Have you ever considered working as a camp counselor? It’s a fulfilling job that gives you the opportunity to spend the summer in the U.S., making a difference in your own life and the lives of others. Camp counselor training is designed to help make the most of your experience.
Heading off to work at a summer camp for several weeks isn’t just about the work experience. You will absolutely get the chance to show off your skills and build new relationships. But it’s so much more than just working.
AmeriCamp works with camps all throughout the United States to match camp counselors with the right camp for their experience and skills. We provide guidance for your application process, sponsorship of your visa, organization of camp details, and accessibility to you while you’re in the U.S.
Take a quick look at this guide to learn more about being a summer camp counselor and how you can apply to become one!
What is a Camp Counselor?
A camp counselor could wear a lot of hats. You are many things all wrapped into one:
- Leader
- Helper
- Provider
- Fun-lover
- Adventurer
- Counselor
- Boss
- Coach
- Kid wrangler
These are just a few examples of what a camp counselor might do. It’s really just the beginning. When you work as a camp counselor, you take on the responsibility of being the leader for a group. Your specific duties can vary from camp to camp.
Summer camp counselor training is designed to help you prepare for wherever you might end up.
We will get into more detail about camp counselor jobs throughout this guide. It’s a great opportunity to get some exposure to the workforce, grow in your skill set, and learn valuable characteristics that will likely carry you the rest of your life. And it looks great on your future resumes, too!
The things that camp counselor training programs won’t be able to teach you is how to just enjoy the adventure. You will learn quickly that task management and problem solving are a big part of this job. But that’s just the beginning.
There is absolutely a lot of responsibility, but don’t let that stop you from getting excited. You also get to enjoy one amazing adventure after another. You will have tons of fun working with whoever attends the summer camp and participating in the activities that take place.
You will form unique bonds that might just last a lifetime.
How to Become a Camp Counselor
Being a camp counselor is simple. You will work with AmeriCamp throughout the entire process while you complete the application, get paired with a camp, and then travel abroad. Our goal is to make this adventure simple and stress free, so you can just enjoy the experience.
These are the basic steps you will follow.
- Complete the application for the program
- Provide required application documents
- Get paired with the perfect camp
- Start preparing to travel abroad
Start the application process through our website, and let AmeriCamp help you plan your summer camp counselor adventure today.
What Does Summer Camp Counselor Training Include?
Camp counselor training programs are designed to help you prepare for the camp experience. As you head off to camp, you will experience a lot of things. Training gives you some techniques and mechanisms to deal with whatever comes your way.
Below are some highlights of summer camp counselor jobs:
- Earn Wages While Having Fun
- Build Your Skills
- Accommodations Provided
- Meals Included
- Insurance Coverage
Earn Wages
This isn’t your average internship where you’re learning skills about a trade. You’re learning and developing a wide range of skills - and you get paid to do it. Whether you choose to be support staff or a camp counselor, you will earn a minimum of $2,000 during your working summer.
After your first summer, you might have some negotiating power on your salary. It’s possible that you can earn more as a returner. We guide you through some negotiating so you can make as much as possible (within reason, of course).
There is a slight cost to you, but it’s minimal compared to the wages that you will earn and the accommodations that are provided to you while you are at camp. The fee is not so bad when you consider what you get for it.
Build on Your Skills
You likely have some skills at your disposal. There are things you may be really great at, and we want to help you develop those skills! Summer camp counselor training will lean into these skills. When you get to camp, you’ll get to use what you’re good at.
These are some of the top sought-after skills you might be able to put to use:
- Arts
- Sports
- Outdoors
- Waterfront
- Film
- Extreme sports
- Fitness
- Horse riding
- Performing arts
- Target practice
- Circus skills
- Special Needs
- Religious
- Spanish language
Some camps have a specific focus area, while other camps are more general and offer a variety of activities for their attendees. If you have any of these skills, there are camps that are always looking for people to join their teams.
And camp counselor training is really going to help you hone your skills to find the best placement possible.
Accommodations Provided
You don’t have to worry about where you’re going to stay. You also don’t have to worry about how you can possibly afford to stay somewhere. None of that is on your shoulders.
Part of what we do at AmeriCamp is help you to find placement. But when we connect you with the best summer camps in the U.S., we also make sure you’re taken care of. You are not responsible for your accommodations. They are all provided.
This means that you get to enjoy all of those awesome adventures, get paid for doing it, and not worry about the bill for a place to lay your head at night. You have a guaranteed bed as a camp counselor or a support staff member.
This will be the same type of accommodations that all of the other camp counselors on location get. It should be reassuring to know that you will have a nice place to rest after a hard day’s work is done.
Meals Included
No one has to go hungry at camp! Summer camps have plenty of food to go around, and your meals will be provided. You don’t have to worry about groceries or preparing your own meals. You don’t have to be a chef, unless that’s what you’re hoping to be!
At your summer camp counselor training, you will be treated as though you are already a camp leader. Meals will be a part of this as well.
When you get to summer camp, you will likely eat meals with your group. Otherwise, there will be set meal times for staff members to rotate through. Most camp counselors eat when their groups eat.
You are provided three meals a day so you get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every meal will be quality food and well-planned out menus! Most of the time, the kitchen provides the menus ahead of time, so you always know what meal is coming next.
Insurance Coverage
This is the detail that is all too often taken for granted. You’re traveling to another country and it’s always possible you will need medical care while you are there.
Part of the benefit of using AmeriCamp is that we make sure you have comprehensive medical insurance coverage that will cover you for the entirety of your stay in the US. The exact details of the coverage may vary.
