I got my Peace Corps assignment!

[Tripler]

Kyla, my cousin did it, and had an absolute blast!. I’m sure you’ll have the same experience!

Good luck, and drop a line from over there–expand Cecil’s global span of control.

Tripler
O great one! We bring yet another nation into the light.

[Hello_Again]

Kyla, congratulations! That is sooo exciting and know you have been on pins & needles waiting to fnd out.

I hope my last Maslenitsa party was adequate preparation for your upcoming adventure.

[Kyla]

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone. I’ll let y’all know as soon as I have a more specific idea of where I am going.

[Rhiannon8404]

I’m really happy and excited for you, Kyla! I can’t wait to hear more about your assignment and where you’re going, etc.

[Kyla]

Oh, and Hello Again, if I spend my Peace Corps assignment falling on my drunk ass in the snow, then your Maslenitsa party was perfect preperation. Ha!

[Billdo]

Come on, Kyla, we know this is the real reason you’re going.

Good luck and safe travels.

[swampbear]

Yay Kyla! One of my doper quints is gonna go do good! I am excited for ya too.

[Mooney252]

Kyla –

The hardest job you’ll ever love.

I’d orginally posted the information below in a Google Answer about a year ago, but for some reason it’s missing from their database:

out that there have been 3 broad studies of RPCVs, with the latest being the broadest in scope:
• one by Louis Harris & Associates in 1969
• another done by a consultant for the Office of Special Services of ACTION/Peace Corps in 1977
• and finally one done by the Peace Corps Office of Policy, Planning and Analysis in 1996. In size and in scope, it is by far the broadest, answering many of your original questions about education and career after being a volunteer.

CREDITS

When I started work on this Answer, I knew that there had been some surveys done – probably from participating in either the 1975 or 1996 survey.

But it took the efforts of two key people to get a copy of the 1996 survey:
John Coyne, author and webmaster for the Peace Corps writer site. As a former Peace Corps colleague wrote me, “He seems to know everything about Peace
Corps.”:
http://www.peacecorpswriters.org/

John put me in contact with the right Peace Corps staff. And it was Douglas Moors, of the library staff there that tracked down the report done for the
Office of Planning Policy and Analysis
HARRIS STUDY (1969)

The Louis Harris study was of 898 returned volunteers from 1962-66 It was too early to report their future education or professional development, though a list of prominent RPCVs includes many who worked for the Peace Corps in the 1960s.

The Harris study was released, with the New York Times reporting on it April 3, 1970 under the headline, “Less Zeal Found for Peace Corps. Survey for Agency Reports Disaffection of Volunteers.” The same story reported that the Senate Foreign Relations Committtee had voted to cut appropriations by 10% the day the report was released.

The 1969 study done of the first groups of volunteers found that:
• 90% recommended it to other college graduates
• 92% said it was “very valuable” to them
• 40% said it was “very valuable” to the United States
• 46% said it was “very valuable” to the host country, with 5% saying their work did NOT contribute to the development of their host country.

More than half reported problems in re-adjusting to life in the U.S.
WINSLOW STUDY (1977)

The Winslow/1977 survey was done with 201 RPCVs who had completed service in 1974 or 1975.
I’ve found no direct reports of the Winslow/1977 or 1996 surveys in print or online. There are some references to the 1996 survey in another study:
“Self Efficacy and Cultural Awareness: A Study of Returned Peace Corps Teachers” (Cross, April 16, 1998)
peacecorpsonline.org/scanned/ returnedvolunteerteachers.pdf

THE 1996 STUDY

The Office of Planning, Policy and Analysis did this study in early 1996, with RPCV Juanita Graul, Jamaica (1992-94) designing it.

It surveyed 2,500 RPCVs in early 1996 and had a 50% response rate. It was done of volunteers who’d served more than a year (N = 94,586) between 1961 and 1993.

By decade the respondents were:
1961-69: 42%
1970-79: 27%
1980-89: 12%
1990-93: 18%

In this survey only 3% were older than 50 at entry into the Peace Corps and 90% were in the 18-29 age range. Education at entry included 78% with a bachelors degree and another 8% with “some college.” The survey group had 10% who entered the Peace Corps with a masters degree and 2% with an LL.B, J.D. or Ph.D.

