What Does a Teenage Winter Camp Instructor do?

As winter camp instructor, you will help run a winter camp where you will be planning activities, leading these activities, and helping out campers on a day to day basis. Most likely, you will be working with children on winter activities for them to learn about the outdoors. When doing your activities, you will also be responsible for the overall safety of your campers. Also, depending on which kind of camp you are working at, you can either be staying overnight at the camp for a couple of weeks or you will work in the day like a normal job. Basically, you’ll work with children to make sure they have the most fun during the winter camp experience. You’ll be working mostly with children, so it would be helpful if you like children and have patience with them.

How Much Does a Teenage Winter Camp Instructor Get Paid?

As a teenage winter camp instructor, you’ll most likely earn $10-$15 an hour. This will depend on if you are working overnight or only as a day instructor. The biggest problem you will have with being a winter camp instructor is the frigid and harsh weather. Most camps will be focused on teaching children winter activities, and you’ll be outside in the snow for most of your time. In long periods, this can become painful and hard, especially if you don’t like doing the activities already.

How Can I Get Started as a Teenage Winter Camp Instructor?

1. Before you begin, you’ll need to determine if you can work at an overnight winter camp or just a day winter camp. A day winter camp will be closer to the city which allows for you to have all of the amenities you have at home, and you can go home in your comfy house every night. On the other hand, at overnight winter camps you can have a more immersed experience in the woods, you’ll get a higher pay, and you’ll have a great camping trip of your own. Pick which type of a winter camp instructor you want to be and you can start to get trained for being a camp counselor.
2. Get trained. Do some smaller jobs that will improve your skill and techniques that revolve around managing kids. This will help with you being a winter camp instructor. Perhaps you can even volunteer at an event at an elementary school. All of these experiences will help your skill as a camp counselor. It also gives you the experience of working with children which is a positive thing.
3. Apply to different camps. Once you’ve figured out which camps you want to work at, you can apply to them. A good way to find camps is to just search for winter camps on Google about 3 months before winter season arrives. Another thing you want to consider is that some camps have specialties. Some are more athletic while others are more about learning, so you want to choose a camp that you have an interest in as well. For example, if you like skiing, apply to a ski resort camp, as you can have as much fun as the campers are while earning money. Apply to these camps with their online registration process, and try to land one of them. Don’t get discouraged if you get rejected once or twice, if you keep applying you’ll find the right one.
4. Congratulations, you’re officially a winter camp instructor. It might be harsh at times in the cold winter in a remote national park somewhere, but learn to enjoy the experience. You might get rowdy children to handle at times, but you need to be prepared for that and learn as you go along. Being a camp instructor is a memorable experience that you will remember for years to come, so you might as well enjoy it.

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Helpful Resources

• Techniques to Manage Kids:  This is an article that will better help you understand how to manage a lot of kids at once.