<p>My daughter would love to spend a good portion of her summer outdoors, the wilder and more mountainous the better. We'd rather this be a money-inflow than a money-outflow situation (near-neutral is okay too). She likes kids and would enjoy being a camp counselor, but it seems most of the positions are for folks with at least a year of college under their belt.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?</p>
<p>Generally you need to be 18 to be hired as a camp counselor.
If she isn’t 18 yet, she may have a harder time finding positions.</p>
<p>Aye, there’s the rub. She’s only 17. That’s why I’m tapping into the CC hive-mind!</p>
<p>well, you may want to contact Wilderness Ventures. DS went on 2 of their 3 week summer adventures with them- The Alps and Alaska- loved the staff and the trips which were serious outdoor excursions
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[Teen</a> Summer Camps, Teen Adventure Camps and Teen Summer Programs by Wilderness Ventures](<a href=“Do Something Wild | Wilderness Adventures Teen Summer Adventures”>http://www.wildernessventures.com/)</p>
<p>A counselor-in-training or junior counselor position could be money neutral. My son, 14, did that last summer in an woodsy day program.</p>
<p>Check out Student Conservation Association, also Appalachian Mountain Club teen trail crews, both are essentially free. She might be able to work in a camp kitchen, if that appeals to her.</p>
<p>I worked at summer camp after my senior year – not yet 18 – for pay. The requirement seemed to be that the majority of the camper contact staff had to be over 19. I will say the camp knew me well and I had a skill and expertise they needed. I also became Riding Director of their large program, supervising a staff of 5 with 25 horses, the summer I was 20 (normal requirement was 21) and did it the summer I was actually 21 as well. This was in the 70s. </p>
<p>Things may have changed, but if your D has a good solid skill to offer, it’s worth putting out the applications.</p>
<p>Orkney–good call on the SCA! The AMC programs were already getting serious consideration, but I didn’t know about SCA. Definitely worth looking into. I like the fact that it appears to be truly free. There’s something a little galling about the AMC spike crews granting kids the opportunity to engage in grueling physical labor for 2 or 3 weeks and only charging them $625 for the privilege!</p>
<p>Menolparkmom–Wilderness Ventures looks awesome, but, as we’re staring down the barrel of massive college expenses, we’d rather not drop $3-4K on an outdoor program. It’s a pity, because there are a lot of very cool-sounding options in that price range (NOLS, etc).</p>
<p>Try Outward Bound. They have scholarships (NOLS doesn’t). They consider college expenses. Trips to places like Alaska have the additional cost of expensive clothing, but the fee may be close to nothing.</p>
<p>Hi rayrick!! Good to see you on our 2012 thread! I wanted to chime in that my S also LOVED working with the SCA last summer… he met the greatest people and is still friends with many of them… a lot at colleges all over the country. If he decides to take a full gap year he will go back and work for them next year and he will get paid… I think that if you work for them over 6 months you also get a $5000 college scholarship. Your D would have to be okay with really roughing it though… no showers, bathrooms, and sleeping in tents.I think it an amazing organization and a fantastic opportunity to get to work in our beautiful National Parks. My S was in Alaska and Canada.</p>
<p>You are not limited to the SCA, many states have their own youth conservation corps. Application deadlines are looming.</p>
<p>Here is a link to the Minnesota/Iowa corps, check and see if your state has one.</p>
<p>[Conservation</a> Corps](<a href=“http://www.conservationcorps.org/]Conservation”>http://www.conservationcorps.org/)</p>
<p>Thanks for chiming in, 5boys! Your endorsement carries a lot of weight for me, as I know our kids have considered a number of the same schools. I’ll pass it along to D.</p>
<p>Both of my Ds have done AMC Teen Wilderness trips, which were fantastic, but not cheap. D2 did an AMC Trail Crew last year, because we were needing something much cheaper. She loved it. Older D is now applying for the type of job you are looking for. She is 19, a sophomore in college. She had no luck applying to work for AMC when she was 17.</p>
<p>Thanks rayrick! My S has always been adamant about not paying for any summer program… so far he has done it… he was never a fan of “organized wilderness programs” but I know a lot of kids have had great experiences at many of them… he is just WAY too independent. He does want to do a NOLS program though… but after a month you will come out with your Wilderness First Responder and an EMT. That is worth the money he thinks.</p>
<p>Re SCA, although I recommended it (and still do, because I think many people have fantastic experiences with them), my own daughter had a very underwhelming SCA placement at age 17 - in a nature preserve near Atlanta, GA. There wasn’t nearly enough work for the crew, and the group of 6 kids, was not, by d’s accounts, the down-to-earth friendly crowd I had envisioned. There was a classic “mean girl”, a “homophobic and racist” guy, etc. I think placements for the young and inexperienced are more limited and you might get a wilder and more interesting placement if older or with some relevant skill. Over 18 is a whole different category.</p>
<p>Becoming Red Cross lifeguard certified might help. Or Wilderness First Aid certified.</p>
<p>She may be able to find a volunteer position working outdoors if she would be willing to work with physically or developmentally disabled campers. Programs for campers who need extra support take on more volunteers.</p>
<p>YMCA camps often hire people under 18 as assistant counselors, and many have large outdoor adventure programs.</p>
<p>What about working in a National Park? All the western NPs hire a substantial number of summer employees to work in the restaurants/cafeterias/hotels/snack bars/ etc.</p>
<p>D2 spent her summer after freshman year selling Slurpees and gasoline in Yellowstone. Wonderful experience. </p>
<p>Summer employees make slightly above minimum wage, work not more than an 8 hour day, have heavily subsidized housing (@$45/month) plus heavily subsidized meals (@$2.50/day for 3 meals at the employee canteen) provided, with an option to cook for oneself if they want. They also had free access to full gym facilities, with additional rec opportunities provided under the supervisions of a full-time professional recreation director. Additionally all employees get 2 back-to-back days off each week. </p>
<p>D2 had a summer she still talks about, made friends she’s still in contact with 4 years later, met people for all over the US and dozens of foreign countries. She went road and mtn biking, climbing mountains, went backpacking and hiking, kayaked, fished (caught several whopper lake trout), white water canoed, had an elk calf born on her doorstep and got to see all sorts of wildlife close up and very personally.</p>
<p>D2’s has had hometown friends who have worked in the various National Parks at various times—every one of them has had a positive experience. She’s also had friends who worked for the Forest Service or other wilderness not-for-profits doing trail development (interpretative trail design), trail building and maintenance. </p>
<p>Just want to throw the idea out there—lots of other opportunities to work into the outdoors that doesn’t involve camp counseling.</p>
<p>I think national park employees have to be 18.</p>