Why a Camp Job?
Camp jobs will give you skills future employers will be impressed to see, skills such as responsibility, maturity, leadership. Some camp jobs can even offer you college credit. Check with your adviser or the guidance office for more details on that.
You could spend your summer in a variety of ways--flipping hamburgers, pumping gas, or hanging around the house getting bored. A camp job lets you get paid doing the activities you love to do. What are the other pluses? You can make friends from around the world and become a hero to a young child. Not such a bad deal.
The American Camping Association defines camp as a "sustained experience which provides a creative, educational opportunity in group living in the outdoors. It utilizes trained leadership and the resources of the natural surroundings to contribute to each camper's mental, physical, social and spiritual growth."
Even if you never spent a day as a camper, you might be considering a career in recreation or have a special skill you'd like to be able to pass on. Summer camps and other related facilities offer an abundance of opportunities to do just that.
The History of Summer Camps
Summer camps for children have been a part of the American experience for more than 130 years. In the mid-1800s Americans clustered in cities along the eastern seaboard began searching for opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors and open spaces that lay just beyond. In 1861 Headmaster Frederick W. Gunn of the Gunnery School in Connecticut came up with the idea to take students on summer outings. After three successful seasons, he opened a permanent summer camp on a lake that stayed in operation for twelve years.
Gunn inspired others to follow suit, and it was not long before private individuals, church groups, and social service agencies established summer camps. More than six million children benefit from a summer camp experience each year.
Some Facts and Figures
Throughout the United States there are approximately 8,500 camps, 5,500 of which are resident (overnight) camps and 3,000 are day camps. Summer day camps have grown by almost 90 percent during the few decades. Family camp programs have increased by more than 500 percent during the two decades.
According to a survey conducted annually by the American Camping Association, enrollment in camps is up 15 percent from the previous year. Of the six million reported campers, more than a million of those are physically or emotionally challenged, as well as economically disadvantaged.
Each summer approximately 500,000 jobs are filled by high school and college students, teachers, doctors, nurses, sports specialists, waterfront instructors and safety professionals, food service staff and directors, and many others who strive to make a positive impact on the lives of six million children.
Most camps begin their summer season in late May or early June and run until the middle or end of August. Few camps are open after Labor Day.
In the spring and fall, some camps are used for environmental education programs for children. Some offer workshops and seminars in teamwork, communications, and other workplace issues to corporations and business organizations.
The Different Kinds of Camps
Approximately 6,200 of America's 8,500 summer camps, both resident and day camps, are sponsored or run by social service agencies and nonprofit groups such as the YMCA/YWCA, Boy Scouts of America and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., religious organizations, and Camp Fire Boys & Girls, Inc. Others are operated by school systems or are privately owned.
The camp's sponsorship often determines the philosophy and focus of the camp. For example, some Christian or Jewish camps will provide religious training as a context in which other camp-related activities are conducted; Girl or Boy Scout camps might focus more on outdoor living skills while teaching the philosophy of the particular organization.
In general, camps can be divided into two broad categories: day camps and resident or overnight camps. Within those categories you will find camps with different philosophies and focuses. For example, some camps, both day and resident, believe in providing a general camping experience, covering a wide range of activities; others will focus on one or two specific activities, such as fitness, horseback riding, or computers.
Here are some definitions as outlined by the American Camping Association:
Camp and camping is a sustained experience that provides a creative, recreational, and educational opportunity in group living in the out-of-doors, utilizing trained leadership and the resources of natural surroundings to contribute to each camper's social, physical, and spiritual growth.
Day camping encompasses the above definition within a frame-work wherein the camper spends an established period during the day at camp, then returns home each evening.
Resident camping offers the same benefits in a setting in which the camper lives at one site for a period of at least two or more consecutive nights.
Trip camping offers programs in which groups move from site to site, whether by their own power or by utilizing a vehicle or animal, e.g., canoes, horses, bicycles, etc.
Family camping offers organized programs for families in a resident setting. (It does not refer to family campgrounds.)
Camp Programs
Within the overall day or resident category, here is a list of different types of programs/focuses you can expect to find:
Academics
Archery
Arts and crafts
Astronomy
Athletics
Aviation
Backpacking
Basketball
Boating
Canoe building
Caving
Christian emphasis
Circus arts
Computer
Conservation
Dance
Day trips
Dulcimer making
Environmental studies
Equestrian/horseback riding
Fine arts
Fitness
Golf
Gymnastics
Hot air ballooning
In-line skating
Jewish emphasis
Marine biology
Martial arts
Mountain biking
Performing arts
Photography
Rock climbing
Roller hockey
Rope courses
Sailing
Soccer
Special needs
Survival skills
Swimming
Technical tree climbing
Tennis
Videography
Weight watchers
Wilderness camping
Wind surfing
Wood working
Zip Lines
Arts and crafts is the program most offered at summer camps, followed by swimming, canoeing, hiking, environmental education, and archery.
