Do you have a Plan B?

[breakfast]

Move to San Francisco and find a job (or find a job and move to San Francisco), and start paying off my UG student loans (only slightly above 10k). That's pretty much it at this point.

[Victorianna]

I thought that I might add my 2 cents. The Americorps VISTA program is a one year commitment. During your one year contract your public student loans (government subsidized) are deferred.

If anyone has any questions concerning the VISTA program please feel free to send me a PM

[hipopotam]

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Omg, this is like looking into a mirror. Ditto to the question . . . I need to defer big time.

American In Beijing--What're you doing currently in Beijing? I assume something research-based based on your stats? We should talk...haha

[TMP]

Hey all! To the person who asked about the Peace Corps...I actually did it right out of undergraduate, so feel free to ask if you have any questions in particular. I actually was the +/-5th person on my team of 34 to leave (I lasted 5 months...and no, unlike the Army, it is okay to go AWOL without penalty). Anywho, I am really really excited about potentially getting accepted into a PhD Program, but alas, I have a Plan B, which is to quit my job (I have been here for 4 years (since Peace Corps), and enough is enough. I'll be moving back home to NJ and then look for jobs in the same field - but much different type. My Plan C is to move to Isreal and become a citizen and work on a kibbutz for 6 months :-) Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but that could be cool hahaha.

I would make aliyah... if I didn't have $35K in graduate loans from my MA program! Given my field, it would've been smarter to move to Israel, make aliyah, and get free/cheap grad education, and apply to PhDs. But alas, there weren't any professors over there who did the kind of I research that I do... so I was better off staying here It's kind of bizarre to think about it now, two years since my UG... where would I be if I had gone to Israel? Would I be fluent in Hebrew? But then again I wouldn't have had this amazing MA thesis topic and these two languages (while my Hebrew is suffering).

Instead, I must not move to Israel until those damn loans are paid off. The average Israeli salary doesn't bother me but it's the fact that it's so low that it would take me like 30+ years to pay them off.

Plan C/D/E is moving to SF and teach history.

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

I would make aliyah... if I didn't have $35K in graduate loans from my MA program! Given my field, it would've been smarter to move to Israel, make aliyah, and get free/cheap grad education, and apply to PhDs. But alas, there weren't any professors over there who did the kind of I research that I do... so I was better off staying here It's kind of bizarre to think about it now, two years since my UG... where would I be if I had gone to Israel? Would I be fluent in Hebrew? But then again I wouldn't have had this amazing MA thesis topic and these two languages (while my Hebrew is suffering).

Instead, I must not move to Israel until those damn loans are paid off. The average Israeli salary doesn't bother me but it's the fact that it's so low that it would take me like 30+ years to pay them off.

Plan C/D/E is moving to SF and teach history.

I thought about staying here for grad school as well... but doing a PhD in English Lit in Israel? I think not

(And you can make wicked money here with your English, btw - so don't discount the idea. Technical Writers, for example, make the highest salaries outside of programmers, and if you're a techie, you can make pretty good money and still pay off loans (although it can take a while - I'm still working on mine, but FASFA is very understanding).

Oh - and grad school here is NOT free, unfortunately. It would likely cost about 15,000 NIS a year, which can add up, especially since it's hard to work full time + concentrate on your dissertation.

But hey - doing Aliyah is always a great idea !!

[pietjekanarie]

Most likely, I'll move to Sweden to start a Master's degree there. I did apply there and discussed my chances with the director, because I doubted if I met the prerequisites. He gave me a really good chance to get in and urged me to apply. There's less selection there than at a school like Stanford, but the university I'm applying to is still well known in Social Sciences and International Development throughout the world. It's a two year program and I'll just work my ass off to get a decent job afterwards. The best thing is that there are no tuition fees in Sweden, so I can definitely afford the study without funding or taking huge loans. Living there would only add to my international experience and afterwards I think I can get a decent job in Europe.

If I won't get in there either, I'll probably try to do some international work experience at a non-profit organization and after that I'll try to find a job somewhere in London.

[annie a]

Thanks for the info! Doesn't seem like the Peace Corps is getting much love...I guess I better just hope I get accepted somewhere. Good luck all!

Forget the Peace Corps - go with the international (UK-born) CUSO-VSO out of Canada now recruiting Americans. They are fantastic and the perfect way to get into the competitive, hard to break into field of international development.

It has a lot more respect than Peace Corps with INGO’s as they are known for dealing more in capacity building rather than service delivery (ie teaching English or digging wells.) Most people are into their 30’s bit there are some late 20-somethings with the org. You do need to have some work experience, however. I have been doing VSO for about three years (!) and am just finishing up. I also volunteered for AmeriCorps for two years...sometimes it amazes me to write that down as it is just really sinking in that I will have spent five full year as a fulltime "paid" volunteer. Wow - I need to "get a job." That is my plan B.

[Summit_Bid]

You have an MA and you're temping?

This is my worst nightmare, one that will probably come true.

I used to read a blog written by an actor on the TV show Mad Men (Harry Crane, for fans of the show); he started the blog after he got his masters in drama, but before he got the gig on Mad Men, and he was - wait for it - temping. It was actually kind of fascinating reading about this normal guy who got an amazing opportunity, stuff like, "Just got home from another horrible day temping at some office. Tomorrow I have an audition for some new show called Mad Men...the script is good, I wonder if it will work out..."

I got an MA in something completely useless: film.

[Summit_Bid]

Hmm. Teaching English at a hakwon in Korea can pay quite a bit (around $2,000/month), and your housing is typically covered by the employer. It's not an easy job, but doing this would be a great way to knock out some of your loans while having a bit of an adventure!

Also, as others have said, programs like AmeriCorps pay you in part by reducing a percentage of your student loan debt in exchange for a two-year stint. I'm pretty sure you don't have to pay off the loans while you are in AmeriCorps.

I'm not into Americorps but I do believe in PeaceCorps and similar programs...sadly enough my Peacecorps app wasn't accepted. Who doesn't get admitted in the Peacecorps?!!! I guess people like me that have useless film degrees.

My student loan payments--which are on an "income sensitive" plan-- are $1000 a month so that I guess that's okay if they pay for housing and Korea is cheap. I'm not that into teaching English in Korea or other country but you're right: it's a an adventure and I suppose I can't be picky in this day and age.