4 Career Paths to Find While Working at a Summer Camp
Summer camp – possibly some of the best days in a child’s life. Kids go away to camp and discover parts of their personality that they never knew existed. If that can happen to campers, what do you think camp employees can discover about themselves?
Even as an adult, it’s not too late to discover yourself at summer camp, because you might not know what you want to do with your life and that’s okay. Here are four career paths that you can find while working at a summer camp.
Teaching
If you get along well with kids, consider a counseling job at a summer camp for children. You should be prepared to spend a lot of time with them — remember that you will be responsible for everything the kids do. But, this responsibility will give you a chance to dip your toes into the world of teaching.
Movies might make it seem as though camp counselors are only supposed to escort the kids from one activity to the next and make sure they don’t get hurt, but there is much more to the job than that. You’ll be tasked with giving your campers a constant balance of education and fun. In some cases, this means working with other counselors to create lesson plans full of activities that will appeal to multiple ages. As a camp counselor, you will be able to practice presenting education to children in an energetic manner that will make them want to learn.
Your sense of creativity and patience will be tested as you come to realize there are several different learning styles that your lessons should cater to. Some students will learn through hands-on approaches, and others will grasp concepts just by listening. If you find that you can recognize these learning styles in your campers and educate them with ease, then a career in teaching might be right for you.
Food service
The kitchen of a summer camp is home to some unique and delicious recipes, from roasted tomato soup to s’mores campfire cones. Working as a line cook at a summer camp will put your culinary skills to the test, and you might discover a hidden love for the food service industry.
Cooking at a summer camp will expose you to a sort-of restaurant environment — you’ll be serving a large mass of people, each with different accommodations that need to be met. You’ll have to keep food allergies in mind if you offer recipe ideas. Step away from what you think you would enjoy eating, and consider what the majority would enjoy. This is where your creativity will come in handy. A summer camp is the perfect place to experiment with those fun kids’ recipes you find on Pinterest, or any ideas you have of your own!
Just as a manager in a restaurant must do, you’ll have to ensure that the campers have everything they need for their meal and that you have enough for everyone. You should be able to calmly take care of any problems that a camper might find with their food. Working in a camp kitchen will teach you plenty of management skills that you’ll be able to carry into a future food service career.
Environmentalism
If you’re one with nature, you could take on a job as a trip leader at an outdoor camp. A trip leader, as you might guess, “leads groups on expeditions, trips, and outdoor experiences, usually for extended periods,” according to the American Camp Association. You’ll get to teach campers about nature as you experience it in real time, and the job might peak your interest in an environmental science career.
Being a trip leader will give you a chance to share your love of nature with other people. Plus, if you would like to know more about the environment, what better way than to live in it for a few weeks? Plan a boating trip on the river for your campers, and observe some of the fish along the way. Schedule a hike through the woods to check out all the different plants. You’ll be surprised at what you can learn from looking at how nature lives.
We live in a world where the environment is often taken for granted. Adventuring through the great outdoors might inspire you to do better. As a trip leader, you might see yourself pursuing studies in environmental sciences like botany, biology, ecology, or zoology.
Hospitality management
A job as an activities planner for a summer camp is perfect for anyone with organization skills. If you’re the friend that draws up an itinerary for every trip, this job would be a dream come true for you, and you might decide you want to study hospitality management.
As an activities planner, you’ll be in charge of how the campers spend their day — everything from waterskiing to making jewelry. You’ll have to ensure that the activities run smoothly, and make sure that the counselors are aware of the plans. Your time management skills will improve greatly from trying to fit so many activities into a day, and it can teach you to be quick on your feet when it comes to solving scheduling issues.
Studying hospitality management can lead to you becoming a hotel manager, restaurant manager, wedding planner, and more. You could even come back to your summer camp as a camp director.
This list definitely doesn’t cover the number of career paths you could find while working at a camp. People travel from all over the world to visit some camps, so you never know what connections you’ll make.
If you’d like to work for a summer camp, try to choose one that best suits your interests. Here are seven types of summer camps to work for.