Comprehensive health coverage covers both major medical needs and a variety of health services. If you need to see a doctor, rush to the ER, or even be hospitalized, this coverage will be important.
While we certainly hope it won’t be necessary, it will be there if you need it. You just never know what might happen, and it’s far better to be prepared just in case!
Top Benefits of Being a Summer Camp Counselor
Being a camp counselor is an incredibly rewarding experience. Your summer camp counselor training will do a lot to prepare you for the experience. But if you are at all on the fence as to whether this is something for you, take a look at these benefits.
This will be an adventure of a lifetime!
These are the top benefits you may experience:
- You will have liaisons acting in your best interest
- Experience a whole new culture
- Learn leadership skills
- Get to travel abroad
- Don’t stress about the details
Let’s look at these benefits more closely!
Liaisons Acting in Your Best Interest
You might be a very smart and resourceful teenager or young adult. But it’s still nice to know that you have a team that is working with your best interests in mind. We strive to find you the best fit and ensure you will get the best treatment on your adventure.
The AmeriCamp program has access to an extensive network of summer camps so that we can help you find the best fit. Across the United States, there are more than 900 awesome camps to choose from. How can you pick the best?
That’s where we come in! We work with you to ensure you have the proper camp counselor training to prepare you for the job. We work on your behalf to find the best fit for your skills, the summer camp job role you’re hoping to get, and any relative experience that you may have.
There is something to be said about making sure you get a job that really works for you.
Experience New Culture
Have you traveled abroad before? It really will be an adventure.
When you travel abroad, you get exposure to a lot of new and different cultures you haven’t experienced before. You will see and learn many new things. And the really cool thing is that people come to summer camps from all over the world.
You will also get to experience and learn about new culture from the people that you meet along the way. Who knows how many different cultures you are going to encounter? What an awesome opportunity to learn more about others.
Learn Leadership Skills
Have you ever supervised anything or been in charge? Whether you choose to be a support staff member or take on a camp counselor role, you’re going to be demonstrating leadership at summer camp.
Summer camp counselor training can be helpful to gear you up for the experience. You will learn things like how to manage multiple tasks, problem-solving skills, facing challenges, and more. Many things are learned best by hands-on experience. But camp counselor training is designed to give you tools and techniques to set you up for success.
Even if you have never been a leader before, this experience is going to teach you a lot about it. And it’s going to look great later on when you’re working on building a resume.
Travel Abroad
A lot of people never get the opportunity to travel abroad. And while you may pay a small fee, everything is covered for you in terms of travel, food, accommodations, and the camp experience.
You get a unique opportunity for exposure to a whole new world. Aside from the camp counselor experience, you may never get another opportunity just like this one. Don’t pass up the chance to travel and gather valuable experiences along the way.
No Stress About the Details
Let us worry about making the details come together. You just worry about packing and having a great time. There will be a few things you need to take care of, such as the application process. But as long as you manage your responsibilities, we will worry about the details.
After all, that’s why we are here!
These are some of the details we will help manage:
- Supported guidance while you complete your application and go through any interviews and job placement processes
- Sponsorship for a J-1 Visa
- Additional 30 days of travel time if you want it
- We’re here for you 24/7 if you run into any issues
Here’s How It Works!
AmeriCamp has been offering these services since 2010. Camp counselor training is just the beginning of a fulfilling and adventurous summer ahead. It’s never too early to get started planning, so let’s focus on working through the steps.
If you’re curious about getting in front of camp counselors, consider attending a summer camp counseling job fair as well.
How does this work really? Here are the basic steps:
- Application Process
- Pre-Interview
- Approved and Hired
- Placement and Paperwork
- Different Roles
Application Process
The first step is to apply for a spot through us. This is the starting point so that we can put you on our list and start looking for the best match. AmeriCamp has a 99% placement rate for all applicants who are accepted.
We strive to help you find the perfect match and to do it quickly. You always get some say if you don’t like the match we find you. And you have the ability to turn anything down. You apply, we find the resources, and you make the final decision.
The written application is designed to gather information about your experience, your skills, your preferences, and the type of camp you would like to go to.
Pre-Interview
Once you complete your application, we will have a pre-interview with you. This interview helps us get to know you just a little bit more.
From there, we will start getting your application out there to our camp contacts. You will need to provide some references and complete a program agreement when we find you a match. Sometimes, we ask you to create a short video so that these camps can see and hear from you.
We will stay in contact while we find a match for you.
Approved and Hired
When we find that perfect match, we’re going to get you hired! This process can take some time, but remember that our goal is to find you the perfect match based on the things that we learned from your pre-interview and your application.
We want to find you the best fit possible.
Placement and Paperwork
When we settle on a camp and get you hired, there will be a few details to wrap up. Upon hiring, there may be some documents needed for you to be an employee for a US camp. Then, a background check will be done, and we will work on your visa application.
We will walk you through the steps to complete all of the paperwork.
Different Roles
Remember that there are many different roles to be filled. Your summer camp counselor training is designed to prepare you for the role that you will take. As we obtain your application, we work with you to figure out the type of role you want, and then seek out those available roles to place you.
The primary roles are:
- Camp counselor
- Activities guide
- Support staff
Become a Summer Camp Counselor with AmeriCamp
AmeriCamp is passionate about making sure you have the opportunity to travel and enjoy this adventure. We’ve been earnestly focusing on this mission since 2010 and have successfully placed hundreds of applicants.
Every summer camp experience starts with summer camp counselor training to help prepare you for the task. Are you ready for your adventure? Apply today to get started.
