Taking Time Off/Americorps

[JBums1028]

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Hello!

I'm an undergraduate senior and my major is in Human Development and Family Studies. I'm looking at eventually getting an MSW. I'd say I'm about 80-85% confident in this decision. A lot of people that I have spoken to are recommending that I take some time off between undergrad and grad school. I was wondering what the recommendation of others was on this board (particularly from current MSW students or current social workers). Did you take time off? Was that a good decision for you? What did you do with your time off?

On another note, I'm looking at doing AmeriCorps if I take time off. I find a lot of their programs appealing mostly because it's a shorter committment then Teach for America or Peace Corps, so I'm not delaying school for too long. I am just worried about it though because they don't really give you a lot of money (about $12,000 for 10-11 months of service), and the programs that I'm interested in are all in Seattle (which is an expensive city to live in). I was just wondering if anyone on here by chance is an AmeriCorps alum and if they can tell me a little bit about their experience. Most people speak very positively about AmeriCorps, but I still can't get past the financial aspect. Any advice anyone could give me would be appreciated!

 

[deleted462159]

It depends what you do with your time off. If you're going to be playing video games all day, don't. If you will be industrious with your time--joining AmeriCorps, working in a related position, developing your hobbies and cultivating relationships--by all means, take time off. Just curious, why are you considering AmeriCorps instead of other employment opportunities?

 

[JBums1028]

Just curious, why are you considering AmeriCorps instead of other employment opportunities?

A few reasons. 1) I'm not too incredibly confident in the work opportunities available for someone with my degree. My program touts that it has the #1 job placement rate in our department, but I'm not sure how much I believe that. Almost everyone who has my degree does grad school. 2) Some of the MSW programs I'm looking at have additional scholarship opportunities for service corps alums where as they don't really have that for someone who just took a year off to work. Plus I'll get roughly $6,000 to put toward school automatically just for serving. So there could be some economic benefit in the end. And obviously 3) I find a lot of the service opportunities very interesting and they seem applicable to the settings I want to work in (school or medical).

I might spend the summer after I graduate looking for work, then apply to start Americorps in the fall if I can't find anything. We'll see. I might even just go directly into an MSW program. I'm kind of seeing what happens with this year. I plan on applying for Fall of 2013, but I'll most likely defer to 2014 (and most of my programs allow me to do this). Obviously I want to do something productive with my year off, I'm just still exploring what that productive thing will be.

 

[FMSW]

2) Some of the MSW programs I'm looking at have additional scholarship opportunities for service corps alums where as they don't really have that for someone who just took a year off to work. Plus I'll get roughly $6,000 to put toward school automatically just for serving. So there could be some economic benefit in the end. .

I know this is kinda a dead topic but what MSW programs offer additional scholarships for AmeriCorps alum? I haven't heard about that.

 

[JBums1028]

I know this is kinda a dead topic but what MSW programs offer additional scholarships for AmeriCorps alum? I haven't heard about that.

That's fine, I'd prefer that this not be a dead topic because I was hoping for more advice than I have gotten. I know Washington University's Program in St. Louis does for sure. It's not a huge award, I think they just double the education award that you get from AmeriCorps (so instead of just $5,000 it becomes $10,000). Some other programs might as well.

I've actually found an AmeriCorps based program through my college that I'm planning on applying for to do two years in between undergrad and grad. It's the College Advising Corps, so I'll be placed in a local school district as a college advisor to underserved students in that area. It's a pretty good deal, because you're also paid salary on top of the AmeriCorps benefits. I like it because it's focused in Education, which is my main interest area and it will give me more time to think about the direction my career is headed in (in a nutshell, I'm leaning towards a Master's in Higher Education Administration as opposed to Social Work because I think it's a much better fit for my strengths).