Has anybody here ever had experience with the peace corps?

Question

I'm 22, have my college degree and I'm currently working a 'placeholder' job until I figure out what I want to do with my life. I'd like to be a police officer but if I'm completely honest with myself I just don't think I'm quite ready for that yet as a person.

I'm not happy doing a job where I'm helping a company make money, I don't really feel like there is much meaning in it and I don't think where I'm working now is going to help me grow to the person I want to be before becoming a police officer.

I volunteer currently with habitat for humanity and local food shelters, but I want to do more. I've been reading about the peace corps and I'm seriously considering it. I always thought they worked in groups though and I'm hesitant because after reading about it I realized they work on their own and I know they prepare you but I'm frightened to be so far away from home all by myself... anyone have experience with this? Do they really prepare you enough to handle yourself?

Answer 1

Sounds like you ARE ready to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. Read on…

I’ll give you my credentials up front: I spent two years in a country in central Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I was a mathematics teacher at a teachers training college. Upon returning to the U.S. I landed a ridiculously high paying job with a Fortune-500 company, and hated it. After 3 years I quit that job and accepted a paid position with the Peace Corps making a fraction of what I made before, and loved it. I won’t bother to bore you with what I do now. Anyway, I like what you had to say about not wanting to work for an employer whose sole goal is to make money.

First of all PC is NOT competitive. It’s a giant misconception that has grown a life of its own. PC is SELECTIVE, i.e., you don’t compete against other applicants, rather you are measured against a set standard. If a group of 1,000 people apply and 500 meet that standard then 500 are going. If 1,000 apply and only 5 meet that standard then only 5 are going. What this means in reality is that PC rarely meets its recruiting goals, PC just does not get enough people who measure up.

Regarding training, here’s how it works…

      You go through this long application process and then at the end you are offered an “invitation” to serve. This “invitation” includes the country you are to go to, the PC program you will work in, and the date you are to leave (e.g., Ghana, education--math/science, May 7th 2008). If you accept this invitation PC sends you an airline ticket and a “welcome” book explaining what you need to do to prepare before you leave. Then you fly to a “staging” point here in the U.S. and have a about 1 or 2 days of orientation here in the U.S. with your fellow PC Trainees that are going to the same country/program you are (e.g., all the other people that have been invited to Ghana to serve as Math/Science teachers). Then you fly TOGETHER as a group with these other PC trainees to your country of service. The process just became a lot less scary didn’t it?!?

       Once you arrive in your country of service you go through 3 months of training with the PC trainees you flew into the country with. Training has 5 components, and you must successfully complete all 5 in order to be sworn in as a PC Volunteer.

1) Technical--to make sure you have to skills to do your job

2) Cross-Cultural--teaches you about the history, political situation, and social norms of the country

3) Language training--you have to meet a set fluency level

4) Health--teaches you prevention techniques and how to take care of yourself when you do get sick

5) Safety--teaches strategies to remain safe and how to avoid dangerous situations

      

That’s the summary of the training.

You mention you were “frightened” to be by yourself. A couple of things… are you really frightened or are you just nervous about? It’s ok to be nervous, everyone is. Second, you are only “by yourself” for about the first 10 minutes after you arrive at your jobsite/village/post. Then you work on becoming part of the community, making friends, developing contacts, and soon you won’t feel alone. I went weeks without seeing another PCV or American and was fine with it because I worked hard on fully integrating myself into my community. I developed such strong friendships with a few people in my community that distance and several years have not broken these bonds. What I’m saying is that being “alone” is a common worrying amongst PC applicants, but once you finish training and you get a few weeks under your belt at your post/community these fears/feelings/concerns melt away.

When I joined (applied, whatever) the Peace Corps I was 22 and wanted to be a police officer as well. You’ve got the volunteer experience and it sounds like you have the right attitude, so do some more research about what life is like as a volunteer, but don’t waste your time on short term volunteer assignments, they aren’t anything like the PC.

Go to this link and watch this 58-minute documentary about a PC Volunteer in Nepal:

http://jimisir.com/

If you have more question about the PC then contact a recruiter (that’s what they get paid for). They will help determine if you have skills that can be put to use in the PC.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Sounds like you aren't ready to be a PeaceCorps volunteer. It's a highly competitive and very time-consuming process to apply to become a PC member, and most applicants don't make the cut. You should have much more confidence in yourself regarding living and working abroad, away from all of your friends and family, in order to be a PC member. They need people who are *very* self-sufficient.

A better idea for you right now might be paying for a short-term volunteering experience, where you go overseas just for a few weeks, paying your own way. You can see how you would feel being so far away from home.

There is a listing of the more-than-30 member organizations of the International Volunteers Program Association (IVPA) that is a good place to find reputable volunteer-for-a-fee programs -- programs where you don't need to have much experience in order to participate, and the placements are just for a few weeks or months:

http://www.volunteerinternational.org/

Here's one specific org recommendation: Unite For Sight, which workes through partner eye clinics and communitie to create eye disease-free communities. "While helping the community, volunteers are in a position to witness and draw their own conclusions about the failures and inequities of global health systems. It broadens their view of what works, and what role they can have to insure a health system that works for everyone..." This program was featured on CNN International. Volunteers, both skilled and unskilled, are 18 years and older, and there is no upper age limit. It is obligatory for accepted volunteers to purchase insurance coverage through Unite for Sight's recommended provider, and volunteers are responsible for all travel arrangements, visa vaccine requirements, lodging, airfare, food, and any additional expenses. http://www.uniteforsight.org/intl_volunt...

Here is a web site that can help you learn more about the skills and experience desired by long-term placement organizations such as the PeaceCorps, and how you can gain that experience locally (sounds like you are already on your way to doing so):

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/volu...