Camp Counselor Job Description
Overview
The Camp Counsellor supervises campers with the goal of giving them a healthy, safe and fun camp environment and experience. Their role is to delegate chores to maintain the cleanliness of the cabin, mediate any conflicts that may arise between campers, and facilitate group activities for campers during free periods. Their responsibilities are to report any notable concerns or incidents to managment, coordinate the cabin's daily schedule of activities, manage transitions to ensure the timely arrival to activities, and keep track of camper dietary restrictions and allergies to ensure proper snacks and meals are distributed appropriately.
Steps to take to start your career as a Camp Counselor and other jobs like it
- Identify what type of camp you’re interested in—day camps, overnight camps, specialized camps (sports, arts, etc.), or traditional camps. Look for camps that align with your interests and values. Understanding the camp’s philosophy and goals will help ensure a good fit.
- This is often a position that will hire you without experience in this field but they will want to see you have some applicable skills. Gain experience working with children through babysitting, tutoring, or volunteering in educational or recreational settings. Participate in activities or hobbies related to the camp’s focus. For example, if you’re interested in a sports camp, being actively involved in sports will be beneficial.
- Many camps require counselors to be certified in first aid and CPR. Check with the camp for specific requirements. Depending on the camp, additional training or certifications (such as lifeguard training or outdoor survival skills) might be required or beneficial.
How I Became a Camp Counselor
I chose this job because I've been a camper here and I wanted to give a similar experience that I got from my counselors to the campers that I have. Personally, I feel like I followed a pretty good track because I was a camper here, then I was a junior counselor in training, then a junior counselor, and then I just followed that natural progression.
Camp Counselor Job Requirements
So the job requirements for a camp like Decathlon can vary for position. For me as a counselor, the only rigid requirement is that I have completed my first year in college, and apart from that, the job looks for a few personality traits. So they want you to be obviously personal with the kids, they want you to be responsible, they want you to have sports knowledge. There is a technical part of the interview where you're asked about different kinds of questions related to sports, maybe a scenario that happens in a game or how you would teach a certain activity to the children just to make sure that you have a good foundation. And apart from that, yeah, it's a job where it's entry-level, so there are not many rigid requirements, but they just want you to overall have the personality that fits in well with the kids.
Salary
Salary as a counselor is $700 a week. We get here around 8:30, and the camp officially ends at 4:00, and that's when extended care begins.
Camp Counselor Average Day
So the average day is just a variety of activities. For example, like basketball or volleyball, soccer, hockey, all of these we play multiple times throughout the week, and each group will kind of rotate. So we'll get 45 minutes in activity usually. We'll have a few before snack, a few in between snack and lunch, and then a few at the end of the day. And then there's obviously some more fun activities for the campers like we have popsicles before pickup. And yeah, and there are certain activities that groups will do together, so you kind of just build tighter community and have kids make friends with people that wouldn't necessarily be in their group.
Pros and Cons of Camp Counseling
There are way more pros than cons. For example, you get to be with the kids and kind of introduce the sports to them and play with them too, which if you're athletic, is a really fun opportunity. You also get to meet counselors and engage with them and kind of work together to provide a fun experience for the kids. It's just a great atmosphere overall. It can get hot sometimes. Not necessarily a con, but it can test your patience a little bit depending on how your kids behave and whatnot. It can be a little challenging to navigate that sometimes, but it's all part of the job.
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Education you need to become a Camp Counselor
These are the most common degrees or certificates earned by Jobtrees users prior to becoming a Camp Counselor
There may be other required degrees or certifications needed for this job. The below info shows you the most commonly desired education level from employers when hiring for this job.
- Bachelor of Arts (b.a.) in General Studies
- Master of Science (m.sc.) in Mechanical Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering (b.eng.) in Mechanical Engineering
Annual Pay Estimate for Camp Counselor and Other Important Info
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