(no subject)

[aroraborealis]

Grad school first, then Peace Corps? Or Peace Corps then grad school?

Or grad school both before and after Peace Corps?

Comments

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Is the Peace Corps more likely to prepare you for grad school than grad school is to prepare you for the Peace Corps?

I'd say Peace Corps then grad school.

[snowy-owlet.livejournal.com]

They're both good choices. Flip a coin?

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

being in grad school now, I think that if it's something you really want to do, do it first. Lots of things happen that can get in the way. I had planned to start grad school 10 years before I actually got to do it.

[txbelladonna.livejournal.com]

Peace Corp.Then Graduate School.

[hawkegirl.livejournal.com]

peace corps then grad school

[ghislaine.livejournal.com]

*nod* Peace Corp then grad school. Peace Corp will improve your language proficiency plus help you to confirm your career path for "when you grow up".

What Jack and Ghislaine said

[orangelemon.livejournal.com]

but what do you want to do in the Peace Corps? What do you want to do in grad school? Caveat: you might be of more service to the community you go to if you do grad school first, depending on what you study (esp. how technical it is.)

What about grad school in S. America? That could be another option.

You could also apply to both and defer one for the other if you get both.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm a big fan of the apply-for-both approach, especially if you're indecisive -- at the very least, it gives you a few extra months to think about it, and if you have an epiphany in that time, you'll have options. One of my professors is always counseling me to remember that you *can* call up a grad school and say "I'm so sorry." :)

That said, I vote Peace Corps first for several reasons.
I think you'll have better luck getting a job that requires a graduate degree straight out of grad school than out of the Peace Corps (unless the Peace Corps gave you job-specific skills, maybe?) And it's easier to look for said job when you're in the country or even the area :) Also, I think Peace Corps will help your application to grad school, where grad school will not particularly help your application to Peace Corps.

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

I forgot to say -- before and after sounds like an excellent choice if you want a doctorate. I can easily imagine wanting a break between one thesis and the next ;-) An M.A. program is probably too short for that -- four semesters feels like a revolving door!

[razil.livejournal.com]

I'll join the chorus for Peace Corps then grad school. Of course, we've probably talked about this, so I may be repeating myself... The time in the Corps (heehee) will be a learning and shaping experience (in one way or another), and you very well might come out of it with a set of skills you expected (improved language) but a set of interests that are completely different than what they are today. So, potential change in life-direction is one reason to not invest two years - or beaucoup bucks...

Although you won't get rich in the Peace Corps, you probably won't lose money either (in fact, in addition to about $6k in "readjustment" money at the end, I also had a few thousand that I had saved up from my "cost of living" adjustment). Sure, I wasn't earning a lot, but I had a lot more saved after those 2ish years than anybody I knew that was living in DC or in grad school!

[pancua.livejournal.com]

I'll throw my hat in the Peace Corps then grad school.

Good luck with whatever you decide tho! I know you will do well no matter what.

[trom.livejournal.com]

Peace Corps then grad school in anthropology. Write that dissertation on indigenous fiber arts. HTH :)

-M

This is hardly original, but...

[agaran.livejournal.com]

I have huge respect for my stepmother, Gaye, whom you may have met. She is 70-ish now. When she was a young woman, she spent a couple of years doing the Peace Corps in Morroco. It changed her life. She still has a bumper sticker on her car proudly touting it.

Now, I have a strong feeling you're significantly more self-aware than she was at your age, and your life has already taken a few changes that are likely similar to what she went to Morroco to experience. But I think it's very excellent of you to consider this an option.

You're also too sophisticated to think that it's entirely selfless. You likely know that it can and should have a strong element of self in it: lifelong memories, pleasure, exploration, learning, challenges met and won, and the rest of it.

Good luck. Send a postcard now and then. Stay safe. Keep in touch.

it all depends...

[pumpkin-pi.livejournal.com]

Excuse me if I'm explaining how to suck eggs...

It depends a lot on what you want to do both short- and long-term. If both grad school and PC are simply a means to an end (e.g., a job as a translator), then I'd talk to folks who have reached such ends (e.g., informational interviews) and ask them which might be more valuable.

Some questions to think about:

Regarding Peace Corps: What work would you like to do? What work does PC think you can do (a PC recruiter can help answer this)? Would extra schooling give you better chance in obtaining the position you'd like to have (again, talk to a recruiter)? PC will give you a huge range of experiences - which will help with grad school and jobs in many fields. So if your goals change, PC will likely still give you relevant experience. I believe there are special funding opportunities or loans for returning PC volunteers to attend grad school (again, talk to a recruiter). You really have to want to do PC - in talking with many returning volunteers (my grad program was filled with them), if you go into it half-hearted (which is different from simply being very nervous), you won't last. It is as challenging as it is rewarding.

Regarding Grad School: This could be a more direct route to getting the job/career you want - some fields will count experience less than they would a degree. For example, in my field, a job will often consider a Masters (which could take as short as two years time) equivalent to about 4 years experience. Some jobs *require* a graduate degree regardless of experience - or at least have ceilings on promotions based on degrees. Grad School will not likely give you the breadth of experience you'd get in PC. If your goals change, will the degree still open doors?

So my $0.02: if you're unsure on your career goals or aren't in any hurry to be on a specific path, PC is the way to go. If you know what you want to do and want to get there asap, then do the thing that'll get you there quickest.