D

Employment

Peace Corp: was it worth it?

I gave up a decent paying and fun job in 2006 (building dinosaurs for natural history museums) to do something that I had wanted to do for a long time- I joined the Peace Corps. This decision was based on both a lust for adventure and to build a foundation for a career in development work.

Sending out resumes since my return from Africa in September, I sent out an email offering a $500 reward for anyone who finds me a job with benefits. Of course, no one wants the reward but the offer does get attention and makes it more clear how desperate one can be to get a job, even one that pays much less than a previous job. I got a lot of feed back and even reconnected with some long lost friends. I ask myself, was the Peace Corps worth it? I thought I would have opportunities upon my return. After all, I want to work in philanthropy. Well, yes, despite being unemployed still, it was worth it. If I hadn't seen such resilience in Africa to hopeless job opportunities, and how people in the developing world do not consider their job titles as their complete identity, I may be pretty miserable by now. I am somewhat comparing apples and oranges because of the inevitable stigma placed on the unemployed in this country. We are an individualist society, a painfully lonely reality in this crisis. For survival, we should look to the survivors. It takes a village.

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