Job Discussion Forums

[lovelylocs]

What do you all think about the Peace Corps... do they prepare their volunteers well for missions? I have been swaying back and forth on what I'd like to do... but I think I will get a master's in Applied Linguistics, and volunteer in the Peace Corps before I get my Ph.D.

Claudie

[zaneth]

Beware, the Peace Corps is not universally loved. Ask Moonraven about their record in South America. And I'm glad I wasn't with the Peace Corps here in Russia - they got kicked out. I'm not saying it's a bad way to go, just be aware that there is a down side to it. I was shocked when I first heard about this aspect of it.

[been_there]

Peace Corps is a Trial by Fire. The Easiest job you'll ever Hate.

I Completed my Service in Nepal, and the THINGS I saw; Bodies being Burnt, massive hash smoking, insane schools... and then there were the volunteers.....

Imagine being told you have to program a computer to play chess
in binary
blindfolded
in the rain
doing shots of millet moonshine every 60 seconds.

Well, needless to say you will fail miserably, which is what the Peace Corpse does, but, D@MMIT,
anything you do after that will be a walk in the park.

Volunteering in the Peas Corps is a suicide mission. The man that walked into SF international airport many years ago with a bag of clean underwear and a dream is NOT the man typing this now. I have taught in the rain in an all girls school with no roof with nothing but a flat rock from the river and crumbly chalk dust for materials. I have sh@t for 4 days straight AND NEVER MISSED A CLASS. I have used cheese as a teaching tool (PM me for details).

In short, now, when a teacher comes to me and complains that they ONLY have primary-coloured markers, HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY TEACH WITHOUT PURPLE!?!? I just smile and nod and remember the rain....

[been_there]

[moonraven]

The Peace Corps has been kicked out of quite a few countries. Here in Latin America, PC volunteers are considered to be CIA agents unless they can prove otherwise. Like any other organization, there are some sincere folks trying to save their souls by helping out the wretched of the earth (Pax, Fanon) and there are other lost souls who are hoping to find themselves in other places and then there are the arrogant "Americans--forgetting they are still in the American continent--know how to plant onions better than you illiterate campesinos", and on and on. Generally speaking, in Latin America one's credibility comes from doing community work on one's own--organizations are suspect, and rightly so.

[Bindair Dundat]

[naturegirl321]

Volunteer Service overseas might be another option. VSO.

[Guest]

Another solid volunteer organization (if you're willing to serve in Africa) is IFESH. Great support and one year contracts.

[prplfairy]

Peace Corps is pretty much like any other relief organization, though much bigger than most, in that it is what you make of it. I served for two years plus years in Lithuania from 1999-2001. The training I received was pretty good. Five and a half days a week of language, teacher training, medical and cultural training for the first three months in country while living with a host family. You could have blown all that off or you could have soaked it all up. Either way it was there for the taking.

Peace Corps has been kicked out of a few countries almost exclusively because of misguided policies by the host country, Russia being such a case.

Peace Corps has all the advantages and disadvantages of a big governmental program. There are tedious and pointless tasks but then there is access to resources, organization and support. It's a trade off. And yes, the medical is better than anything you'll get for the rest of your life.

[angstrom]

The admin staff in New York, though, is arrogant and condescending and they treat you as if you should be on your knees begging them to take you in this mother of all organizations. I was invited the first time around, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I had to decline. I reapplied two years later and they turned me down. Go figure...

[chushki2]

Beware of those who generalize their one experience to all of Peace Corps. Every administrative post is difference and changes depending on the in-country staff.

Some comments:

Training - more and more of this is being done by host country nationals (locals to civilians, or HCNs in Peace Corps lingo). Your culture training might be done by an ex-PCV (who is often more of a coordinator lining up guest speakers), or HCNs. Contractors are more likely to be brought in for technical training, but again, this is often done by HCNs.

I have NEVER heard of language training being done by other than native speakers of the target language. After a program has been functioning for a while (in other words, if PC has been in that country for several years) it usually has built up a pretty good language program.

Although PC regulations state that trainees have to attain a certain language level before becoming volunteers, I have never heard of anyone not making it simply because they failed to learn the language. I have known plenty of people with attrocious host country language skills who were sworn in as volunteers and served out their two years.

PC tends to be paranoid about putting volunteers in unsafe regions. You would probably be safer at your PC site than in most US cities. I've never before heard of any PCV being shot at before--it seems that admin would pull a volunteer out of that site at the first inkling of violence.

Peace Corps admin is in Washington DC, not in New York.

IFESH is also a good option. The level of support depends on which country you are in. You generally get more money than with Peace Corps but a lot less medical support. The application process is extensive but not as overwhelming as Peace Corps. You are expected to know how to teach already and won't get all the training (which can either be a plus or a minus, depending on the circumstances). There also tends to be more emphasis on teaching as opposed to outside projects.

Please don't listen to those who would condemn all of Peace Corps. Much depends on the staff in each country. There are country directors both saintly and deranged, but at least they rotate every couple of years.

As with any organization, it's best to apply and see which country you're offered, then check with current/past volunteers to find out the truth about the situation (the US admin people can be clueless--here i think other organizations are often more guilty than PC--the real danger is when they glibly spew misinformation).

Although PC is supposedly competitive, it seems that people often are turned down because of

1. health factors. People with certain conditions are automatically excluded or limited to a very few posts.

2. placement problems. PC Washington has placement officers trying to fit applicants into magic formulas. The process often malfunctions. (Either that or applicants misrepresent themselves on paper. That could explain a few things...)

3. marriage. Applying together slows down the process.

good luck

[Sadken]

[chushki2]

Well I got so rapped up responding to all those posts that I didn't think enough about the original post...

If you are already thinking about a Ph.d, can one assume that you already have TESOL experience and enjoy it?

Getting an MA beforehand might be overkill, although it might allow you to be more selective about Peace Corps assignments.

When did you plan to begin your MA program? It seems that there are several options here.

1. If you plan to start your MA program this fall, you could begin and either

a. complete your MA first and hold out for a better (such as teacher training) assignment with PC when you finish.

b. begin your program, apply to PC, and if you start PC training in spring or summer, see if you can finish the program by distance learning.

2. Or you could do Peace Corps first. Then you would have more work experience and -- since applied linguistics programs tend to be theory oriented, you'd be better able to mentally apply the theory to practice. Also, you might be able to take advantage of a PC fellows program, although these tend to be in things like primary education rather than applied linguistics.

Also, once you have a masters degree, you can apply for other programs such as the English Language Fellows program under the State Department or the Soros Foundation. But having PC or other overseas volunteer experience ahead of time will make you more competitive.

Regarding some of the warnings,

As a TEFLer you wouldn't be assigned to Latin America anyway. Most likely you'd be sent to somewhere like Bulgaria, Ukraine, Central Asia, or West Africa.

PC left Russia because although the government in Moscow supported the idea (at least in theory), local governments who had control over volunteer visas did not.

Peace Corps' problems in these areas has little or no bearing on volunteers' experiences in other parts of the world.

[naturegirl321]

Anyone know of organisations that send volunteers to latin america for six month or a year?

[zaneth]

I seem to remember Peace Corps has an age limit? Have to be under 30 right? Is this true for other organizations out there?