Service Programs

When I graduated from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I wish I had considered exploring a service organization such as the Peace Corps or Teach for America. The Peace Corps sends people overseas for about two years to work in areas such as education, health and the environment. I used to work with a man who volunteered for the Peace Corps and was sent to Nepal. Now, he’s a Senior Vice President at Morgan Stanley. Teach for America sends recent college graduates to teach in low-income U.S. schools for two years. For more information about the Peace Corps, please visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/ You can learn more about Teach for America by visiting http://www.teachforamerica.org/

According to an article in the July 24, 2007 issue of The Wall Street Journal, an increasing number of new college graduates are using service programs to explore varied interests. Some of these programs can lead to careers that better tap into your passions. For example, some Peace Corps volunteers discover an interest in public health. This year, U.S. undergraduates ranked the Peace Corps and Teach for America among their top 10 “ideal employers,” ahead of Nike Inc., General Electric Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co., according to an annual survey by Universum Inc. In 2006, applications to Teach for America rose 9.3% to nearly 19,000, and nearly 3,300 were accepted.

Many employers view these programs favorably. Some companies even allow new hires to defer starting their jobs for two years so that they can join Teach for America. For example, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP agreed to grant such deferrals beginning with the class of 2008. According to Marcia Harris, director of career services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, pursuing a spot in these programs shows a graduate is curious, hard-working and comfortable taking risks.

Of course, there is a big downside: money. Service programs tend to pay less than traditional jobs, if they pay at all. Young workers who pursue service programs may have to play salary catch-up with peers later. Still, for some grads, service programs can help identify a career path.
I have a friend who used to work for Eli Lilly as a research scientist. Now, he teaches 7th grade science at an intermediate school in Indiana. Although he earned a lot more money as a scientist, he finds his work as a teacher much more rewarding psychologically. My husband has a friend whose daughter just graduated from Stanford University. When she told her parents she wanted to become a teacher, her mother sighed and said, “If you really wanted to become a teacher, we didn’t have to send you to private schools.”

It’s sad that in today’s world, many people believe that money trumps everything. Of course, it would be wonderful to teach or work for a service organization and earn a lot of money, but for most people, those kinds of opportunities are one in a million. I believe that today’s young people should discover what they love to do first and not worry so much about how much a job pays. My 11-year-old son, Daniel, is very good at drawing and has expressed an interest in becoming an artist, much to my husband’s chagrin. I’m not worried if Daniel decides to become an artist someday. He may not earn as much as an attorney or physician, but at least he’ll be happy. He even told me that if he decides to become an artist, he’ll move to a less expensive state such as Nevada so he can pursue his career interests and adopt a ferret (ferrets are not illegal pets in Nevada). We’ll see what happens!