Challenges and rewards of being a volunteer

Volunteer work can provide the opportunity for a short term career change. In 1973 the author quit his job and spent two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer Lecturer in Physics at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. Challenges encountered as a volunteer included the isolation, new cultures and languages, the subsistence lift‐style, new teaching techniques, interaction with other faculty members, and difficulties in making long‐term improvements. Rewards included travel, the cultural experience, the teaching experience, and playing ’’foreign expert.’’ Challenges encountered upon return included job hunting, returning to a big pond as a small fish, and the culture shocks of affluence and inflation. The benefits of the experience, for the author, far outweighed the cost.