dreadpiratehurley

I'll be at CMU Heinz pursuing the MSPPM-DA!

Wow, talk about a thread necro! I'm a soon-to-return Peace Corps Volunteer, serving in Cameroon from 2017 to 2019. I applied in 2016 and started in 2017. I can say that the application process has been greatly improved; they switched to an online application about 3 or 4 years ago, so instead of days, the initial application took me ~4 hours (including writing two 500-word essays). You also get a little more say in where you go; you're given a top-3 ranking preference that can be selected by country, region, or "I don't care, send me anywhere". After you get an invite, you'll have ~6 months before you ship out. There's a lot of paperwork to do during that time, mostly medical documentation, but if you're on top of things then you'll have plenty of time. Overall, it's much better than the year or longer that the whole process used to take. Each country is its own organization, so keep that in mind when considering opportunities. Job postings are usually done in batches based on job sector, so you'll have three or four different periods throughout the year when different applications are open. If you're interested in working in a specific country or region with a specific job and you don't see a listed posting that matches what you're looking for, contact a recruiter who can advise you on when during the year those sorts of postings are likely to show up. Also, keep in mind that the conditions of the specific country you serve in at your time of service is the most overwhelmingly important factor that affects what service will be like. For example - Peace Corps Cameroon is on the same continent as Peace Corps Tanzania, and they both host volunteers serving in the education sector. However, Cameroon education volunteers are placed directly in schools and teach classes, while Tanzania education volunteers serve as teacher-trainers and resource development agents. Further, Cameroon is currently experiencing major internal strife and large sections of the country are completely blocked off for travel (even to the embassy), while Tanzania is one of the most popular countries for African tourism (safaris, Mt. Kilimanjaro). Volunteers serving in these countries, even if they're on the same continent and job sector, have wildly different experiences during their service. I can't say that I feel that my service had a substantial direct impact on my community. I'm not unique in that, but I know other volunteers that I served alongside that feel they were able to give their communities a lot more (one guy built a well, for example). Are we really changing the world out here? Maybe, but it's a very small change. But in a world with 7 billion people, it's a bit arrogant to think that an individual volunteer can effect massive change. I got enough out of service that it was worth it to me, and I can say that it has given me a new outlook on the world and who I can and want to be within it. I'm pursuing graduate school to transition to a career that I'd briefly considered before graduating college, and my Peace Corps experience helped me get into schools that I didn't stand a chance of getting into straight out of undergrad, and with a hefty discount too (gotta love that Coverdell Fellowship)! As far as the "Posh Corps" discussion above, I wouldn't pay it any mind. Each person's service looks different, and each is challenging in its own way. Countries with more readily-available amenities are considered "posh" by those without, but that can be said even at different sites within the same country. I knew volunteers with no access to electricity or wireless connectivity who had to walk an hour to fetch water. Meanwhile, I had fairly consistent electricity and I lived under a wireless tower and got better internet from my bed than I did when I visited the capital (but I didn't have running water). Other people had power and running water. My service could certainly be considered "posh" by some standards. But I also live 15 minutes from the border of severe internal strife with military traveling back and forth almost daily to an armed conflict zone. As an African volunteer, I consider service in every other country to be Posh Corps, but that's a tribal coping mechanism that me and my fellow volunteers use (much like the Marine Corps, taking pride in the misery). But I'm not going to be snotty about it if I meet another RPCV from Ukraine after my service, and I don't expect anybody else would be either. Once you're an RPCV, we're all the in-group and it's regular civilians that we'll other-ize together