Peace corps idea advice <span title="plz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?">plz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...</span>

Question

im 19 and i am a nurses assistant. i want to go to the peace corps in China for 2 years, to help ppl their i beleive that it is a good experince for me, and im determined to go. the peace corps also gives you 6,000$ when you return home. Should i work for a year and then go to the Peace Corps while im young and dont have anything holding me back? here is my idea:

work for a year as a nurse asisstant at a hospital

go to the peace corps

then come back and go to college for 2 years.

what do u think??

Answer 1

Crystal,

Its good that you are working as a nurses assistant, however have you been to college (2 or 4 year?) because the PC generally looks for that, but it isn&#039;t necessary. Peace Corps does indeed go to China, but only to teach...they don&#039;t have health programs that go there. Not all countries the peace corps goes to (which is 72 or 73 of them) have health, most do, but China doesn&#039;t. If you get on peacecorps.gov you can find all the countries PC goes to, as well as what the volunteers do there. Also, when you apply, although you can preference a region, maybe even a country, there is no gaurentee. Some people beg for Africa or Latin America but get placed in Europe or Asia. some people beg for Europe but get placed in the Pacific. Its just the way it goes. They will place you where they see you best fit.  

As for the 6k upon return, the peace corps gives you a certain amount of money at the end of your service for each month you volunteered, so if you volunteer all 27 months, its approximately 6k they will give you to help you get a house or health insurance or whatever for when you return. But if you leave early and only serve....say 18 months, then you get considerably less money. Basically you earn it. If you haven&#039;t been to college, I&#039;d at least go to get an associates degree if possible (of course it isn&#039;t always possible) especially in the area that you want to work in....or I&#039;d go out and get a lot of volunteer work in the area you want to work in. Remember, the application process is long, it can take anywhere from a few months to a year and a half! Its a straining process, but worth it in the end. You must volunteer for 2 years, but it looks like you realize this. Pretty much, you earn your keep there. You work hard where ever they send you.

But if you are interested in ONLY China and would not be willing to be placed anywhere but there (trust me, I know the lure of China, I majored in Chinese history and have been twice to Beijing).....then I would look for volunteer organizations that focus specifically on China or where you can choose your country. I doubt you&#039;ll get China, I couldn&#039;t even get China, because you have to have a teaching degree to go there, of course you could always use that 6k to travel to china after service. If you want health, Africa and Latin America are big on health. With the PC you have to go with the flow and take what they give, they place you where you best fit and can do the most for a country and its people. You may want some place specific, and may get it, but could get something completely different.