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Summer Job Profile
Camp Jobs
Filling Your Financial Canoe at
“Camp Cash
Cove” |
Whether
you are seeking to gain some great experience for your career or
yearning to re-live those wild summer days at band camp, a summer
camp job may be appealing. But a summer of swimming, campfires and
mosquitoes doesn’t have to leave you itching for more cash. And in
fact, while camp employment is not likely to make you rich, it can
leave your financial rowboat more than overflowing.
How can
you get a great experience and at the same time, get the maximum
bang for your bunk? Some tips to keep in mind:
Choose your type
Camps are run by a variety of
groups ranging from non-profit community and religious
organizations, to government and educational institutions, to "for
profit" companies and organizations. While pay will vary, generally
“for profit” camps tend to offer higher paying positions than camps
run by non-profit, or government organizations. Pay can range
anywhere from $600 to $4000 or $5000 plus, per summer. And while pay
may be an important factor, the actual experience itself should not
be overlooked.
The
many shades of money - what colour is yours?
Not only does
the amount of pay vary, but also the type. Many resident camps will
pay you an all out salary along with room and board. A day camp will
perhaps pay strictly a wage. Some will have built-in incentives
based on performance and/or completing the summer, while others will
pay graduated earnings based on your years at the camp. Camp Arnes,
a non-denominational religious camp in Manitoba for example, is
largely a volunteer camp, which pays a weekly wage starting at
$75/week and rising $25 for each year of service. “However”, says
Camp Program Director, Dave Johnson “the camp has a system set up
where counsellors can find sponsors who will supplement their wage
by sponsoring their work with a cash contribution which is tax
deductible for the sponsor.” It’s a good deal for the sponsor and a
great way to bring the counsellor’s wage in line with many other
summer jobs. Johnson adds that, “approximately half of the summer
staff has sponsors, which they have lined up themselves.”
Coverage in the open air - consider your
benefits
Most resident camps will cover your room and board.
Some may also include laundry, while others may even cover some or
all of your return transportation costs. There are even some camps
that will pay you a bonus for recruiting other staff. These pay
factors of course will have a big impact on what you haul home at
the end of the summer. Whatever is included, make sure that you get
this in written form on any agreement or contract that you
sign.
Up
your worth
Camps pay a wide range, which is often dependent
upon your skills. Skills such as life guarding qualifications, CPR
and first aid, can up your worth by $1000 or more per summer at some
camps. Generally the higher the demand and the lower the supply of
students with your skill, the better. Of course this will vary
depending on the type of camp itself. Penny Freno, Career Services
Practice Leader at Simon Fraser University has found “teachable
skills such as: horseback riding, dance, tennis, photography and
pottery along with skill-based qualifications such as lifeguard,
wilderness survival and language skills to be desired areas”. Freno
also points out “some specialty camps might require skills to work
with special needs youth, such as sign language, for
example.”
Decide on your style of camp
If the comforts of
home, such as: air conditioners, microwave, big screen TV, etc. are
part of your milieu, you may want to avoid the more rustic of camps.
One thing that can really ransack your knapsack is packing it in
after a week, driven home by an invasion of multi-legged beasts. If
possible, visit the camp before you accept the job. Freno suggests
that “life/living conditions are probably the biggest complaint
students have about some camps, particularly if they are residential
camps”. If you love rustic conditions or have spent the school year
in a student ghetto anyway, this may not be an issue. In addition
make sure that you can handle the weather, lack of privacy, and in
other cases isolation that comes with some camps. Your school year
position as the “campus socialite” may not fit in with a summer at
“Camp Solitaire by the Sea”
Look
ahead
Take an inventory of your academic programs and
possible career objectives. Then assess which camps and positions
fit with these goals and objectives. For example, if you are
thinking of a teaching career, the arts and crafts instructor
position at “Camp Artsy Acres” will likely be of more value than
assistant cook at “Camp Flying Food”. In addition your strategy can
have further benefits. If you’re aiming at applying for
scholarships, which place a high emphasis on leadership skills, you
may be able to enhance your qualifications for such awards; all the
time you are gaining career enhancing skill and money to take home
at summers’ end.
