<p>Has your D or S been a summer camp counselor? What were the pros and cons? What camps would you recommend? TIA</p>
<p>While my kids have not been counselors, many of their friends have. I believe almost everyone of them took a job at a camp they attended in the past. Some were day camps and many were overnight camps. It seems to be a natural progression to go from campers, to CIT (counselor in training) to counselor all at the same camp. A counselor that has attended the camps as a camper has a real feels for the camp. That does not mean one can not be a counselor at a camp they have not attended, especially if it is a day camp.</p>
<p>I worked several years at Girl Scout summer camps in the 70s.</p>
<p>It was a 10 week committment, one day off per week, two hours free per day. Meals with the campers, showers with the campers, bunk with the campers. I don’t think the pay is great. On the other hand, you have no place to spend money and room/board is included.</p>
<p>What I do think was wonderful is the leadership and management experience a young person can have as a camp counselor. At 20, I was running a riding program that taught 100 riding lessons per day, supervising 5 instructors, managing 24 horses, and interfacing with vendors and camp managment.</p>
<p>I particularly like agency camps – Scouts, Y etc – rather than private camps. Look for a camp that espouses character education – they tend to be more equitable to the staff.</p>
<p>This will be my middle son’s second summer as a counselor at an overnight camp. It’s something he’s always wanted to do since the days he was a camper himself.</p>
<p>The pros are that you are in a bubble,away from the temptation to get in a lot of trouble at home. In my little corner of the world, last summer a lot of the kids who came home from their first year of college brought home their college lifestyles (drinking, primarily) with them, and the local police visited a lot of parties and a good number of parents were unpleasantly surprised at the trouble/liability it brought them.</p>
<p>It’s a fun job, outdoors all day doing fun things–my son 's specialty area is outdoor activities such as the ropes course, hiking/camping etc. He loved the boys in his cabin–they were an older group, entering 8th grade.</p>
<p>The downside is it’s a bubble–you can get very tired of it
very quickly. The responsibility never ends–you are “on” twenty-four hours a day–even if you are officially off duty you don’t really get a break. You have to deal with campers who get sick, or injured, or homesick, or who don’t play well with others, don’t fit in, don’t cooperate. Last summer there was a group of boys in my son’s cabin who tried to sneak out every night–at 3 am! My son felt like he had to sleep with one eye open!</p>
<p>But my son is going back this summer…can’t wait!
He knows it is his last summer to have so much fun–next summer he will have some sort of professional job or internship, something career related.</p>
<p>cnp-- me too, me too! I attended a resident GS camp for 12 years thru the 60’s & early 70’s as a camper, CIT, & counselor. (In fact that’s where my CC name comes from – the initials of the camp + my camp nickname.) In hindsight, the CIT training was amazing, and invaluable in terms of leadership skills. </p>
<p>But enough w/ the ancient history. D was a counselor at a YMCA day camp last summer, and plans to return this summer. A big pro for her was that day camp is M - F, so she had her weekends free. She loves kids, and generally had a great time. Several times she came home and told me about some situation, either w/ campers or parents, that had occurred, and I was very impressed w/ her level of maturity and how she had handled it. A “con” would be the pay – being a camp counselor is definitely not the the path to summer financial security.</p>
<p>I worked at a sailing camp for the past two summers - it was pretty fun. We were outside all day, and I was a program coordinator, so I just worked at one of the activity areas and wasn’t directly responsible for the kids all the time.</p>
<p>The downside is definitely the lack of time off. We have camp for 8 weeks and get approximately 24 hours off on the weekends and a night off per week…but there’s nowhere to go since camp is in the middle of nowhere.</p>
<p>How about a day camp? I know the YMCA in our area is advertising for camp counselors on Craigslist.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the info. This is Ds first summer not attending a summer ballet intensive. She doesnt have general camp experience. Will it be possible to get a CIT job if she is right out of hs?</p>
<p>In my experience, the CIT program is for kids 15 or 16 – past general camp, but not old enough to be paid staff. A high school graduate is old enough, at camps where I have worked, to be part of the actual staff. In the girl scouts, it would be at the ‘assistant’ level. I would have her look for camps that need dance teaching staff where she would bring a specific skill.</p>
<p>(I was an ‘aide’ … not a cit after my junior year in high school, and paid staff after graduation. At 20 and 21, I was running the riding program. I did come with a specific skill and the credentials to be an integral part of the team.</p>
<p>It might be too late, but would she be interested in working at a summer intensive? I know at many my daughter attended, there were college aged counselor. The perks for the counselor was being able to attend classes during the day while attending to the kids at night and between classes. I am sure one of the programs would love to have your daughter!</p>
<p>agree with cnp – D was hired at the YMCA day camp based on her gymnastics skills. The camp ran various special interest sessions, in addition to general camp. D was in charge of the gymnastics sessions, and also ended up doing a dance & theater session. Around here a lot of the towns also run day camps &/or summer school sessions that focus on a particular interest/skill.</p>
<p>snowball - D has contacted many of the summer ballet programs……most require the chaperones to be 19 y/o and have at least one year of college. Other programs offer chaperone positions to the older attendees for free or reduced room and board.</p>
<p>doctormom50 – thanks for the link… I will give it to my D.</p>
<p>Lousy hours, poor pay, great experience.</p>