my experience with the americorps program
underpaid, constantly stressed, and overworked. was it worth it though?
If you’ve heard of Peace Corps, a program noticeably more well known than AmeriCorps, then imagine a similar program except it’s based in the United States and without the “fun” aspect of being able to live in a completely different country for a year.
I applied to become an AmeriCorps member in late 2018, and received an offer in mid-January. I was ecstatic, because I was trying to escape from a mind-numbing position that had me do customer service related work for $14/hour. This post breaks down: 1) how much I got paid in total (not much!) and other financial bonuses, 2) how I budgeted my paycheck, 3) work/life balance, and 4) whether it was worth it for me.
FIRST TERM
I did 1.5 years of Americorps — during my first year, I was offered a position from February 28, 2019 to January 27, 2020 for a living allowance of up to $14,000 and upon completion of my hours, an education award of $6,095. Education awards could only be used for future schooling, such as tution for graduate school. However, I knew some people in my cohort who were able to finesse this money directly to their bank account without having to enroll in a program (shh)!
SECOND TERM