Thin U.S. job market translates study abroad into work abroad

[babylonsister]

I think this is fantastic! The people involved are getting an education about other countries. That will change some worldviews for the better.


Thin U.S. job market translates study abroad into work abroad

By David Coffey | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — As job prospects thin at home, American college seniors and recent graduates are looking overseas for work, even of the unpaid variety.

Organizations that send volunteers abroad are noticing a significant jump in applications for their programs compared with earlier years.

Applications to the Peace Corps are 16 percent higher this year, and late last year twice as many Americans applied to CUSO-Voluntary Service Overseas, Canada's largest volunteer-based international development group, compared with the same period in 2007.

Looking abroad is just one way that the young are trying to cope with the worst economic landscape of their lives.

Volunteers also are traveling nationwide. Teach for America saw a 50 percent increase in applications last year for its program, which sends college graduates to teach in under-funded school districts.

A month after President Barack Obama's calls for more service inspired a flood of volunteering at nonprofit organizations across the country, the lack of paid work at home seems to be inspiring a surge in volunteer service abroad.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/62872.html