About me
23, Foodie, Traveler, Civil Engineer. I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
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So most people believe that camp programs like Camp America and Camp Leaders are life changing and going to camp will be the best summer of your life. The truth is there are a lot of downs to the program.
**Just on a side note this was my own personally camp experience. Nearly all the people at my camp had the same opinion however, camps are all different.
I was placed in a Camp in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I was hired to teach arts and crafts, pottery and golf. The schedule was very straight forward, 6 lessons a day with nightly activities. We got one night and one 24 hours off a week. It rained 70% of the days. Here are some of the things that I found out and wish I'd known before signing up to the program.
You will lose 50% - 75% of your paycheck to the agency.
Ok so this is something that you will know before you join the program (or you should know) but nonetheless, it is a huge amount they are taking. With most companies charging over $750 to join the program and then taking over $1500 of your paycheck you can understand why it is such a big business.
Camps have the tendency to over hire
Often camps will over hire nowadays because labor and staff are so cheap and if they fire people they have others who will replace them. At the camp I went to there were over 50 counselors and 10 head staff for a camp that only had, in some weeks, 100 kids on site. One other reason there were so many counselors hired during my summer was because the year before a high number of people were fired, which meant there were not enough counselors left towards the end of the season.
There is a possibility you will get fired
5 people were fired from my camp when I was there and 3 people left on their own accord. If you are fired, your visa is cancelled and you will have to fly home. There is a possibility that you will be placed at another camp but unless it is near the start of the season chances are slim.
And you will be constantly fearing that you will be fired
Toward the end of the season our camp was seriously over staffed and everything we did was being scrutinized. My advise is to watch what you're doing and don't give them any reason to sack you.
The food is awful
Get ready for 2 whole months of chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, cardboard waffles and American mac and cheese.
My boss did not introduce herself once
Neither did she say "Thanks for coming 1000 miles to work here" or "Thanks for all the hard work this season". I'm not sure if this was because she viewed us as disposable staff or she didn't feel the need to make a relationship with us. The only time she graced the staff with her presence was to worn us not to stuff up or we would be fired. Try and find a camp where the boss or manager approaches you, this way you will already have an idea how the business runs.
Cherish it. You only get such a small amount of time off a week and you need to make the most of it. To be honest my time off from camp was some of the most fun over the whole 6 months I was away. Go down to the nearest waterfall, swim in the lake, go exploring. Don't just waste your day off drinking the whole time. However if you do drink, be careful. The drinking age is 21 in America and if you are over 21 remember you can still be fired for supplying the underage counselors with alcohol.You will be counting down the second till your time off
It's not all terribleI did have some amazing experiences. I made some life long friends and laughed harder than I ever have. I don't regret participating in Camp America but I am disappointed in how the camp treated its staff. I've never worked in such an environment where the boss and head staff feel like they can bully their co-workers. Luckily all the staff were in the same boat and we bonded over the experiance.
Let me just remind people that this was my experience. My boyfriend went to a camp in California and absolutely loved it, so much so that he is probably going back next year. His camp was the complete opposite of mine: No firing, fun, friendly boss, and local organic food. Our camps could not be more different but I wrote this article to give people a heads up to what your camp may be like. My advise would be research the camp that approaches you before accepting the offer. Find out what their schedule is like and if you can get in contact with a ex-counselor. All you want to know is that you will be appreciated and they don't over hire staff.