As previously mentioned, the percentage of volunteers with work experience has been increasing, reflected in the average ages. The percentage of volunteers in the 18-29 age range has declined consistently from 96% in the 1960’s to 93% in the 1970s to 79% by the early 1990s. And the number of volunteers in the 30-39 age range has risen from 3% in the 1960s (and only 2% in the 1970s) to 11% by the 1990s.

The survey asked:

Why they joined the Peace Corps?
75% said they wanted to experience a different culture
74% said it was for travel and adventure
73% said they wanted to help others

Did it succeed?
All survey measures said that at least 91% said yes. In fact 94% said they would still make the same decision to join the Peace Corps and 70% felt that it had a positive impact on their careers. Only 1% said that they wouldn’t join the Peace Corps again, if faced with the same decision. The returned volunteers felt that as a result of their experience they were better informed and had a broader awareness of cultural differences and world issues than their contemporaries.

56% have been involved in some post-Peace Corps activity, from recruiting to programs with local RPCV organizations or the National Peace Corps Association.
IMPACT ON CAREER

Measures of the impact of volunteering on career had the following results, increasing slightly on impact over the decades:
1960s

Been of great help: 31%
Been of some help: 39%
Not much difference: 22%
Slowed you down: 3%

1970s

Been of great help: 27%
Been of some help: 39%
Not much difference: 23%
Slowed you down: 6%

1980s

Been of great help: 38%
Been of some help: 35%
Not much difference: 15%
Slowed you down: 4%

1990s

Been of great help: 35%
Been of some help: 40%
Not much difference: 13%
Slowed you down: 3%
More than half of the RPCVs had earned another degree since returning (54%), with another 10% reporting that they were working on a degree. “The longer the time since their Peace Corps service ended, the more apt respondents were to have earned another degree,” says the report.

Overall, here were the numbers – with the 1960s volunteers being the most-likely to have PhDs or JDs, followed by the 1970 group, then followed by the 1980 group, etc:

Degree (All RPCVs surveyed)

Bachelor’s: 8%
Master’s: 50%
PhD: 10%
LL.B or JD: 3%
MD: 2%
Other: 5%

Some 3% of these had participated in a Peace Corps Fellows program, a program that allows returned volunteers to earn a Master’s degree at reduced tuition.
MEASURING PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS

Beyond the measures of further degrees, how can you judge what happened to former volunteers? The 1996 survey did it by looking at where people were working – and at income levels. The decade in which people were volunteers
had a strong influence on whether or not they were self-employed and on level of income, with a 1960s volunteer being 13 times as likely to be making over $100,000 per year as a volunteer from after 1980. Note that the self-employment information correlates with studies of entrepreneurs: the successful ones tend to be older, have worked for other businesses and even have started several businesses.

The 1980s and 1990s volunteers were also 50% more likely to be working for a non-profit organization than their predecessors.

Here are are the income splits:

PERSONAL INCOME

1960s

Under $20K: 9%
$20K-$40K: 22%
$40K-60K: 28%
$60K-80K: 13%
$80K-$100K: 8%
Over $100K: 13%
No response: 7%

1970s

Under $20K: 13%
$20K-$40K: 24%
$40K-60K: 29%
$60K-80K: 14%
$80K-$100K: 6%
Over $100K: 8%
No response: 6%

1980s

Under $20K: 25%
$20K-$40K: 36%
$40K-60K: 22%
$60K-80K: 8%
$80K-$100K: 4%
Over $100K: 1%
No response: 4%

1990s

Under $20K: 36%
$20K-$40K: 43%
$40K-60K: 12%
$60K-80K: 1%
$80K-$100K: 0.4%
Over $100K: 1%
No response: 6%
OTHER MEASURES

Two other things stand out in this survey: the extent to which former volunteers travel and their use of local languages. Some of us used one of the top five world languages, which many volunteers used a regional language (such as KiKongo, Lingala, Tshiluba or Swahili in the Congo) and some learned a tribal language. Overall, 63% used the language “occasionally” or “frequently”, a number that’s been pretty consistent across the decades.

