Despite having less than $35,000 average annual pay, why is Peace Corps such a draw among college graduates?

Answer 1

I like the phrasing of this question... "having less than $35,000 average annual pay..." You might as well ask, "Despite having less than $900,000 average annual pay, why is Peace Corps such a draw among college graduates?" Yes, it is true the annual pay is less than $35,000... a LOT less. The annual taxable income of a Peace Corps Volunteer is $2,700. That's right $225 a month! (Don’t spend it all in one place.) This money is given to you when you return home and is called a “Readjustment Allowance.” The PC provides you with a “living allowance” while you are in the Peace Corps to cover your living expenses.

Getting back to the original question…

In my opinion, in addition to the draws of adventure, humanitarian work, and experiencing a different country PC offers one huge thing that many college graduates are looking for… EXPERIENCE! Nothing scares a job seeking college grad more than going out into the job market and being told, “Your education is impressive, BUT we are looking for someone with experience.” You can leave for the Peace Corps feeling like you are woefully lacking in the “experience” category, and two years later you stink of it. It’s hard to image anything else you can do that will pack in more employment relevant “experience” in two years than the Peace Corps.

Answer 2

It gives them a chance to take time before they decide what they want to do with their career. It also gives them the opportunity to feel like they are fully engaged in giving back, rather than volunteering with a school club once a month and putting it on a resume.

Also, it is structured and well-known. College grads who don't yet want to start working for the rest of their lives, don't want to just sit at home with the parents, might want to travel but are not sure how to start.... are drawn by the Peace Corps because it has the structure that they are so familiar to. They've been in a structured institution since they were 4 years old, so the fact that the Peac Corps is a structured organization is comforting to them.

Answer 3

It is less than $6,000 a year in a lot of places, for the volunteers. $35,000 would be a country director, who is a GS-10 or something.

Why? Ho Ho Ho. For the adventure, the education, the thrill, the travel, the challenge.

A fellow I knew in high school toured Europe with his family. They saw 7 countries in 6 days; BeNeLux from the bus. They stopped to get lunch in one of the three, but he forgot which. They stayed in a Hilton every night. He had a hamburger and milkshake for dinner half the time. He brought back pictures of himself and his sister in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum and Tower Bridge.

I spent two years and three months in Sarawak, 35 years ago. I walked through the jungle for 8 days once, on my vacation. I still have tiny circular scars from leech bites.

I worked 60 hours a week teaching at a rural school. My students' parents were slash and burn rice farmers. Most of them didn't own shoes; they used flip-flops. Three of them have PhD's now, and write to me.

I was almost tattooed by headhunters. I cut a bit of meat the size of a garbanzo bean out of my leg, when a pointed machete slipped. I passed an intestinal parasite 18 inches long. At night I listened to strange birds calling in the jungle at the edge of our school, while the tropic sky above was a swath of warm black velvet, strewn with a bucketful of diamonds. I learned to speak Malay, Hokkien and Iban, haltingly. I helped butcher a water buffalo. I worked my butt off. I made a difference.

So, have you got an offer to be a management trainee at shoe store in the mall? It would pay better.

Answer 4

i want to join the peace corps cause i want to make a difference in the world. i'm just one person, so i just have to do my part in making this world a better place for my children. I would do peace corps work for free. but thats just me.

Answer 5

I doubt Peace Corps participants are in it for the money.

Answer 6

A great learning experience, and it looks good on a resume.