Peace corps...sounds like me...but...?

Question

I wish to join the Peace Corps, yet I want to be able to go to college, have a career, and a family afterwards, and from what I hear you don't get money for it.

Answer 1

There's time for you to join the Peace Corps and do all of that. Plus, Peace Corps experience looks GREAT on college/grad school applications and employment resumes!

... And there's always the chance that you could meet the person of your dreams in the Peace Corps... someone who shares your passion.

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Answer 2

92% of PCVs have a college degree. The rest have 10 - 20 years of experience in their field. They have had one or two 18/19-year olds, but they were exeptions. One had been president of his state 4-H at age 17.

I don't know who told you you don't get money.

You get a living allowance, which lets you live on a modest scale. You will be taking the bus, not driving your own car, and eating in hole-in-the-wall restaurants, not the American Lounge in the Hilton.

You get a re-adjustment allowance, too, something like $225 or $275 for every month you serve, payable when you finish, to let you pay rent and such for a month or two while you find a job or get into graduate school.

You won't get rich and you won't save anything, but you don't put a dent in your pre-Peace Corps savings, if you have any, and you don't starve.

You an find out more on their official page, although it is graphics-heavy, so don't try it from dial-up. Just Google Peace Corps and look for peacecorps.gov. The search engine on it gives 100+ hits for any word, 98 of them transcripts from "Chat" sessions, so finding exactly what you want can be trouble. Use the navigation bars as much as you can.

I have some FAQ, stories and pictures on an unofficial page:
http://www.tedpack.org/pchead.html

Answer 3

The PeaceCorps does not take most of the people who apply for such -- it's not up to you whether or not you get to become a PC member. PC is looking for people with expertise in an area that can help an area of the developing world -- and most definitely a college degree.

Get your college degree first, volunteer locally with multi-cultural audiences, and learn a language well enough to work in it. You may want to work for a while as well, to acquire an area of expertise. THEN you can think about applying to the PeaceCorps (you will also need to be debt free -- the PeaceCorps does a credit check). If you are lucky enough to be chosen, you will receive enough money to more than sustain yourself while in service -- you won't go into debt from serving in the Corps.