The current job market and economy has students seeking alternative career choices in government-sponsored jobs such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America at a higher rate, making the competition tougher and rejection more frequent.
According to the Peace Corps public affairs department, the organization saw a 16 percent increase in volunteers last year and expects this year's increase to be more. The organization works with community development programs focusing on medical assistance, education and environmental conservation. The Corps aims to place volunteers in areas that interest them, and no specialty degree is required to join.
The Peace Corps has sent 196,000 volunteers to 76 different counties since its birth in 1961. Its volunteers help build houses, dig wells for clean water and open up health clinics that try to bring awareness of AIDS and methods of prevention. During service, the program defers volunteers' student loans and covers living expenses and transportation fees.For graduates wishing to stay in the country, Teach for America places graduates in local underfunded schools. The program is an opportunity for graduates to develop strong leadership skills and get real-life experience.
Campus Point, a Seattle based program that places recent graduates in local internships and jobs, has seen incoming applications almost double from 100 applications a week to 200 a week, says Susan Kramer, Campus Point program manager and director of their international program. The organization places new graduates in local business and Internet technology oriented jobs.
More experienced workers, recent layoffs and stay-at-home parents are returning to the workplace and filling most available positions, Kramer said. This makes it increasingly hard for fresh graduates to land a job after graduation, she added.
"There is definitely more demand than supply," Kramer said.
The newest addition to the agency is the International Teaching program in whichcollege graduates are sent overseas to teach conversational English in Korea. The participants are required to serve one full calendar year and will receive free transportation and housing and bonus one month pay. Seattle University's Campus Ministry has seen an increase in applicants for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, JVC, this year, an organization that places fresh graduates in jobs that benefit the community, as well. Yet the state of the economy seems little to do with it, says Sean Bray, Seattle University social justice minister.
JVC sends graduates to places where they are needed, locally or aboard. With room and board and monthly spending money, volunteers go to work at homeless shelters, AIDS care centers and drug and addiction care centers.
"I like the idea of living in a community with people who share the same passions," said Kristen Morgen, a graduate student preparing to serve with the JVC.
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