Also, more than 86% of the RPCVs have traveled abroad again, with more than half (54%) visiting four or more countries. This number also increases with time, as 72% of the 1960s volunteers have visited four or more countries.

You’ll do things during your Peace Corps duty that might not even be possible in later years. For example, my roommate and I took a 500-mile bicycle trip N across the Equator to Kisangani. Doing that today would be most hazardous to your health.

Best regards,

Mooney252
RPCV, Congo/Zaire 1973-75

[Mississippienne]

Kyla, that’s so fabulous! If you get posted to Bulgaria or Romania, let me know, I can probably arrange for us to meet some weekend (I’m moving to Istanbul in May).

[Antonius_Block]

Kyla, your mention of a Maslenitsa party reminds me of the martenitsa, the red-and-white-tasselled symbol of the uniquely Bulgarian Baba Marta (Grandmother March) festival, which just so happens to be March 1st, i.e. TODAY!

Chestita Baba Marta to you and to Dopers everywhere!

[UncleBeer]

Congratulations, Kyla. I’m happy to hear everything’s gonna work out okay with your apartment. Well hafta have some kinda send-off for you in Chi-town before you go. If there’s anything Barb and I can do for you, let us know.

[Kyla]

Mooney252, thank you for your post. It’s so great to hear encouragement from someone who’s been there, so to speak.

even sven, how’s your own medical clearance going?

Mississippienne, that would be awesome - BucharestDope, anyone? (Or maybe we could go crash at Tomcat’s and have PragueDope).

Billdo, I saw that on Saturday and cracked up. My secret has been uncovered!

UncleBeer, there has been loose talk about doing something the last weekend of March, but nothing is set in stone. I’m sort of in a state of agitation/paralysis. There’s a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it and I’m sort of stuck trying to figure out what to do first.

[The_Big_Cheese]

@Antonius Block

Kyla, your mention of a Maslenitsa party reminds me of the martenitsa, the red-and-white-tasselled symbol of the uniquely Bulgarian Baba Marta (Grandmother March) festival, which just so happens to be March 1st, i.e. TODAY!

Chestita Baba Marta to you and to Dopers everywhere!

I put mine on my tree!

[Eve]

@Kyla

I’m going to Mystery Location, Eastern Europe on April 14!

My great-grandparents were born in Mystery Location, Eastern Europe!

[even_sven]

@Kyla

even sven, how’s your own medical clearance going?

Waiting. Waking up hours early to see if my toolkit’s been updated. Phoning home from work to see if anything has come in the mail. Learning what it is to live in a perpetual state of nervousness.

They’ve had my papers since Feb 14th. I’ve heard some recent applicants have heard back immediately, but I also heard someone today was quoted 4-6 weeks. It’s up in the air as to how big of a process this will be. I had some slightly abnormal CBC results that they can either interpret as perfectly insignificant (like my doctor did) or that they blow up in to a big deal. I just wish I knew which route they will choose!

[Kyla]

@Eve

My great-grandparents were born in Mystery Location, Eastern Europe!

Mine too! I think it’s a little funny that I’m going to be in a region that my great-grandparents escaped from a hundred years ago.

sven, good luck, I have my fingers crossed for you. You never know what crazy ass things the bureacrats will come back with. I had been seeing a chiropractor, which the Peace Corps decided to classify as “physical therapy”, and told me I couldn’t go into service until I had been out of therapy for six months, which screwed everything up. My protestations that my back problems were extremely minor meant nothing to them. After the six months were up, I had to see an orthopedic specialist to prove that my back was okay. The appointment took five minutes, and the specialist thought it was funny that this was what had held everything up.

It sucked. Hope things are easier for you.

[A.R.Cane]

If your not already doing so, I suggest you keep a journal. I had a friend who’s daughter went to Kinshasa w/ the Peace Corps. in the 80’s. Her letters were extremely interesting. I encouraged her to write a book, don’t know if she ever did.
Congratulations and best of luck.

[Kyla]

bump

I’m going to Bulgaria!

[LiveOnAPlane]

@Kyla

bump

I’m going to Bulgaria!

Yumm…kick–butt FOOD!
…at least when you get to town(s).

Congrats and best wishes!

[even_sven]

Awesome! Congrats!