President Kennedy told me to ask what I can do for my country. President Carter taught me to share with my neighbors my caring and my labor. President Clinton reminded me that I have an obligation to the people of the world to help them make the most of their own lives. And so, like so many idealistic college graduates, I responded to the rhetoric and signed up for the Peace Corps. While overall my Peace Corps experience was good, I now have a different view of it than when I joined over two years ago. There is a lot the government doesn’t tell you about being a volunteer that can only be learned through experience. The Toughest Job You May or May Not Love Many people join the Peace Corps to help the people of the third world. While this attitude is good to go in with, most of the volunteers I met became disillusioned with their work by their second year. Much of their work receives little support from the Peace Corps’ administration in country. Volunteers sometimes find it difficult to motivate host country counterparts or, in extreme cases, they find their work not welcome at all. Though work is an important reason to have volunteers in a country, it makes up only one-third of the Peace Corps’ goals. The other two goals, to help people of other countries learn about Americans and to help Americans learn about people from other countries, I feel are what makes Peace Corps worthwhile. It is through this cross-cultural exchange that prejudices are toppled, boarders are erased, and friendships are forged. It is important to remember, however, that just because Peace Corps is an American government agency does not mean you as a volunteer have to support government policy or preach American doctrine. This misconception turns a lot of people off the Peace Corps. In many places where volunteers serve the volunteer is the only American the local people will ever meet. You don’t have to be a goodwill ambassador for America. Simply by being friendly, culturally sensitive, and hard-working, you give people a good impression of Americans. Also, keep in mind that volunteers serve in countries only at the invitation of the host government; therefore, Peace Corps is not a tool of American imperialism. The 2-Year Vacation After an intense 3-month training program in the host country, volunteers are sent to their various posts around the country. From then on it is up to the individual how much work he or she wants to accomplish. With little supervision from Peace Corps administration, a motivated volunteer can complete all his or her work and still have time to travel within the host country. Additionally, each volunteer receives two days of vacation per month or 48 days over two years, which can be used to travel to other countries in the region or back to the U.S. for a visit. At the end of service Peace Corps gives every volunteer either a plane ticket back to the U.S. or the cash equivalent. Many volunteers take advantage of the latter option and use the opportunity to take an extended trip before returning home. What’s in It For Me? Though no one joins the Peace Corps to get rich, the organization does provide some financial incentives. From the first day as a Peace Corps volunteer until the day service ends, all expenses are paid. This includes roundtrip airfare, housing in country, and a living allowance. Additionally, Peace Corps provides medical and dental coverage and will evacuate a volunteer with a health problem that can’t be taken care of in country. Upon completion of service, Peace Corps gives each volunteer roughly $6,000 to help you get resettled in the U.S. The opportunities for personal growth far outweigh the financial benefits of Peace Corps. In many cases, volunteers learn one or two foreign languages. Volunteers also learn a great deal about the countries in which they serve. Peace Corps is well respected among graduate schools and employers. Having been a volunteer looks great on a resume and the Peace Corps is a good starting place for a career in international development or the Foreign Service. It’s Not for Everyone For many people, their 27-month tour will be one of the most challenging things they ever do. As a volunteer you will be bored, you will be lonely, and you will get some sort of exotic illness. You will need a good sense of humor, heaps of flexibility, and donkey carts full of patience. You will have to lower your comfort level and raise your tolerance level. Some volunteers don’t finish a full 27-month tour. Peace Corps gives you the option of quitting and going home at any time with no penalty. Though I sometimes question the value of the work I accomplished, overall I am glad that I served in the Peace Corps and I recommend it to anyone with an adventurous spirit, a giving heart, and two spare years on their hands. As long as you approach it with realistic expectations and realize you probably won’t change the world, you will have a rewarding Peace Corps experience. Peace Corps Information The Peace Corps was founded in 1961 by President Kennedy. Today 7,500 volunteers serve in 71 countries in Central and South America, Africa, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc countries, Asia, and the South Pacific. The application process can take up to nine months and involves recommendations and an interview. Perspective volunteers can list regions where they would prefer to serve in and refuse an invitation to serve in a country in order to wait for an assignment in a different country. Applicants must be Americans and at least 18 years old. There is no upper age limit. Most volunteers have at least a Bachelor’s degree, while those without have relevant work experience. Training is three months in country and is rigorous. It includes language, cross-cultural, technical, and health components. Assignments are for 24 months and are in the areas of education, health/HIV AIDS, environment, agriculture, and business development. For more information contact Peace Corps at 800-424-8580 or www.peacecorps.org.
Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Ghana, and Senegal are amazingly welcoming places to work. But you need to be on the ground in West Africa to really have a chance at securing a job here. Employers have heard too many assurances from expats “guaranteeing” they can be on the next plane over. If you can meet with a prospective employer in person, you will give yourself a tremendous advantage over the promise-makers. Most people assume the biggest challenge to finding work in a foreign country is jumping through the bureaucratic hoops. It’s not. It’s finding a job. The paperwork comes later. All the West African countries maintain strict quotas for work visas. Smaller companies are usually allowed only one. So if you find a prospective place of employment that already has one foreigner on its payroll, you cannot legally work there. If a prospective employer does have a work visa to grant you, your biggest task is to convince him or her to spend the few hundred dollars in fees for the work visa. If you are willing to foot the bill, your chances increase significantly. Larger companies have more work visas to grant. If you have a technical skill, such as engineering, you can reasonably expect fees and processing times to diminish or disappear altogether. As one senior manager of a gold-extracting equipment company said to me after I half-jokingly asked about employment, “Get an engineering degree and you won’t have a problem.” For those with only a liberal arts degree, jobs are obtainable. Some expats find teaching English rewarding. But while it may pay well in other parts of the world, not in West Africa —first, because there is an influx of volunteers willing to do the job for free and, second, because schools cannot afford to pay foreigners anyway. An expat teaching English literature at the top university in Ghana (Univ. of Legon) makes around $200 per month. While this is a considerable sum in a country where most people make $1 per day, it is still on the low end of a livable expat salary. Many expats find well-paying jobs at foreign embassies. If you have a college degree and managing visa applications sounds good to you, embassies hire visa officers with surprising frequency. Since security concerns preclude them from hiring locals for these positions, and embassy regulations require them to pay expats at host-country pay grades (usually around $10 per hour), expats often find themselves in a narrow pool of applicants for a well-paying job. Bear in mind that in a Francophone country, you will need to speak French. Most Western countries maintain web sites where they post these expat-hire positions. Other places to look include notice boards at places frequented by foreigners. Some embassies also publish e-newsletters on a periodic basis that contain job postings. If all else fails a friendly email to the consular section inquiring about employment might turn up an otherwise undiscovered opportunity. Since embassies usually hire expats from other Western countries, don’t just look at job postings for your own embassy. Other job opportunities depend upon your area of expertise and qualifications. If you are willing to work in a high-risk country, your bravery may well be rewarded in countries like Nigeria and Sierra Leone, where other expats rarely job-search. Journalists can sometimes pick up a freelance contract to tide them over until a longer-term job comes along. The following web sites assist in the search for employment in West Africa: The German Cultural Institute directory of centers in Africa: www.goethe.de/af; Job postings for the Australian embassy in Accra: www.ghana.embassy.gov.au; Newsletter for the American embassy in Accra: www.ghanaexpeditions.com; List of consular e-mail addresses for Canadian embassies in Francophone West Africa:www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/abidjan/consular-en.asp; Job postings at the British High Commission in Nigeria:www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk.
You made the cut, passed all the interviews and landed the expat assignment of your dreams. Your bags are packed and everywhere you turn you hear, “Do you know how many people would die for that job?” You’re probably considered a guru in your field. Your skill set is just what that foreign entity needs to compete in a global market. You’ve arrived; so now what? On your first day reality sinks in. Is this what you signed up for? Now instead of words of praise, your new colleagues ask, “why did you leave America to come here?” More often than not, I hear about the challenges professionals encounter in pursuit of an overseas assignment. Don’t get me wrong, I do not wish to downplay the uphill battle of landing one of these sought after positions, especially given the current work environment — limited opportunities, protected job markets, and an increase in the number of foreign nationals receiving advanced degrees and work experience outside their home country — makes obtaining an expat assignment even more difficult. Why recruit overseas when you can hire local talent who undoubtedly understand local and regional markets better than you do? I am one of those fortunate few. After a four-month business school internship, I was re-connected, some three years later, with the company that I interned for in Milan. This was not some fluke, but a goal that I worked toward throughout my career. Though the challenge of obtaining an overseas assignment is worthy of an article in itself, I wish to share my experience and pass along some advice for once you set foot on foreign soil. So, you think the toughest obstacles are behind you. Think again. Soon after the jetlag settles, you will encounter a whole new set of challenges including legal, cultural, social, and, in some cases, language barriers. Below are some helpful suggestions to ease you into your new environment, and make the experience something worthwhile.