In response to a new demand and to attract a wider range of campers, many camps are now offering new activities, many of them challenging and adventure activities, such as high and low ropes courses and rock climbing.
Job Titles within Camps
Camp Director: This is the person directly responsible for the overall operation of the camp. Duties can include both administration and programming. Some directors work for a length of time longer than the specific camping period. They can be involved in budgeting, fund-raising, staff recruitment, training, and other related duties.
Camp Administrator: This position usually has responsibility for more than one camp. For example, an administrator working for the Girl Scouts of U.S.A. might be in charge of all East Coast summer Girl Scout camps and be involved with primarily administrative functions, relying on the camp directors to run each program.
Program Director: This job title may vary from camp to camp, but the person who holds it is usually responsible for planning, coordinating, and administering various programs and events.
Assistant/Associate Directors: This position is filled by someone who assists the camp administrator or the camp director and can often be responsible for supervising the program director.
Trip Leader: This person will lead groups on trips and outdoor experiences, usually for extended periods.
Head Counselor: Sometimes synonymous with the role of program director, the head counselor will be responsible for the general and activities counselors employed by the camp.
General Counselor: Within the various types of camps, general counselors work directly with the children or adult campers. The role of general counselor is discussed more fully in the following section.
Activities Counselor: Counselors in this category usually focus on a particular skill or activity, such as teaching swimming or archery.
Junior Counselor: This title usually falls to an older camper who has been promoted first from camper to CIT (counselor-in-training.) It is usually an unpaid position, offering experience that can lead to a job as a full counselor, although some camps do provide their junior counselors with a small stipend for the summer, enough to cover expenses while away from home.
Counselor-in-Training (CIT): This is another unpaid position that provides an older camper with experience in supervising younger children and planning and implementing activities for them. Often CITs and junior counselors will be allowed to attend camp and participate in camp activities for free.
Camp Nurse: Camp nurses and their assistants see to the medical needs of the campers and staff, must be licensed RNs or trained assistants, and must be particularly versed in first aid.
Kitchen Staff: From head cook to dishwasher or food server, camps employ kitchen staff to see to the daily nutrition of campers and staff.
Other Camp Jobs: Camps also need building maintenance personnel, drivers, and office help.
Nature of Work
Camps and other recreation programs are as diverse as the people they serve. Camp and recreation workers organize and lead programs and watch over recreational facilities and equipment. They help people, usually children, to pursue their interest in crafts, arts, or sports. They enable people to share common interests in basketball, basket weaving, or bodybuilding for their mutual entertainment, physical fitness, and self-improvement.
Counselors organize teams and leagues so young people and adults can practice fair play and good sportsmanship through competitive sports. They also teach people the correct use of equipment and facilities so maximum benefit can be derived from their use without injury.
Camp counselors lead and instruct child and teenage campers in outdoor-oriented forms of recreation, such as swimming, hiking, and horseback riding, as well as camping. Activities often are intended to enhance campers' appreciation of nature and responsible use of the environment.
In addition, counselors provide campers with specialized instruction in activities such as archery, boating, music, drama, gymnastics, tennis, or computers.
In resident camps, counselors also provide guidance and supervise daily living tasks and general socialization.
Working Conditions
Being a counselor or recreation worker does not offer the same amusements afforded campers. You'll be working while those in your care engage in leisure time activities.
While the majority of camp and recreation workers put in about forty hours a week, people entering this field should expect irregular hours, with night and weekend work. You might get one day off a week, or two days off every two or three weeks.
Some of the work, especially at day camps, is only part-time, and, of course, by its very nature, many of the jobs are seasonal, offering work for just two to three months of the year and leaving you without employment in the winter. This schedule, of course, makes camp work attractive to college students, who often have their summers free.
Other related settings, such as YMCA facilities or cruise lines, might offer more full-time employment.
Camp counselors and other recreation workers often spend much of their time outdoors and may work under a variety of weather conditions. Supervisors, administrators, kitchen, and medical workers, on the other hand, may spend most of their time indoors and, therefore, engage in less physical activity. However, for counselors out in the front lines, as is the case for anyone engaged in physical activity, the work can be tiring, and there is always the risk of injury.
