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RagnarokAngel posted:Got nominated, Teach English in Europe in March. Really excited now, I got turned down before but things are really going my way now. Do you know why you were turned down the first time? I don't think I've heard of that happening from the PC for a non-medical reason.
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Jun 15, 2010 21:29
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Pocket DeSade posted:I don't have my 3 months English tutoring experience yet (see above) Why not ask your recruiter whether that will hold you back from being nominated, or just from being invited to a country (the step after)?
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Jul 2, 2010 12:54
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Peven Stan posted:I heard that getting into the Peace Corps was insanely difficult and reserved mostly for people who've gone to elite universities. That kind of worries me since I'm definitely pretty interested in going overseas after talking with a coworker who is a RPCV from Jamaica, but I go to a bog standard state university. Does anybody know what the acceptance rate is? Check out links on this page for qualifications for whatever program you're interested in. You don't even need a college degree if you have enough work/other experience. I didn't go to any fancy school, but I was literally nominated the same day as my interview as a CS applicant; apparently they don't get many of those. I've never heard of the PC being elitist or difficult to get into; I think the attrition rate is mostly people dropping out who can't/won't/don't slog through the the initial application/references process, or the arduous medical and other qualification process; all told, applying can take a year. My official nomination email says "Please keep in mind, geographic assignment has a 30-40% chance of re-assignment based on a number of variables such as technical and medical qualifications," which isn't exactly that, but gives you an idea of what can happen.
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Aug 21, 2010 20:10
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I haven't heard back since I got a few more tests that they wanted after turrning in my medical forms months ago; my medical status is still pending. The application status site says they might not get to me any time soon since they're currently just reviewing people leaving within 4 months, and my date would be in May. Does this match other peoples' experiences?
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Oct 29, 2010 08:06
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RagnarokAngel posted:They told me that but got to it pretty quickly. It's probably just the worst estimate so you don't get paranoid if theyre not replying in a week. Yeah, no, that was 4 months ago. 4 months before I would leave isn't until January, so they seem to be doing exactly what they said. RagnarokAngel posted:It probably will. Don't worry about it, I got it fixed up in like 2 weeks. Me too. It's just precisely this followup information I sent in that I never heard back about, and my medical status is still unresolved.
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Nov 11, 2010 23:00
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RagnarokAngel posted:So did you call your recruiter? My followup info took a bit but I got it done. Yeah, thanks for pushing me to ask, guys. It turned out they were missing one little piece of information from a physical I had three years ago, and never let me know they were waiting on that after I sent in all my other medical followup information. I picked up and sent them the paperwork from that doctor's office and now I'm all cleared, just waiting for placement in the next month or so.
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Dec 8, 2010 21:38
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Pocket DeSade posted:Stupid question, but how do I find out who my medical contact is? Your recruiter should have your up to date information. So, apparently I have a phone interview scheduled for Friday to discuss my qualifications and the open programs they'll have in the next few months. Anything I should know going into this or what to expect?
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Feb 9, 2011 20:47
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Omar al-Bishie posted:I tried committing suicide my freshman year of undergrad, and I've since gotten therapy and don't consider myself a risk. Will I ever have a chance of joining? If you do, be forewarned that they're going to require a lot of documentation from medical and psychological professionals to go on record that you are not and will not in the future be at risk. Moon Slayer posted:And patient! Sure thing. I was nominated for a CS/IT position in Latin America leaving end of May, so they've had me studying Spanish, but I know that's still potentially subject to change until I'm officially placed in a program and I sign off on it.
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Feb 9, 2011 23:30
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Fuschia tude posted:So, apparently I have a phone interview scheduled for Friday to discuss my qualifications and the open programs they'll have in the next few months. Anything I should know going into this or what to expect? All right, I just got my packet in the mail. I'll be going to Ethiopia in May to be a Health Information Communications Technology Advisor. Whatever that means, heh. Reading the duties, it seems to involve anything from setting up computers and installing basic programs to teaching how to use Excel and Access to converting from paper- to computer-based systems, and apparently I'll be situated at a hospital or other health organization. Definitely going to be interesting.
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Feb 17, 2011 03:27
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Moon Slayer posted:Cool! I didn't know Peace Corps was in Ethiopia. Guess I'm behind the times. Yeah, this is only their third year there. They were one of the first PC programs, running until the Communists took power in 1978, then another program from 1995-1999 until political instability shut it down again.
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Feb 17, 2011 06:54
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Pieter de Hooch posted:Congrats and welcome to East Africa Cool! Yeah, I'll definitely see if we can't arrange something. stevo9er posted:It is pretty standard to write recommendation letters yourself and just have people sign them. That's kind of difficult when writing a Peace Corps recommendation involves filling out forms that are emailed to you... Fuschia tude fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Feb 24, 2011 |
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Feb 24, 2011 05:28
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. Hit me up if you ever want to come down to Kenya or if you have questions about the region. Ethiopia is on my travel itinerary, maybe we'll see each other in the future?
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Moon Slayer posted:Did they outright reject you and say "start over" or did they just tell you "get 30 hours of volunteer time before your application can proceed?" Because everyone needs to get 30 hours of volunteer teaching in before they get into Peace Corps. I've never taught in my life, and I never heard anything like that during my application. You may need 30 hours of volunteer experience in general, though -- I've done a fair amount of volunteering in recent years.
