Over at the Vagabonding.net Q&A, I got an interesting question from Erin in Massachusetts. She writes:

“I’m 27 and have gone through college and Grad School and now have an ‘office job’ that is really dull. I want to plan to do some volunteer work in the Peace Corps next year but am afraid that it will be me and a lot of 20 year old college kids. Am I too old to be trying to do something like this?”

This is what I told her:

From what I know of the Peace Corps, age is rarely an issue for volunteers — especially if you’re in your late-20′s (which appears to be a common age for people to volunteer). Since I don’t have direct Peace Corps experience, however, I sent your question along to a number of my RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) friends, and got nothing but positive responses. The most concise response came from Ethiopia RPCV John Coyne, who runs the Peace Corps Writers website. He says: “You’re right, she would do fine. The average age in the Peace Corps is 28; 95% are college graduates. The oldest volunteers have been in their 60′s, 70′s, even 80′s. As you know as well, most traditional countries value age and experience. Tell her to go for it.”

Other advice from RCPV’s around the globe include:

Peter Hessler, China:

“I had similar concerns when I joined the Peace Corps. But in fact the age spread tends to be pretty good, and a lot of volunteers have done something else before joining. My group had 14 (we were a very small group) and I was actually the third oldest at 27. But four or five were just a bit younger. I think the main thing to keep in mind is that you don’t end up spending too much time with those people. You train together, but in most countries you are sent to the site by yourself. Personally, I think that the older volunteers do a better job, as long as they aren’t stressed about it. There have been a couple who spent so much time worrying about post-RPCV plans that they ended up distracted while in China. For me, it was perfect. I was mature enough that I was quite focused and I think that really helped me make the most of the two years.”

Linda Rose, South Pacific:

“Eldon and I were not in the Peace Corps, but we had lots of PCV friends in the Pacific. She will not find a bunch of 20 year olds in the Peace Corps because PC wants folks with some skills. Most are college graduates and certainly they all have work experience. The span of folks I knew was from late 20′s to 60′s. I’d say a common pattern was folks doing PC between college and graduate school. When she talks with PC recruiters, she can ask questions about age issues. I certainly saw examples of both great maturity as well as a party-hearty attitude among PCV’s. Anytime you throw a bunch of folks together, you’ll get that range. I also saw it as a life-transforming experience for many PCV’s.”

Bill Preston, Thailand:

“I’ll be happy to give my input on this, especially since the question is one that relates to my own PC experience: I was 28 when I joined the Peace Corps. While it’s true that the majority of the volunteers in my group were about 22-23 and fresh out of college, there were a few, like myself, who were in their late 20′s or early 30′s. (In fact, Joe Cummings was about 26, I think, when he joined. I think there were a couple of others about his age, who already had MA degrees.) Two of those late 20′s folks were married couples without children. At the other extreme, there were maybe four or five older volunteers, who were doing Peace Corps as retirees, rather than as first-jobs-out-of-college. I don’t know how everyone else in my group felt, but I was really comfortable with everyone and did not feel too old or out of place in our group.

“Mind you, in an experience like Peace Corps, one is more likely, in my view, to feel “out of place” because of other factors — for example, how you feel about the new culture you are living in, how easy or difficult you find learning the language, how interested you are in living overseas and immersing yourself in a different culture. My own biggest anxiety about joining Peace Corps was that I wouldn’t be able to learn the language well enough to stay. In fact, there was no arbitrary language standard then (and I doubt now). We were tested immediately after training to see how much we had learned, but that in no way was used to determine if we could continue in country. Even volunteers who learned very little language during training (I’d say I was an average learner) were allowed to go into the field and begin working. One or two volunteers were let go during training, but one was a case of someone who asked to leave, and the other was a person whose behavior simply didn’t fit in with the culture (she later went to another country as a PCV, one with different cultural expectations). So, as long as you are comfortable living and working in a new culture and are willing to make the necessary personal adjustments to achieve such comfort, I don’t think age is a factor. To me, openness to new experience, tolerance, and flexibility are the more essential considerations.

“I would highly recommend Peace Corps to any person, any age, who has a genuine curiosity about the world and a desire to learn and grow. There’s nothing like living and working in another country and culture to really open one’s eyes and see life from another perspective. Americans, in particular — but I think everyone, everywhere — can really learn from taking themselves out of what we too often see as the ‘center of the universe’, the USA, and putting ourselves in the shoes of another people and place — and looking back at the USA with other eyes. That kind of new perspective aside, you also meet some great folks in the PC, people typically who have that curiosity about life and who want to learn by doing something different. And you get to see places you probably never otherwise would, and not simply as a tourist.”