Summer Camp Counselor Jobs
Why are camp counselor jobs so appealing to many college students (especially)? Because working with kids can be so rewarding. Young people are full of energy, have endless questions, and want to have as much fun as is humanly possible. It’s a blast to hang out with kids because you never know what to expect – they can do or say anything. If you enjoy kids, you may want to be a summer camp counselor.
Summer camp counselors have a sweet gig. They hang out with kids all day in a fun environment. Summer camp is an activity that kids do across the country from California to Maine to North Carolina to Oregon. Kids all over love camp, in fact, some 3,000,000 kids go to nearly 2,500 camps annually according to the American Camp Association. Camps are cool because they specialize in fun activities that kids enjoy, like water sports, nature, or arts and crafts. So you can choose what type of camp fits your interests.
You’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to choosing a camp you want to work at. For example, you may want to pick one near your home or go on an adventure across the country. You may want to pick one with an academic focus or a sports focus. You may want to pick one that lasts all summer long or one that only lasts a few weeks. You could choose one that goes from 8 AM to 4 PM or one where the kids spend the night in cool cabins. You may want to work with 4 to 7 year old kids or with older kids. You may want a camp with a cultural focus or one for children with special needs. There are so many options to choose from, it may actually be hard to make a final decision.
Summer camp is a great experience. With a camp counselor job you’ll do tons of really fun things that you probably wouldn’t do back at school like play camp-wide capture the flag, sing funny songs, swim in lakes, have campfires, learn about outer space, make friends from all over the country, help kids lose weight, learn about nature, study history or religion, and much more.
Camp counselors have a sweet job setup. They can finish up school in the spring and have an easy fun job for the summer that ends right when schools starts back up. Generally, the requirements and qualities needed are a high school diploma, a clean record, an open mind, and the ability to have fun all the time. In this growing industry, there are plenty of entry-level positions for eager students like you. Your job will be supervising and instructing kids and you’ll be successful as long as your kids enjoy themselves. That’s not too hard. Kids will look up to you, as a role model and a leader, so get ready for that.
Pay range varies with camp counselor jobs. It can be anywhere from $225 a week to $4,000 for a summer. While this may not seem like a lot, room and board are usually included, so most of your money can go straight to your savings account. Before you commit to working at a camp be sure to research the camp and what’s important to you – location, hours, pay, camp policies, camp accreditation, camp focus, etc.
If you do decide to become a camp counselor, you’ll probably have more fun than you can imagine and you’ll want to return every summer.