Follow Uloop
Apply to Write for Uloop News
Join the Uloop News TeamDiscuss This Article
More Uloop Business Articles
- How To Discuss Job Expectations With Your Boss
- Smartest Answers to Nine Common Interview Questions
- How to Know If You're Being Paid Fairly
- Avid4 Adventure Opens Summer Employment Applications
BROCKPORT, NEW YORK HOUSING LISTINGS
See all BROCKPORT, NEW YORK Housing ListingsBROCKPORT, NEW YORK Job Listings
WRITE FOR ULOOP
Apply to Write for Uloop NewsGET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
TOP 5 NEWS ARTICLES
BROWSE OTHER COLLEGES
- By CollegeColumbia UniversityCornell UniversityFordham UniversityNew York UniversityUniversity at Buffalo, SUNYStony Brook UniversitySyracuse UniversityBernard M Baruch CollegeHunter CollegeQueens CollegeSt. John's UniversitySUNY at AlbanyBrooklyn CollegeCollege of Staten IslandCity College of New YorkLehman CollegeNew York Institute of TechnologyHofstra UniversityPace UniversityRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteBinghamton UniversityBuffalo State CollegeRochester Institute of TechnologyAdelphi UniversityVassar CollegeSUNY New PaltzManhattanville CollegeState University of New York at GeneseoBarnard CollegeColumbia-Greene Community CollegeDutchess Community CollegeBard CollegeMarist CollegeUlster County Community CollegeMount Saint Mary CollegeYeshiva UniversitySUNY Institute of TechnologyErie Community CollegeSUNY PotsdamGenesee Community CollegeElmira CollegeBrockportRockland Community CollegeIthaca CollegeUniversity of RochesterAlbany College of PharmacyAlfred UniversityBank Street College of EducationBerkeley CollegeBoricua CollegeBriarcliffe CollegeBrooklyn Law SchoolCanisius CollegeCazenovia CollegeClarkson UniversityColgate UniversityCollege of Mount Saint VincentCulinary Institute of AmericaCUNY Graduate School and University CenterCUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeCUNY Medgar Evers CollegeCUNY York CollegeD'Youville CollegeDaemen CollegeDominican CollegeDowling CollegeFarmingdale State CollegeFashion Institute of TechnologyFive Towns CollegeGlobe Institute of TechnologyHamilton CollegeHartwick CollegeHilbert CollegeHobart and William Smith CollegesHoughton CollegeIona CollegeKeuka CollegeLe Moyne CollegeLong Island UniversityManhattan CollegeManhattanville CollegeMarymount Manhattan CollegeMedaille CollegeMercy CollegeMetropolitan College of New YorkMolloy CollegeMonroe CollegeMorrisville State CollegeNazareth College of RochesterNew York Law SchoolNew York Medical CollegeNiagara UniversityNyack CollegePolytechnic Institute of New York UniversityPratt InstituteRoberts Wesleyan CollegeSage College of AlbanySt. Bonaventure UniversitySaint John Fisher CollegeSaint Joseph's CollegeSt. Thomas Aquinas CollegeSarah Lawrence CollegeSiena CollegeSkidmore CollegeSt. Francis CollegeSt. Lawrence UniversitySUNY at FredoniaSUNY College at CortlandSUNY College at Old WestburySUNY College at OneontaSUNY at OswegoSUNY at PlattsburghSUNY College at PurchaseSUNY College of Agriculture and Technology at CobleskillSUNY College of Environmental Science and ForestryAlfred State CollegeSUNY CantonSUNY at DelhiSUNY Empire State CollegeSUNY Health Science Center at BrooklynSUNY Upstate Medical UniversitySUNY Maritime CollegeTeachers College, Columbia UniversityThe College of New RochelleThe College of Saint RoseThe Juilliard SchoolThe New SchoolTouro CollegeUnion CollegeUnited States Military AcademyUtica CollegeVaughn College of Aeronautics and TechnologyWagner CollegeThe Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtLaGuardia Community CollegeThe New York Conservatory for Dramatic ArtsSuffolk County Community CollegeBorough of Manhattan Community CollegeKingsborough Community CollegeHudson Valley Community CollegeFinger Lakes Community CollegeAdirondack Community College American Academy of Dramatic Arts- New YorkBronx Community College Cayuga County Community CollegeClinton Community College (NY)Corning Community College Fulton-Montgomery Community CollegeHelene Fuld College of Nursing Herkimer County Community CollegeHostos Community College Jamestown Community College Mohawk Valley Community CollegeMonroe Community College Nassau Community College Onondaga Community College Orange County Community CollegeQueensborough Community CollegeSchenectady County Community CollegeSUNY Broome Community CollegeTompkins-Cortland Community CollegeWestchester Community College
- By State
- By City