Why You Should Work At Camp This Summer!
How has the last year been for you? Boring? In front of a screen? Like life is on an endless, dull repeat? If that sounds familiar then a summer at camp is just what you need!
According to a report from the American Camping Association (ACA) in 2016, over 1.5 million people work at summer camp every year. That means that camps are clearly doing something right to attract so many people. That figure is even more impressive when you realize that many of those staff come back for more than one summer to do it all over again.
With many different roles to choose from such as activity instructor, group leader, kitchen and hospitality, maintenance support, as well as many different types of camps to suit different interests, it is no surprise that a summer at camp is almost considered a rite of passage for so many young people.
In this blog, our team has put together a list of the top 5 things we think are the most compelling reasons to work at summer camp this year.
Meet New People
As with almost any new job, meeting new people is to be expected, but working at camp is not like most other jobs. You will likely be working with staff from all over the country and even from all over the world. Many camps hire international staff that adds to their camps’ culture and help to offer their campers and staff a global perspective in addition to tapping into the skills and experience of those individuals.
Aside from just meeting new people, when you end up living, working, and playing together for such a long time, you really get to learn about your co-staff and bond with them in a way that almost no other job offers. Many people who first meet at camp end up going on to be life-long friends.
Get INTO your comfort zone
That’s right, it wasn’t a typo, we want (and expect) people to get INTO their groove at camp and find comfort in what may once have been intimidating. Michelle Obama said that we should “…try new things. Don’t be afraid. Step out of your comfort zones and soar!” and we couldn’t agree more.
Each camp offers different activities and daily schedules for its campers and staff, but at the core of them all, we truly believe that the overall experience is the same for most people. A sense of adventure in taking on new challenges, a feeling of overwhelming pride in helping someone overcome an obstacle for the first time, and the forming of close-knit relationships with the people you share these experiences with.
Make a difference in a child’s life
The benefits of spending a summer working at camp are numerous, but the number one thing that we hear from our staff time and time again is how much they love getting the chance to make an impact on the children they work with.
When children come away to camp, whether it is their first summer or their fifth, the experiences they have are shaped enormously by their counselors. The impressions you make on those young minds will very likely stay with them for the rest of their lives and they will use the advice, tips, and skills that you gave them at camp and beyond.
Let your silly side out…and get paid for it!
Going to sleepaway camp is a job, but it also likely to be the most fun job you will ever have. At what other jobs can you play sports outside all day in the sun, launch rockets into the sky with your campers or dress up as a unicorn and paint your face without getting strange looks from your colleagues!
Camp celebrates the quirky and fun in a way that few other jobs ever can because the aim of camp is to bring joy to children, and what better way is there to do that than with a smile (and maybe some paint!) on your face and sneakers on your feet.
Sure the days can be long, but it’s like the old saying goes “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”. Camp perfectly epitomizes those words.
Learn new skills
The ACA states that “Camp jobs offer invaluable skill-building, leadership, training, and enrichment opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else! Regardless of your college major, camp experiences allow you to learn and develop skills that will enhance your job marketability.”
Whilst many people see a position at summer camp as just a ‘summer job’, the transferable skills that you can use in other aspects of your life are too numerous to list. Every year, all across the world, people apply for high-level jobs and have listed their camp director as a reference.
The reason for this is that Camp teaches you so many different skill sets that it really is an experience like no other.
