Summer camp is a great place to spend time making new friends and trying exciting new activities. For camp counselors, it’s a place to get a lot of experience, meet like-minded colleagues and be part of growing a tight-knit community.
But working at a summer camp may be difficult work, as the campers require lots of attention and care, being on your feet all day and making sure everything is running smoothly. A Reddit user shared their story of a job interview where they were expected to do all these things and more for less than minimum wage.
Working on something you're passionate about may attract people who will want to use you for profit
Image credits: Cara Fuller (not the actual image)
The poster was looking for a position as a camp counselor and had an interview which was so strange, they could hardly believe it
Image credits: Marcus Aurelius (not the actual image)
The interviewer said they'd need to work 24-36 hours shifts with about 2 hours of rest, shocking the poster
The recruiter also asked if the applicant would be willing to deal with difficult tasks and perform well under loads of stress
Image credits: Edmond Dantes (not the actual image)
It turns out that the poster would be getting only $2000 for 9 weeks of difficult and at times sleepless work
According to the poster's calculations, they pay $2.64 per hour before taxes, but they do organize ice cream nights, on the flipside
More than an hour of interviewing later, the poster said they wouldn't be working there, even if the recruiter said that others loved the job
For this article, Bored Panda reached out to the poster of this story, who wanted to remain anonymous. They’re also a fan of Bored Panda and were happy to share their experiences.
It turns out that many camp counselors are underpaid, from the stories shared in the comments of OP’s post.
The poster mentions that it was validating for them to see that many shared the same experience and frustration with underpaying camps. The organizations recognize that their staff is seasonal and underage (starting at 16 y.o.), and won’t rock the boat, as they have little experience. Same goes for international counselors, whose first time in the US may be at these camps.
“And this kind of exploitation then results in the big bonuses for the board members that own the camp.”
The poster also advises what to be on the lookout for when applying to work as a camp counselor. “Know the value of your work. At the end of the day, it is your effort and energy that keep the camps going.”
While parents pay the administration of camps, it’s the counselors who are responsible for their kids’ safety and summer fun ahead of them.
It doesn’t matter that the camps offer food and lodging; that gives them no right to underpay staff. If you’re browsing for camp jobs, don’t be afraid to ask what’s the exact pay before interviews or in the first few minutes of them.
“A place that pays well will share the exact wage with you. Stay away from places that string you along and don’t want to reveal their pay to you.”
Image credits: Lukas (not the actual image)
The poster continues - even if the pay is greater than it would be in your home country, you don’t want to work somewhere where anything suggests your boss has no issue exploiting you.
In interviews, you shouldn’t feel hesitant to ask the recruiter why they like your application, so you know that they actually read it, following up with why you should work for them, as opposed to thousands of other camps in the US.
“I’d tell parents similar things. You need to ensure that the counselors that look after your kids are well paid and rested for their positions.”
The poster goes on to share what inspires them about working as a camp counselor. Even though they may be only 24 years old, they have almost a decade of experience teaching and caring for children in all kinds of environments and now want to branch out into a different environment to see how they could improve as an educator.
“I found an exceptional camp position that pays well, and with a rockstar of a boss, in the San Bernardino forest in California.”
Their specialty is teaching creative movement, dance, and other performing arts to special needs kids and adults. OP is super enthusiastic about their work and encourages others to try working in a live-in position if they haven’t done it before, especially if they feel hesitant teaching what they are passionate about.
“Teaching your camp 'skills' is so rewarding when you have a bunch of excited kids hanging on to your every word. It gives you confidence to share what you love about the world.”
Image credits: Mael BALLAND (not the actual image)
Summer camp has loads of benefits, according to the Children's Bureau. It allows kids a place to socialize and bond with others, developing important life skills and teaching how to develop relationships. It’ll help them reduce screen time, get more exercise, and grow greatly as a person.
They’ll also make many memories from various activities and experiences with their friends. They may also make some lifelong friends during their time at camp.
So since you now may be wondering what’s the best way to find a camp for people with special needs, Nemours Kids’ Health has really good advice.
First of all, you must figure out what type of camp would be best-suited for your child’s needs. Some are inclusionary or mainstream camps, which include kids with special needs in groups of children with regular needs. Some camps accept children with a specific special need, others with many different kinds of special needs.
Once you decide where your child would be taken care of the best, there are lots of questions to ask. What activities would they like to try? Will they have friends going to the same camp? Where would they be more comfortable?
Once you figure out what's best for your child, you should do detailed research, looking at camp programs, accessibility, reviews, perhaps talking to other parents to hear their suggestions of good organizations in your area.
The poster’s story received more than 2.4k upvotes, with upwards of 250 comments. According to OP, it got 869k views, a 98% upvote rate and 329 total shares, showing just how much the community supported OP in their frustration. If you’ve got similar stories of difficult recruiters, be sure to share them below!