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Mar 23, 2011 15:51
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RagnarokAngel posted:Are you actually in or are a returned volunteer? If there was anything that was a sticking point for education placement in my experience, that was it. Sorry I missed this, yes, I'm an invitee. Just recently arranged my flight to staging, in fact. Again, I'm going to join the Health Information Communications Technology program in Ethiopia. Speaking of staging, the email mentioned we should wear business casual. What exactly does that mean in the Peace Corps context? Polo shirts and khakis?
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Apr 22, 2011 04:28
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Last post before Ethiopia 
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May 24, 2011 11:52
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Moon Slayer posted:Well no matter what, if you want to do Peace Corps you are going to have to get those 30 hours, so if you are serious about this taking care of it now will save you a lot of headache later. Good luck! Again, I'm a PCV sitting in my office in Ethiopia and I still have 0 hours of teaching experience... Ronald Spiers posted:Seriously, I think if a person is qualified and trustworthy enough for the CIA, the CIA wouldn't if the person was a former PCV. The CIA could easily just give a cover for their recruit. It is the CIA after all. It sounds like the same thing people were referring to earlier in this thread. Supposedly PCVs in china are teaching English exactly like their private sector equivalents (like these folks), while getting paid a fraction of the salary.
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Sep 20, 2011 11:56
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WAFFLEHOUND posted:I saw that but I still don't know too much about how common it is, experiences, etc. My group (admittedly pretty big - all 69 of us made it all the way through PST and beyond) included four couples. They all knew each other before we even got on the plane. Honestly, in some ways I get the feeling that PC prefers serving couples over long-distance relationships. It's much easier for a person to have their main support system living with them rather than in a different continent. CHARLES posted:So I recently found out that I have TB (It's very WTF.) I'm currently treating it and it will be resolved just after I apply this summer, but does anyone know if that might effect my application? That might be a problem. Some countries are more paranoid than others about not allowing anyone who's had TB inside.
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Jan 10, 2012 17:18
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Grimson posted:also: could someone edit my status in the op, i'm actually 2010-2012. Can't believe it's only 7 more months here. That's like no time at all! Oh yeah, I might as well go on there too. I'm a 2011-2013 in PC Ethiopia and another IT goon.
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Jan 10, 2012 17:36
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Stoner Boner posted:I just got back from Kazakhstan, as a Kaz-22. Our program was suspended for a number of reasons, but publicly due to a rise in sexual assaults against volunteers. And other safety issues. I heard about that shutting down -- is there anything more you can say publicly/anonymously?
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Jan 23, 2012 20:43
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Winna posted:I'm not sure there are engineering jobs in PC. Mainly Education/Health/Business. Your work abroad and an engineering degree is more than enough to get you in. Spanish however, unless fluent is no gaurentee you'll go to a hispanophone. I took 4 years of Spanish in school and was nominated for the South Pacific. So instead I got the chance to learn a different language. uh Business and Information & Communication Technology I'm an IT volunteer, as are several others in my group alone. huhu, I know alternative energy and renewables is one of PC's secondary projects these days. Focusing on that should help you get into a related program.
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Jun 2, 2012 13:16
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Ronald Spiers posted:People also need to take note that a lot of places in Central and S. America have indigenous people who speak an indigenous language that is not an European language. Also Brazil is not a destination for PC. Yeah it was my understanding that most sites in Latin America involve working with native peoples; no matter where you go you're going to be learning a language. I assume the high Spanish requirements are to make sure you can get around in the rest of the country.
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Aug 10, 2012 20:08
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Diplomaticus posted:In Ethiopia, I've done occasional work with PCVs (briefings around their swearings-in mostly) but it is pretty rare. That said there's no ban on us hanging out (here, at least), other than the fact that we're in the capital and they're out in the field. In practice it basically never happens. I know there is a goon PCV here in Ethiopia but I've never been to his part of the country so it's unlikely I'll meet him. Two, and soon to be three, actually. Also my offer still stands, just in case 
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Mar 29, 2013 15:47
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Diplomaticus posted:I forget what the offer was, but whatever it is, it's only good through early June, after that I'm back in the US. Yeah, I'm leaving soon after. It was just if you do manage to come down here I offered to host you.
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Apr 14, 2013 14:08
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huhu posted:My guess is they can be much more selective for Spanish since it is by far the most taught language in US schools? According to Wikipedia, 50% of all language learners study Spanish. Also you'll probably be learning a native language to work with the local people instead. You just need Spanish skills for the rest of the country and the capital.
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Oct 17, 2015 04:33
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God Hole posted:Welp looks like my fears were unfounded. I just got my invite today, I'll be deployed to Ukraine in March to work as a Community Youth Development Volunteer. This is a pretty incredible feeling Given the military conflict simmering in Ukraine for over a year now, I'm surprised Peace Corps is still operating and expanding there.
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Aug 20, 2016 15:40
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huhu posted:As far as the Mac, I know a common issue was people trying to track down Mac chargers after they broke which usually meant praying you could buy one from a friend with a broken computer or waiting for someone to bring one down. If your country is any bit like Panama, don't bring nice electronics, they're going to die. I lost a phone, laptop, Bluetooth keyboard, and some other stuff to the climate/constantly throwing it in my backpack. But don't even bother with a laptop that has an old spinny HD drive. SSD or bust (because it will bust.) If you already have one with a rotational platter drive, buy a SSD to replace the drive. Also has a side effect of making even an old system perform better.
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Dec 3, 2016 04:58
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