Accommodations
Most overnight camps offer free room and board as part of your payment package, but accommodations run the gamut from rustic to luxurious. Some camps provide only tents with no electricity and communal toilet and shower facilities a distance away from your living quarters. Others might have picturesque log cabins with "en suite" bathrooms; still others might offer air-conditioned rooms in a college dormitory or other similar facilities. In most cases, if you are assigned to a group of campers, you'll find yourself bunking in with your charges, with little or no privacy or time to yourself.
Meals are usually served family style in dining halls, and you would be expected to eat with your campers. You might also be assigned dining hall duty, supervising the serving of food and clean up.
Transportation
Depending upon the distance from your home to the camp, you might be offered free transportation by bus or plane, or be expected to make your own way to the camp site. Each camp might have different regulations about keeping private cars, so it is a good idea to check on this before you drive yourself.
During the workday, camps usually provide transportation for any camp-related business, but on your days off you might have to fend for yourself.
Employment Outlook
The recreation field has an unusually large number of part-time, seasonal, and volunteer jobs. These jobs include summer camp counselors, lifeguards, craft specialists, and after-school and weekend recreation program leaders. Teachers and college students take many jobs as recreation workers when school is not in session.
Employment of recreation workers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005 as growing numbers of people possess both leisure time and the money to purchase leisure services. Growth in these jobs also will be due to increased interest in fitness and health and rising demand for recreational opportunities for older adults in senior centers and retirement communities. Opportunities for part-time and seasonal jobs are expected to be plentiful, but competition is likely for full-time career positions.
Overall job growth in local government where half of all recreation workers are employed is expected to be slow due to budget constraints, and local park and recreation departments are expected to do less hiring for permanent, full-time positions than in the past. As a result this sector's share of recreation worker employment will shrink by the end of the century. Nonetheless, opportunities will vary widely by region, since resources as well as priorities for public services differ from one community to another. Thus, hiring prospects for recreation workers will be much better in some park and recreation departments than overall projections would suggest, but worse in others.
Recreation worker jobs should also increase in the fast-growing social services industry. More recreation workers will be needed to develop and lead activity programs in senior centers, halfway houses, children's homes, and day-care programs for the mentally retarded or developmentally disabled.
Recreation worker jobs in employee services and recreation will continue to increase as more businesses recognize the benefits to their employees of recreation programs and other services such as wellness programs and elder care. Job growth also will occur in the commercial recreation industry, composed of amusement parks, athletic clubs, camps, sports clinics, and swimming pools.
Full-time career job seekers will face keen competition. Because all college graduates, as well as some high school and junior college graduates, can enter recreation worker jobs regardless of their major, applications for career positions in recreation often greatly exceed the number of job openings. Opportunities for staff positions should be best for persons with job experience gained in part-time or seasonal recreation jobs, together with formal recreation training. Those with graduate degrees should have the best opportunities for supervisory or administrative positions.
Prospects are much better for the very large number of temporary seasonal jobs. Demand for seasonal recreation workers is great, and job opportunities should be good. These positions, typically filled by high school or college students, do not generally have formal education requirements and are open to anyone with the desired personal qualities. Employers compete for a share of the vacationing student labor force, and though salaries in recreation are often lower than those in other fields, the nature of the work and the opportunity to work outdoors is nevertheless attractive to many. Seasonal employment prospects should be very good for applicants with specialized training and certification in an activity like swimming. These workers may obtain jobs as program directors.
Earnings
Because most work at summer camp is for a short duration, many counselors and other staff members are paid a flat fee for the season. This can be as little as a stipend of a few hundred dollars, including room and board, or can range up to a few thousand, depending upon the facility and its budget. Counselors with specific skills or certificates, such as Water Safety Instructor, generally earn more money than general cabin counselors. Camp nurses or other medical professionals might earn from $800 to $5,000 for the season; kitchen workers, $1,000 to $3,000 for the summer.
Paychecks could be weekly, monthly, or given in full at the end of the season. Although the pay is generally low, the advantage is that during the camping season there are very few expenses and little to spend money on. Most counselors find they save almost their entire paycheck.
Median annual earnings of full-time recreation workers are about $16,000 per year. Earnings of recreation directors and others in supervisory or managerial positions can be much higher-anywhere from $22,000 to $95,000, depending on the level of responsibility and the size of the staff.
Most public and private recreation agencies provide full-time recreation workers with vacation and other benefits such as paid vacation and sick leave and health insurance. Part-time workers receive few, if any, benefits.