Climbing the corporate tree
Find out the
possibilities for advancement within the camp in future summers.
Some camps have a variety of more senior positions, which they like
to fill by promoting present staff. Raymond Cote, University of
Manitoba’s Director of Student Employment has found that “it is not
uncommon for students to work a couple of summers as camp staff and
then move to a team leader, coordinator, or even an assistant
director position.” Not only can such a move provide enhanced job
experience, but it also usually carries with it, extra pay as well.
Josh
Cohen, Program coordinator at Camp Mah-Kee-Nac in Massachusetts,
says “many of their key staff positions are filled from among
students who have worked as counsellor’s in previous summers. Having
seen them work as counsellor’s provides an opportunity to observe
what skills they possess and what type of worker they will be.” Adds
Cohen, “With the key staff positions, pay rises to the $3500 to
$4000 US range versus the $1200 US for counsellor positions.”
The
experience - More than just money
Of course the money, career
and academic experience are important, but also factor in the
opportunity to do what you really love. With over 650 camps in
Canada and 8500 + in the U.S., you’ll likely be able to find one
that fits in with what you really find enjoyable and rewarding.
Camps can vary from computer, to language, to special needs, to
arts, to virtually any type of sport. Why spend the summer teaching
polo to a group of privileged young people, when your true passion
might be working one-to-one with developmentally challenged youths?
Some digging will help you unearth some amazing and unique camps.
Not only does the work of camp provide great experience with the
campers themselves, but it is also a great way to meet other staff
with similar interests.
Check their credentials
While there are many great
camps both in Canada and the U.S., there are some that are very
poorly run and which should be avoided like the mystery meat at a
camp cookout. Check to see if your camp is a member of the Canadian
Camping Association (CCI) 1-877-427-6958 and/or Provincial Camping
Associations:
These
groups set the standards for the summer camp profession and a quick
check to see if a camp is accredited may help you avoid a summer job
disaster.
In
addition, Christine Frigault, Coordinator of the Career Planning
Centre at Mount St. Vincent University suggests, “that to get the
best glimpse of what the experience is like at your prospective camp
of employment, try and talk to students that have worked there in
the past.” The camp itself may be able to put you in touch with
previous camp staff or your campus employment centre may be able to
hook you up with students who have worked at a particular
camp.
Fleeing the Country
If you want to travel, but
money is holding you close to home, you may be able to tap into an
International camp experience. With these camps of course, it is
particularly important to find out what expenses will be covered by
the camp employing you. Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, for example, in addition
to paying a salary, also pays a summer end bonus of around $300
U.S., a travel allowance to get there, free room & board, along
with laundry. Staff also get their expenses (i.e. hotel and meals)
paid for when they take road trips.
The
foreign country option provides the opportunity to get great
experience, work outside the country, meet others from around the
world, and get paid in US dollars, not to mention a chance to brag
about our national hockey teams. Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, for example is
one of a group of seven camps in the Northeastern US, which recruits
Canadians (approximately 40-50% of their staff come from Canada and
around 10-20% from overseas). The advantage is that these camps
collectively arrange the J1 working visas for you to work in the
U.S., something that many smaller individual camps may not be able
to do.
Don’t leave for home without it
As with any summer
employment, leave your camp job with reference letters from your
camp director and/or your direct supervisor. This will allow you to
secure your reference while your great leadership and rapport with
your campers, are fresh in your supervisor’s minds’.
The
memories of camp work can last long after the itching from the
poison ivy, and heartburn from the camp chili, have disappeared.
However with a little planning, your cash supply from camp should
also be around well into the new school year.
Resources for unearthing that summer camp
position:
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