of decisions you’re expected to make.”
Al-Dakhilallah has observed a widespread shift among young Saudi women toward taking charge of their professional growth long before receiving their diplomas.
“There is a growing awareness among young Saudi women that career development doesn’t have to wait until graduation,” she said.
“I see more students actively looking for internships, training opportunities and experiences outside their formal academic requirements.”
She credits the expanding ecosystem of national initiatives with empowering women to aim higher and act earlier.
“There’s a real sense of ambition among young women around me. They want to gain experience early, explore their options, build their skills and be prepared to compete professionally rather than waiting until graduation to start.”
As she prepares for the next phase of her medical career, Al-Dakhilallah expects the practical grounding she gained over the summer to ease her transition into full-time practice.
“I don’t expect to graduate knowing everything — especially in medicine, where learning never really stops. But I also don’t want to feel like I’m starting from zero,” she said.
“Most importantly, I want the career decisions I make after graduation to be based on experiences I’ve actually had, rather than assumptions I made as a student.”
