🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <db2e24c8.36a617e3@aol.com>, Jenny Gronefeld <NLANGU@AOL.COM> wrote:
>In a message dated 1/20/99, 10:07:02 AM, PCORPS-L@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU writes:
><< It's just a question of when, and I'm wondering when would
>be the right time for me to enter the Peace Corps. Should I enter straight
>out of college, or should I wait? I'm wondering if a lot of PCVs entered
>the Peace Corps immediately after college, or if most of them waited. Did
>you ever regret going into the PC so soon after graduation, or did you
>regret waiting to enter the PC?>>
>Its best if you are serious to go immediate after college especially if you
>don't know which direction you want your life to go.... PC influenced every
>move I made after completing two years.  Idon't regret it now but I did when I
>first came home... my friends had found real jobs and were settling down
>........ Jenny Gronfeld Rpcv Zaire.89-91

In a sense, part of this is irrelevant because assignments are not chosen by
prospective volunteers, but developed by host country government requests
and negotiated with the in-country Peace Corps office.  Because of the
difficulty in filling requests for volunteers with technical backgrounds, PC
tends to push for "generalist" assignments--ones which do not require
much real-world experience. 

Personally I find this disappointing.  What this means for people 
who consider becoming a volunteer is, the greater your work experience or
technical skills, the harder it is for you to find an assignment that will
fully utilize them.  If you really want to be a PCV, then you may have to
accept work that isn't exactly fulfiling.  PC will always tell you that 
transfer of skills is only one goal, and you should remember goals 2 and 3 
(creating a better understanding of Americans abroad, and creating a better 
understanding of foreign countries to Americans at home) which are also 
legitimate, but they maybe not the main reason you want to join PC.  You have 
to be prepared to accept that as a PCV you may not be doing that much real 
'development' work.  Of course, you may take some initiative and find some 
secondary projects that meet your interests, and there are always many other 
interesting aspects of living overseas besides just the work.

I was lucky.  I became a PCV in my 30's with professional experience and had 
professional assignments in my field and was satisfied with my primary 
assignment, but judging by most other PCVs, that wasn't the norm.

MJL
Dominica 87-89, Malawi 89-91